Feulgen hydrolysis of normal cells and mouse ascites tumor cells.

The effect of HCl hydrolysis on the dye content (Feulgen reaction) of normal cells and mouse ascites tumor cells was examined by means of cytophotometric measurements. After 11 min of hydrolysis, 16-day-old tumor cells showed a hypotetraploid DNA line with doubling peaks. The DNA values were in the ratios of 1:2:4:8 during all the tested hydrolysis times (3 to 21 min). The size of the nucleus and the DNA concentration did not influence the hydrolysis and the dye content. However, the time of the hydrolysis considerably influenced the dye content of normal and tumor cells. The course of the curves obtained by plotting dye absorption against hydrolysis time showed an inflection of the curve at 9 min' hydrolysis time in tumor cells, whereas the inflection occurred at 8 min in mitotic cells. These inflections were statistically significant. The DNA stem-line(1) for tumor cells shifted during different hydrolysis times when compared to normal cells. The possibility is discussed of two types of DNA which differed in their acid sensitivity and which yielded atypical hydrolysis curves.

Effects of D-penicillamine administration to rats, induction of renal changes: preliminary communication.

Oral administration of synthetic D-penicillamine to rats induces alterations of the renal mesangium, apparently without involvement of immune mechanisms. Alterations of mitochondria, especially enlargement, were seen in the proximal tubular epithelium. These results are discussed in the light of recent findings in "penicillamine" nephritis and diseased human kidneys in general.

Learning habits of medical students--a review on the book "Way of learning in medicine".

The essential findings obtained by our investigations may be summarized as follows: 1. Taking into account that factual information must be transmitted when teaching and learning pathology, no method can be considered as being clearly superior to any other. 2. Steady open-mindedness and regularly reorganized teaching programs provide the necessary conditions for giving an impression to the students that their feelings are being respected. Even though this will not result in an increased objective efficiency based on standardized facts, their learning attitude will improve significantly due to a subjective feeling of satisfaction. Thus, if pathologists wish to convince more students that their field of interest is an attractive specialty by giving challenging examples of their work, they will have to offer a wide-ranging training program to the students that is updated regularly. 3. The factual knowledge in pathology can only be brought up to a higher standard by introducing additional intermediate examinations, since more demands made on the time devoted to pathology cannot be justified in many cases because as a consequence other disciplinary sciences would have to be neglected. 4. Varied teaching programs should be available in order to allow the individual student to choose an adequate method depending on his predilections. 5. The teachers should likewise be prepared to comply with a fluctuating teaching program, since this will provoke greater self-commitment. The chance that undergraduates and postgraduates may show more enthusiasm for the specialty of pathology will increase if the teachers themselves enjoy teaching their specialty.

Autopsy and clinical diagnosis.

In 1096 cases of death (autopsy rate 63.8%) the accuracy of clinical diagnoses was investigated by comparing clinical diagnoses with recorded autopsy findings. -- In 81.3% of the cases the primary disease had been determined correctly. In more than half of these cases the immediate cause of death or an additional disease contributing to death had not been correctly identified. In 16% of the cases the diagnosis proved to be inadequate. -- In 2.6% of all cases the primary disease, cause of death and accompanying illnesses were misdiagnosed. Most of these patients had stayed in the hospital for a much shorter time than the rest of the patients. -- Among conditions clinically diagnosed as cirrhosis of the liver, pulmonary embolism, myocardial infarction, cerebral hemorrhage, and malignant tumors -- pulmonary embolism was by far the most frequent condition to go unrecognized, i.e. in 50% of th cases in which it was present. Primary liver cell carcinoma proved to be the malignant tumor most frequently not identified by clinical studies. -- Four clinical diagnoses (shock, septicemia, diabetes mellitus and uremia) were often unsupported by morphological findings. Yet there were 13 clinically undiagnosed cases of septicemia in which findings at post mortem examination revealed this condition. These cases also underline the importance of autopsies.

DNA in Lennert's lymphoma. Report of a case with cytophotometric studies.

We present the first case of Lennert's Lymphoma in which cytophotometric determinations for DNA contents are undertaken. DNA Histograms of lymphoid cells, Immunoblasts, and epitheloid cells are evaluated for their euploid or aneuploid DNA contents. The aneuploid DNA stem line pattern found in the case under discussion testifies to the malignant nature of Lennert's Lyphoma.

Reaction patterns of cell organelles in vitamin B6 deficiency. Ultrastructural-morphometric analysis of the liver parenchymal cell.

Under the influence of seven weeks of vitamin B6-free nutrition, the hepatocyte single volume is diminished in the face of an unchanged nuclear single volume, posing the question of whether there is proportional atrophy of all cell organelles or single organelle atrophy with counter-regulatory hyperplasia in other cellular compartments. The nucleoli hypertrophy, as the result of segregation and protein synthesis inhibition. The rough endoplasmic reticulum experiences hypoplasia, but the ultrastructural-morphometric analysis does not determine which metabolic steps are attacked. By contrast one observes hyperplasia in the smooth endoplasmic reticulum, which may be regarded as a counter-regulatory mechanism to the choking of protein synthesis. As with the rough endoplasmic reticulum, the mitochondria also show hypoplasia. This is due to the dependency of the mitochondria upon the endoplasmic protein synthesis. The disturbed functional output of the endoplasmic reticulum is seen in the reduced number of orthoperoxisomes as well. The Golgi apparatus experiences hypoplasia as a result of B6 hypovitaminosis, and this must be considered in the context of fatty change in the liver.

Morphologic development of human shock lung.

In the initial phase of shock, edema spreads throughout the alveolar interstitium even before injury occurs in the alveolar epithelium and endothelium. The endothelium and the epithelium are damaged only subsequently, causing reduction in the average barrier thickness of the epithelium and the endothelium. A point of irreversibility is reached by the end of the first week. While early cell regeneration may be observed within the alveolar endothelium and epithelium, proliferation of fibroblasts and fibrosis of the alveolar wall occur in addition to edema which spreads within the interstitium. This widening of the gas exchange barrier may be considered as the anatomic substrate of respiratory insufficiency induced by shock. This enlargement continues up to the moment when thickening of the alveoli impedes satisfactory functioning of the lung, and, as consequence, threatens the life of the patient.

CEA positivity in sera and breast tumor tissues obtained from the same patients.

It is well known that the concentration of serum CEA correlates best with colorectal carcinomas but less well with other solid tumors. The aim of the present study was to elucidate further the poor relationship between confirmed primary mammary carcinomas and CEA serum levels, 108 of these tumors have hence been studied for their tissular CEA positivity and the results obtained were compared with the CEA serum values found preoperatively in the same patients. Techniques employed were the indirect immunoperoxydase method for the histologic studies and the enzymoimmuno-assay for the serum measurements. The discordance and concordance of the CEA results obtained with the two techniques were analyzed in respect to the histologic types of tumors classified following the ICD-O nomenclature. Our results seem to prove that: 1) although most tumors produce the antigen only a fraction of them releases it, and 2) the most common histologic type of tumor is the one secreting the antigen the less frequently. These observations are apparently independant of the tumor stages T1-T4, N- or N+, M-.

The pulmonary air-blood barrier of human shock lungs (a clinical, ultrastructural and morphometric study).

Interstitial edema in the alveolar septa is the first morphologically recognisable change to be observed in cases of shock. It is brought about by the altered function of the membranes of the damaged epithelium and endothelium in the alveolar wall. At the same time there is an impairment of gaseous exchange, which is rendered more difficult by the exudative process in the interstitium. Pari passu with these events there is injury to the cells of both the alveolar epithelium and the alveolar capillary endothelium. Both these processes are still reversible. The point of irreversibility appears to be reached--so far as time is concerned--at the end of the first week, after which the injurious effects on the cell are established, since the thin alveolar wall necessary for the exchange of gases becomes overgrown with bulky alveocytes (Tpye II), and the fibroblasts in thealveolar interstitium push the capillaries away from the surface of the alveolus. In most of the advanced cases of shock this process of thickening of the alveolar wall exceeds the critical value, and respiratory exchange is so impaired that satisfactory functioning of the lungs is no longer possible.

DNA measurements on cell nuclei of normal, proliferating and neoplastic thyroid tissues in rats.

Nuclear DNA content was measured in 3 normal, 9 hyperplastic and 16 neoplastic rat thyroid glands. Thyroid hyperplasia and tumor growth were induced after treatment of the animals with X-rays and methylthiouracil. In the control animals only diploid thyroid epithelial cells were observed. At the stages of diffuse and nodular thyroid hyperplasia, the total DNA content per nucleus indicated for a diploid chromosome number and only a few cells were hyperdiploid. In the thyroid adenomas and carcinomas a scattering of the diploid region and an increase in the number of hyperdiploid cells was found. Among the various types of thyroid tumors neither difference in the number of hyperdiploid cells, nor typical pattern of distribution of these cells in the histogram was found. The increased number of hyperdiploid cells in the hyperplastic and neoplastic thyroids suggest an increase in the proportion of the cells entering the cell cycle and does not indicate for appearance of a neoplastic stemline.

[Use of alloplastic material on the extrahepatic bile ducts]. / Verwendung von alloplastischem Material an den extrahepatischen Gallenwegen

Dogs (20 kg body weight) were laparotomized and the choledochous duct was ligated. Pre- and postoperative laboratory-parameters such as bilirubin, GOT, GPT, and alcaline phosphatase were controlled. Then, 8 days later, a patch-widening-plasty was performed after incision of the stenosis in 10 dogs. In the 10 other dogs the stenosis was resected and the defect was bridged over with a Teflon prosthesis. A few days later laboratory parameters became normal. Histologic investigation showed that after 4 weeks the Teflon prosthesis was covered with a bile duct-epithelial layer. In one of 3 patients with normal laboratory findings who have a Teflon patch, the operation took place 2 years ago.