Hyaloid vessels of the human fetal eye. A scanning electron microscopic study of corrosion casts.

OBJECTIVE: Microscopic investigation of the hyaloid vascular system in 5-month-old human fetuses. METHODS: Corrosion casting and light and scanning electron microscopy. RESULTS: The hyaloid artery ramifies into a tuft of vasa hyaloidea propria, which communicates with the posterior portion of the tunica vasculosa lentis, characterized by a network of anastomosing vessels. They further pass to the lateral portion of the tunica, acquiring a nonanastomosing palisadelike array and drain into the vessels of the ciliary processes or, after bending over the edge of the developing iris, drain into the outer choriocapillaris. The tunica vasculosa lentis vessels also communicate with the pupillary membrane, a system of vascular arcades arranged in several interconnected tiers, supplied by the terminal branches of the long posterior ciliary arteries. In tunica vasculosa lentis, arterioles seem to pass directly into veins, without forming a capillary bed. CONCLUSIONS: At the investigated developmental stage, the fully developed hyaloid system enters its subsequent involution, and the vessels nourishing the vitreous have already involuted. The system is generally similar to that observed in other mammals.

Blood vessels and red blood cells preserved in dinosaur bones.

Dinosaur bones, 80 million years old, were studied in the scanning electron microscope, and subjected to X-ray microanalysis. Samples for the investigations were prepared according to specially elaborated, and simultaneously described methods. Analysed were (a) the morphological structure of the blood vessels and (b) the remains of their contents. The walls of the blood vessels were found to be morphologically identical with those in present-day reptiles. Bodies were found at several places inside the vessels which strongly remind one of erythrocytes in modern bones. X-ray microanalysis of places where these bodies were accumulated revealed much higher levels of iron, than at any other regions of the blood-vessel wall. Further analysis of the "dinosaur erythrocyte" iron content could be a starting point for the possible determination of oxygen in the earth's atmosphere, 80 million years ago.

Vascular architecture of the human fetal adrenal gland: a SEM study of corrosion casts.

The vascular architecture of adrenal glands was investigated in human fetuses aged from 16 to 24 weeks, using microcorrosion casts and scanning electron microscopy. The fetal adrenals showed an arrangement of blood vessels remarkably similar to that described in adult glands. There was a clear centripetal pattern from superficial arteries and their branches, via irregular capillaries of the subcapsular plexus and definitive cortex, and then via the radial sinusoids and venous sinuses of the fetal cortex, to the central vein. Rare medullary arterioles traversed the cortex to break up into small local capillary networks in the central region of the gland. Some superficial capillaries were drained by occasional subcapsular veins. No portal system was observed in the fetal adrenals.

Microvasculature of the dorsal mucosa of human fetal tongue: a SEM study of corrosion casts.

The vasculature of the dorsal mucosa of the tongue was investigated in 18-21 week human fetuses by corrosion casting and scanning electron microscopy. Microvascular systems of the fungiform, foliate and circumvallate papillae, albeit less complex, showed similarity to those described in children, while the capillary networks of the filiform papillae were not yet fully developed, having either a knot-like or cone-like form instead of the corolla-like pattern typical of the postnatal period. Morphological features suggesting angiogenesis included both capillary outgrowths characteristic of vascular sprouting and tiny holes in the vascular walls regarded as evidence of intussusceptive capillary growth. The subpapillary vascular network supplying and draining the papillary vessels was composed of the more superficial capillary bed and the deeper plexus of larger arterioles and venules.

Vascular system of the human spinal cord in the prenatal period: a dye injection and corrosion casting study.

The vascularization of the spinal cord was investigated in 50 human fetuses aged from 10 to 28 gestational weeks using dye injection methods and corrosion casting accompanied by scanning electron microscopy. In the investigated period of fetal development, the general vascular architecture of the spinal cord, corresponding to that described postnatally, seemed to be already established. The observed changes included: (1) remodeling of the supplying (extrinsic) arterial branches, (2) transformation of the posterior anastomotic chain into two distinct posterior spinal arteries, and (3) development of the capillary networks in the gray and white matter. The remodeling of the radicular arteries supplying the spinal cord was accompanied by a decrease in their number and transition from regular to irregular distribution (appearance of intersegmental differences in their frequency). The anterior spinal artery and regular array of the central arteries were already present in the youngest fetuses examined, but the final remodeling of the posterior anastomotic chain into two posterior spinal arteries occurred between 15th and 20th week of fetal life indicating that the vascularization of the anterior region of the spinal cord in the investigated period of fetal life was more advanced as compared with that of the posterior region. The capillary network of the gray matter in the youngest fetuses had the form of discrete glomerular plexuses supplied by groups of central arteries and mainly vascularizing the anterior horns. Successively, the plexuses fused to form a continuous system along the anterior columns and the system expanded to fully vascularize the posterior horns. The white matter in the earlier fetal period seemed to be partially avascular, later the density of capillaries vascularizing those areas was still much lower than in the gray matter. The veins showed considerably greater variability than the arteries, as far as their topography and distribution was concerned. High tortuosity characterized the superficial veins, especially in the younger fetuses, although the degree of tortuosity differed even between individual fetuses. Only anterior spinal and central arteries were usually accompanied by their venous counterparts, the other veins seemed to have no regular topographical relations with the arteries.

Architecture of blood vessels in human fetal gastric corpus: a corrosion casting study.

Vascular architecture of the gastric corpus was investigated in 16-24 wk human fetuses using a corrosion casting technique and the scanning electron microscopy. The general distribution of blood vessels seen in adults has already been established in the fetus, with three major vascular plexuses located in the serosa, submucosa and mucosa. The serosal plexus, supplied and drained by large extramural vessels, contained anastomosing, arcade-like arrays of arteries and veins with their branches piercing the muscularis and communicating with the compact submucosal plexus. Vertical arterioles and capillaries were sent by submucosal arteries to supply a very dense capillary plexus which surrounded the gastric pits and consisted of wide, sinusoidal vessels showing morphological manifestations of angiogenesis by intussusceptive growth. The plexus was drained by vertical venules emptying into submucosal veins. In contrast to the richly vascularized upper half of the mucosa, the lower half showed a relative paucity of blood vessels, probably due to the thinness of the fetal mucosa allowing an effective diffusion of oxygen and nutrients from the upper half. Neither arteriovenous anastomoses, nor end-arteries were found in the fetal stomach. Results of this study support one of the two existing models of mucosal vascularization in the human stomach: i.e. the model postulating the presence of short and long arterioles and two distinct, albeit interconnected capillary networks in the upper and lower zones of the mucosa respectively. In human fetuses, the latter network is absent; it probably develops by remodelling of the preexisting vertical capillaries in the last phase of pregnancy, prior to the onset of gastric gland function.

Microcirculation of human fetal tooth buds: a SEM study of corrosion casts.

The microcirculation of tooth buds at the bell stage obtained from 5-month-old human fetuses was studied using corrosion casting and scanning electron microscopy. Each tooth bud has two independent vascular networks: one of the enamel organ and one of the dental papilla. Both systems are supplied by vertical branches of the inferior alveolar artery. The vascular bed of the enamel organ consists of capillaries relatively uniform in shape, forming a moderately dense network with irregular meshes. In contrast, the vasculature of dental papilla is extremely dense and its vessels show a sinusoidal character and signs of a vivid angiogenesis. The cast surfaces of capillaries in both vascular systems show the presence of tiny blebs probably representing extravasations of the casting medium through endothelial fenestrations.

Morphological and clinical characteristics of antrochoanal polyps: comparison with chronic inflammation-associated polyps of the maxillary sinus.

OBJECTIVES: to compare morphological and clinical features of antrochoanal polyps and chronic inflammation-associated polyps of the maxillary sinus. STUDY DESIGN: histological and scanning electron microscopic examination of ten antrochoanal polyps and ten chronic inflammation-associated polyps of the maxillary sinus; comparison of clinical data in both groups of patients. METHODS: following surgical removal, the polyps were halved, the halves being processed for routine light microscopy (formalin fixation, paraffin embedding, HE staining) and scanning electron microscopy (formaldehyde/glutaraldehyde fixation, critical point drying, gold coating), respectively. Clinical data were retrospectively reviewed, tabulated and compared. RESULTS: the antrochoanal polyps differed from chronic inflammation-associated polyps of the maxillary sinus only in a few minor features; slightly longer duration of the process, lower incidence of maxillary ostial obstruction, higher incidence of frequent headaches, persistent nasal obstruction, presence of cysts in the polyp stroma, thickened basement membrane, lower incidence of squamous cell metaplasia, and higher proportion of migratory cells in nasal smears. In two cases, allergy was diagnosed but it seemed not to influence the polyps, which did not show morphological features typical of allergy-associated (eosinophilic) polyps. CONCLUSIONS: In spite of minor differences, antrochoanal polyps can be regarded as chronic inflammation-associated polyps with cystic origin and peculiar localization.

Maxillary sinus polyps secondary to dental extraction.

Polyps of the maxillary sinus were obtained from six patients who had reported upper tooth extraction with oroantral perforation prior to the development of symptoms, from 11 patients with chronic sinusitis, and from 12 patients with allergy. Histopathological features, scanning electron microscopy of the polyp epithelium and clinical data were compared in those groups of patients. The post-traumatic polyps differed from those of other aetiologies by showing the presence of granulomas, less numerous inflammatory cells with very few eosinophils, nearly normal surface epithelium (smaller surface area occupied by nonciliated epithelium, absence of epithelial squamous cells, normal frequence of goblet cells), rapid appearance of symptoms, and shorter duration of the disease. It seems that the specific characteristics of the injury-induced polyps results from a different mechanism of their formation, involving primarily abnormal mucosal repair and to a lesser extent an inflammatory process.

Surface structures of aural polyps: a scanning electron microscopic study.

Surfaces of aural polyps collected from 30 patients were examined by scanning electron microscopy. In the polyps not associated with cholesteatoma, the epithelial lining showed individually variable metaplasia towards cuboidal 'cobblestone'-type and squamous epithelium covered with microvilli of various shapes and sizes. Squamous epithelium was present on the surface of all polyps with underlying cholesteatoma, with superficial cells possessing elongated microvilli, microplicae of different sizes, grooves and pits. Such surface structures reflect different stages of the keratinization process that seems to be characteristic for the epithelial lining of polyps with underlying cholesteatoma. Incomplete epithelium accompanied by granulation tissue was found in several polyps; in two cholesteatoma-associated polyps plate-like cholesterol crystals were observed.

Ossification of human thyroid cartilage. Scanning electron microscopic study.

The architecture of the cartilage already developed within ossified areas have shown apparent differences not only depending on their location within cartilage territory but also due to their chemical composition. The cartilage areas exhibiting a markedly advanced ossification process have shown rather high concentration level of Ca, P and Si.

Angiomorphology of the retrobulbar part of the optic nerve. A scanning electron microscopy of vascular casts.

The presented study was carried out on the fetal specimens of the eye-ball, together with the retrobulbar part of the optic nerve which were obtained from 15 human fetuses aged 16-20 weeks of the intrauterine life. The vascular casts were prepared by injection of low-viscosity resin Mercox which afterwards were analyzed in a scanning electron microscope (SEM). The technique employed allowed the authors to describe both the vascular pattern of the optic nerve as well as the network of arterial vessels which formed the Zinn and Haller's circle. The own original findings are compared with results obtained by other authors on the vasculature of the optic nerve in mammals and humans in different periods of the life.

Microvasculature of the human fetal laryngeal anterior commissure.

The vascular pattern of the injected with Mercox human fetal larynges, especially of the anterior commissure and surrounding it area, was analysed within the horizontal and frontal sections under a light microscope. The main result of our study was confirmation of existence of the avascular "plane zero" situated above the anterior commissure, which separates that structure from the supraglottic tier. That finding i.e. avascular separation between teh middle and upper laryngeal compartments, already present in the fetal period, has clinical implications as far as the spread of neoplastic process within the larynx is cancerued.

Microvasculature of the human fetal extra-ocular muscles. A SEM corrosion casts.

In the light of already known differences on the vascular patterns between slow and fast contracing skeletal and extra-ocular muscles (EOM) which has been described in both mammals and man we were interested to see if same of these features are presented in the human EOM during the second half of the gestation. Therefore the microvasculature bed of EOM was studied by SEM of vascular corrosion casting technique. 15 human embryos at 16-20 week of gestation, after spontaneous abortion, were used for this study. The vasculature bed of the all EOM studied is composed of two layers i.e. the orbital and the global. The orbital layer, in all specimens examined, has shown a relatively higher number of transverse anastomoses than the global one, although the capillary vessels were arranged similarly on the both sides.

The investigations of mechanical properties of ossificating thyroid cartilages of the human larynx.

40 thyroid cartilages were used to investigations, they were taken from bodies of people, died between the ages of 19-99, by the use of the endurance machine with controlled speed of the increase of deformation. It was observed that the durability for flexion and the inflexibility of the investigated cartilages depends on the level of the process of their ossification, that is estimated by the help of the radiological index of the ossification (RIO). On the other hand, the searches of durability forcing of the regions of cartilages that presented different levels of the ossification process, proved the heterogenicity of the structure of the cartilage, in which ossified parts are separated by zones, that did not submit to this process.

[Drug allergy among patients suffering from nasal polyps]. / Alergia na leki wsród chorych z polipami nosowymi.

The study was performed in order to evaluate quantity and morphology of nasal polyps in patients with diagnosed drug allergy to aspirin, antibiotics, polocain, procain and other drugs. The study included 60 patients (27 females, 33 males aged between 18-69 years). Nasal polyp morphology was examined under electron microscope and light microscope. Morphological evaluation of epithelial and subepithelial structures was done under light microscope, taking not of inflammatory infiltration type, basal membrane, as well as degree of intestinal edema. Evaluation of epithelial cell type, their relative proportion, as well as area percentage covered by cilium, microvilli and squamous epithelium was done under electron microscope. Polyps in patients with idiosyncrasy to polish aspirin and sodium metamizole (12 patients) featured increased eosinophilic infiltration, thickened basal membrane, with elevated eosinophil percentage differential count. The epithelial percentage area was covered by squamous cells without villi. Polyps associated with idiosyncrasy to polish aspirin differed morphology compared to polyps originality from patients allergic to other medications. On the other hand polyps from patients allergic to other drugs, such as: penicillin, procainamide were morphologically (electron light microscope, light microscope) similar to those polyps caused by inflammatory factors.

[Evaluation of elemental and mineral composition of larynx thyroid cartilage in the period of its involutional mineralization]. / Ocena skladu pierwiastkowego i mineralnego chrzastki tarczowatej krtani w okresie jej mineralizacji inwolucyjnej.

The research has been conducted on the material of 170 larynx thyroid cartilages of persons in the age range from 19 to 99 years, applying the radiological method, spectroscopy, electyronic scanning microskopy and rentgenological diffractometry. The distribution of certain elements has been determined in fragments of thyroid cartilage with different progression of mineralization. It has been proved that the elemental composition of the examined thyroid cartilages depends on the individual age and the progression of mineralization, resulting from the age.

[Use of modern microscopic techniques for examining dialysis membrane properties]. / Zastosowanie nowoczesnych technik mikroskopowych w badaniach wlasnosci kapilar dializatorów.

The aim of the study was the microscopic evaluation of internal structure of cuprophane and polysulfone membrane and their surface analysis before and after reprocessing. The investigations were performed using an optical measurement system (Digital Instruments), a scanning electron microscope (SEM) and an atomic force microscope (AFM). We confirmed by SEM that reprocessing completely removed biofilm from both membranes surface. The analysis based on AFM visualized channels in the examined membrane. The diameter of the channels varied from 150 nm for cuprophane to 380 nm for polysulfone. The roughness expressed as root mean square (RMS) was higher for cuprophane than for polysulfone membrane. The physical differences between nanostrucure of the examined membranes might be responsible for lower biocompatibility of cuprophane.

[Melanoma of the palatal tonsil. SEM examination]. / Melanoma na migdalku podniebiennym. Badania w sem.

In scanning microscopy the right tonsil melanoma was examined. The authors stressed the usefulness of this examinations in precise diagnose of above mentioned tumor along with the routine histopathologic examination.

[Tracheal mucous membrane in patients with laryngeal cancer. Examinations using scanning electron microscopy]. / Blona sluzowa tchawicy u chorych na raka krtani. Badania w skaningowym mikroskopie elektronowym.

We examined by use of scanning microscopy the healthy looking tracheal mucous membrane 25 mm from the cancer lesions. The small pieces were taken during the initial routine tracheostomy before the laryngectomy. In 21 examined patients there was one woman. One patient did not smoke tobacco and did not drink alcohol. 19 were farmers and workers. Two had other professions. The normal tracheal mucous membranes were found in 6 patients, 2 of them were farm workers. In the remaining group there were abnormal appearance of cilia or complete lack of them, being replaced by the plain epithelium layer. In one case after cobalt therapy the mucous membrane was completely destroyed.