Side to side coaptation--new technic in peripherial nerve surgery--preliminary report.

This study presents and evaluates side-to-side nerve repair techniques for their ability to induce collateral nerve sprouting. The coaptation of the ventral branches of spinal nerves C5 and C6 to C7 through an incision epineurium was used to repair the nerve. The number of myelinated fiber axons and G-ratio was evaluated. Preliminary results indicate the possibility of using side to side coaptation in brachial plexus nerve surgery.

The rabbit brachial plexus as an experimental model--anatomy and surgical approach.

The aim of our study was to analyze the anatomy and surgical approach of the rabbit brachial plexus. The research included 18 rabbits. The rabbit seems to be a good experimental model for spinal nerves injury, especially for the C5 and C6 segments. The anatomical structure of the rabbit's brachial plexus is similar to the human brachial plexus. The structure of the rabbit C5 and C6 segments is analogous to the human structure. The spinal nerves of the C5 and C6 segments in the rabbit are wide and long enough for microsurgical procedures.

General intravenous anesthesia for brachial plexus surgery in the rabbit.

The rabbit is a good experimental model for brachial plexus surgery. The risks of death during anesthesia were significantly greater in rabbits than cats or dogs. This article presents the protocol of injectable anesthesia for a short surgical procedure, safe for the rabbit patient and convenient for the surgeon.

The median nerve in the carpal tunnel.

A study of the variations of the course and branching pattern of the median nerve within the carpal tunnel were carried out on 60 wrists from 30 fresh cadavers autopsied in the Department of Forensic Medicine of Jagiellonian University Medical College. The results were compared with the literature. The study confirmed that the extraligamentous type of motor branch variation is most common. The transligamentous course of the nerve is of special importance: it is usually accompanied by hypertrophic muscle, and the nerve hidden within this muscle can easily be cut during transection of the retinaculum. The results proved the necessity of approaching the median nerve from the ulnar side when opening the carpal tunnel.

Assessment of the prognostic value of horner syndrome in perinatal brachial plexus palsy.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the prognostic value of Horner syndrome as an indicator of preganglionic injuries of the lower part of the brachial plexus. The study investigated 18 cases of children with perinatal brachial plexus injury and coexistent Horner syndrome. The following data sets were analyzed: the degree of severity of the brachial plexus injury, the results of imaging examinations, the intraoperative view, the kind of operative treatment and the resultant hand function. On the basis of a clinical material analysis, it was established that Horner syndrome accompanying upper and upper-middle brachial plexus injuries has no prognostic importance. In total injuries the presence of this syndrome is not a definite proof of preganglionic injury to the C8-Th1 roots of the spinal nerves.

Visual acuity and sensitivity increase allometrically with body size in butterflies.

In insects, the surface area of the compound eye increases with body size both within and between species with only a slight negative allometry. This increase in surface area permits changes in eye structure that affect the eye's acuity and sensitivity, two features of eye performance that cannot be simultaneously maximized. Hence, as eye size varies within a lineage, so will the compromises between features that maximize acuity and those that maximize sensitivity. We examined these compromises in four species of nymphalid butterflies that varied in body mass over almost two orders of magnitude. The largest of these species was crepuscular and so additionally may indicate the potential effect of life style on eye structure. Across these species, as body size increased, facet diameters increased while interommatidial angles decreased. Finally, the eye parameter was fairly constant across species except in the crepuscular species in which some notably large values were observed in the frontal visual field. Based on our measurements, large butterflies have more acute and more sensitive vision than smaller butterflies. However, full understanding of the behavioral implications of this relationship awaits information on the temporal resolution of their eyes because typical flight velocities also increase with body size.

Pterin pigments amplify iridescent ultraviolet signal in males of the orange sulphur butterfly, Colias eurytheme.

Animal colouration is typically the product of nanostructures that reflect or scatter light and pigments that absorb it. The interplay between these colour-producing mechanisms may influence the efficacy and potential information content of colour signals, but this notion has received little empirical attention. Wing scales in the male orange sulphur butterfly (Colias eurytheme) possess ridges with lamellae that produce a brilliant iridescent ultraviolet (UV) reflectance via thin-film interference. Curiously, these same scales contain pterin pigments that strongly absorb wavelengths below 550 nm. Given that male UV reflectance functions as a sexual signal in C. eurytheme, it is paradoxical that pigments in the wing scales are highly UV absorbing. We present spectrophotometric analyses of the wings before and after pterin removal that show that pterins both depress the amplitude of UV iridescence and suppress a diffuse UV reflectance that emanates from the scales. This latter effect enhances the directionality and spectral purity of the iridescence, and increases the signal's chromaticity and potential signal content. Our findings also suggest that pterins amplify the contrast between iridescent UV reflectance and scale background colour as a male's wings move during flight.

Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGF-R) in Dupuytren's disease.

The aim of this paper was to examine participation of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGF-R) signal pathway in the pathogenesis of Dupuytren's disease. The study showed changes in the ratio of membrane EGF-R to its intracellular level during the different clinical stages of Dupuytren's contracture progression. Our observations of a high ratio of surface to intracellular EGF-R in the palmar aponeurosis of patients with second degree of Dupuytren's disease (Iselin's classification), which was significantly higher than this ratio in control palmar fascia (P=0.022), would suggest that EGF-R has a role in the involutional phase of the disease.

Variation in the number of sperm transferred during mating among males of the Colorado potato beetle (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae).

We suggest an explanation for the bimodal distribution in the number of sperm transferred into the female during mating by males of the Colorado potato beetle (Leptinotarsa decemlineata). While in most matings females receive 20,000 sperm, in others they receive less than 1000. A variety of potential proximate causes for this bimodal distribution including experimental procedures and several physiological and behavioral causes were examined: male body size, female body size, male mating history, socio-sexual environments, duration and number of mounts, and duration and number of copulations. Surprisingly, none of these explained the observed distribution. However, we did find that the total time spent in copulation was significantly less variable among males that transferred more than 20,000 sperm than among males that passed less than 1000 sperm. In addition, males transferring large amounts of sperm resulted in proportionally more sperm inside the female's spermatheca within a short period of time than males passing less than 1000 sperm. The lack of pattern in male sperm ejaculate suggests definite differences in sperm delivery tactics and may be related to the female condition rather than the male.

[Experimental research on the usefulness of the Dallos polyester prostheses in reconstructive operations of knee joint ligaments]. / Badania doswiadczalne nad przydatnoscia protez poliestrowych Dallos w operacjach rekonstrukcyjnych wiezadel stawu kolanowego.

Usage of allogenic grafts in surgery of severe injuries of knee joint may be necessary in spite of their disadvantages. Prosthesis Dallos made by Tricomed in Lódz has been tested taking into account its usage in reconstruction of knee sacral ligaments. Prosthesis was implanted into 7 piglets in place of the removed front sacral ligament. In the tests the mechanical requirements made for this kind of grafts were confirmed. However, an unfavourable influence of this prosthesis on the synovial membrane of a joint and weak overgrowth of the graft with connective tissue, which can be eliminated by usage of looser knitting, were noticed.

[Testing the usefulness of a provisional polyester prosthesis for augmentation in reconstructive operations of knee joint ligaments]. / Badania przydatnosci czasowej protezy poliestrowej do augmentacji w operacjach rekonstrukcyjnych wiezadel stawu kolanowego.

Prosthesis from polyester fibres 5 mm wide with loose knitting finished on both ends with teflon handles for fixing bones with a wholly aphid screw made by Tricomed company in Lódz according to its own idea was the subject of the test. The tests were made on 7 piglets. The prosthesis together with an autogenic graft taken from the middle third of a patella ligaments was implanted into the place of the excised front sacral ligament. The implanted prosthesis was characterised with a high biocompatibility, satisfying mechanical resistance and easiness of fixing of the tested graft. We noticed clinically and pertaining to autopsy the possibility of removing the allogenic graft after achieving the full healing of the autogenic graft without the possibility of hurting that last one.

[Allergy to nickel, chromium and cobalt after osteosynthesis]. / Alergia na nikiel, chrom i kobalt po zespoleniu kosci za pomoca laczników metalowych.

Metals are known as a common cause of contact allergies. The prevalence of sensitisation to the composite metals makes for a potential risk of osteosynthesis complications in patients suffering from long bones fractures. In the study the prevalence of delayed allergy to nickel sulphate, potassium dichromate and cobalt was estimated as well as the relation to the osteosynthesis complications. The atopy prevalence was estimated too. Persons under examination were divided into 3 groups. I--treated with osteosynthesis without complications (n = 20), II--treated with osteosynthesis with synostosis complications (n = 16) and III--negative controls (n = 34). We estimated 5% prevalence of delayed allergy to nickel in group I, 6.25% in group II and 5.8% in group III. In patients exposed to chromium we observed delayed allergy prevalence of 5.8% in group I and 3% in group III. No allergy to chromium in group II was revealed. No allergy to cobalt in all groups was revealed. The prevalence of atopy in group II was rare (6.35%) when in group I it was 45% and in controls 32%. The more frequent occurrence of type IV allergy to metals in atopic patients was not confirmed. There was no difference between the prevalence of delayed allergy to metals in groups I and II. Only one case of secondary allergy to chromium was observed.

[Testing tissue reactivity to surgical sutures using a personal point method]. / Badanie odczynu tkanek na nici chirurgiczne z zastosowaniem wlasnej metody punktowej.

In the Institution of Experimental and Biomaterial Research Surgery of Medical Academy in Wroclaw works on biological methods of estimation of different biomaterials including, first of all, surgical threads have been carried out for 30 years. The purpose of this work is to define the local biological reaction on the implanted absorptive and non-absorptive surgical threads. The present estimation of reactivity of surgical threads depended on a description of a great number of histological samples and on observation of numerous microscopic fields for each tested thread. It required long and tiring descriptions the analysis of which was made difficult and often led to non-objective conclusions. The presented punctual system depends on observation of the field of vision in a biological microscope which includes transverse cross-section of the implanted thread together with the surrounding tissues. The estimation of the histological samples in magnification of 45 times allows to define the range of infiltration of tissues with inflammatory cells in comparison with the diameter of the implanted thread. Observations in magnification 120 times allow to differentiate cells included in non-specific inflammatory process. The worked put punctual system enables to define the level of tissue reaction on the basis of uniform criteria.

Neurotizations by means of the cervical plexus in over 100 patients with from one to five root avulsions of the brachial plexus.

In the years 1982-1991, we treated over 100 patients with avulsion of from one to five roots in perinatal (n = 21) and traumatic (n = 81) lesions of the brachial plexus. Based on the clinical diagnosis and the surgical findings, we divided all operated patients into four groups: 1) avulsion of all roots or avulsions and disruption of the rest of the brachial plexus; 2) avulsion and disruption of one to four roots and preservation of some elements of the brachial plexus with fibrotic changes; 3) avulsion and disruption of one to three roots, with some elements showing no macroscopic changes; and 4) children with perinatal brachial plexus palsy. In cases of root avulsion, we performed neurotization from the cervical plexus, the accessory and intercostal nerves. In patients with one to three root avulsions, we have performed selective neurotization for 3 years. The best results were obtained in groups 3 and 4, but some improvement was also noted in the other groups.

[Attempts at modification of the polyester vascular prosthesis]. / Próby modyfikacji poliestrowych protez naczyniowych.

Polyester vascular bilaterally velour prostheses produced by the Enterprise of Medical Products TRICOMED in Lodz were modified through: putting negative electric charge on the internal surfaces of prostheses; additional cleaning with ethanol; covering of the surfaces of prostheses with silicone preparation; two-sided covering of the surfaces of prostheses with collagen by the radiative method; covering of the surfaces of prostheses with chitosane. Laboratory investigations, investigations of hemolytic and toxic effects of aqueous as well as experimental investigations has been carried on piglets. During these investigations it was observed that the carried preparations caused multiple increase of electrical conductivity of proper and dry remnant after evaporation of the aqueous extracts. Hemolytic and toxic effects were not observed. In radiological and pathomorphological investigations it was observed that none of the preparations used for modification of vascular prostheses influenced improvement of their biological properties. In comparison with the initial prostheses DALLONR these prostheses evoked a greater reaction of tissues which was manifested with a thick internal layer causing narrowing of the lumen of the section with prosthesis or closing it. A small improvement of the biological properties of the prostheses were achieved after cleaning them with methanol. However, this improvement is so small that it does not justify changes in the existing technology.

[Absorption of chitosan applied to polyester discs in rats after implantation]. / Wchlanianie chitozanu naniesionego na krazki poliestrowe po implantacji u szczurów.

Experiments have been made on white rats implanting polyester blocks covered with chitosan into the peritoneal cavity and to the abdominal wall skin. Before implantation the material was sterilized with ethylene oxide or radiation. The animals were subjected to autopsy 3, 7, 14, 21, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50, 55 and 60 days after implantation with macroscopic and microscopic evaluation. On the basis of the carried out experiments it was stated that the disintegration of chitosan proceeded not uniformly. The resorption time of chitosan oscillated in the range of 45-60 days and it was accompanied by rather strong specific inflammation process. It was characterized with fibrin effusion and with appearance of multi-flapped neutrocytes. Essential distinctions in the resorption process of depending on the sterilization mean of the blocks as well as on the place of implantation were not stated.