Bulletin de l'Association des anatomistes最新文献

Intervertebral disk composite model is unsatisfactory definite in biomechanical behaviour despite multiples technics used. Using histologic and histoenzymology it's possible to determinate proportions of collagen fibers in the different parts of the disk. A trustworthy finite element 3D model is proposed and tried by real experiments.

The purpose of this paper is to review the main data on the structure of the intervertebral disc, which are illustrated by personal documents. Applications in understanding the degenerative pathology are highlighted. The nucleus pulposus is the "central" component of the disc, highly hydrophilic, deformable but remaining of constant volume. It can be compared to a hydraulic chamber within the disc, sealed by the annulus fibrosus, which is a dense peripheric ring of concentric fibrous lamellae. The cartilaginous end plates (cranial and caudal) separate the disc from the adjacent subchondral vertebral bone. (Their involvement in the discal metabolism as well as the blood supply of the disc are developed elsewhere (see our companion article)).

The portion of the internal carotid artery (ICA) located above the line joining the tip of the mastoid and the angle of the mandible is in close relation with cranial nerves VII, IX, X, XI and XII as well as the middle ear at the beginning of its intrapetrous course. Several procedures have been described for exposure of the ICA at the base of the skull. Extension of the conventional sternocleidomastoid approach by mandibular subluxation associated with division of the posterior belly of the digastric muscle and the styloid apophysis or its attached muscles allows exposure of most of the ICA. To access the last centimeter of the ICA it is necessary ot drill through the mastoid apophysis and the vaginal apophysis of the tympanic bone. This approach preserves the middle ear and the facial nerve.

We studied the disco-vertebral interface and the blood supply of the intervertebral disks L3-L4, L4-L5, and L5-S1 of 5 human adult columns. Moreover, in order to investigate the discal vasculature, infusion of Japanese ink was used in 2 other adult columns, as well as immuno-histological methods in the L5-S1 disk of 4 adults and 2 infants. Our study confirms the paucity of discal vasculature in adults, by contrast with that of infants, but shows numerous defects in the subchondral vertebral plate, which are filled by vascularised medullary soft tissue and are in contact with the cartilaginous discal end plate. By these contacts, nutrients could reach the intervertebral disk, as suggested by other works, and as is the case in other cartilaginous structures of the body.

During spermiogenesis, young spermatids undergo complex morphological, biochemical and physiological changes that result in the formation of highly polarized flagellated spermatozoa. Many of the changes that occur during this time are essential for the production of fertile sperm. Spermiogenesis includes modifications of the nucleus and perinuclear organelles (perinuclear theca, manchette), formation of the acrosomic system originating from the Golgi apparatus, assembly of the tail structures, topographical arrangement of the cell surface and cytoplasmic reorganization the final phase of which results in release of spermatozoa into the lumen of seminiferous tubules. A number of genes, including the protamine genes, are transcribed in haploid round spermatids. Furthermore, sequential expression of a few protooncogenes takes place during spermiogenesis. Both nuclear and cytoplasmic proteins are synthesized by spermatids. Numerous findings show clear functional relationships between late spermatids and Sertoli cells. Sertoli cell products may directly affect late spermatid development and metabolism. In turn, late spermatids may regulate Sertoli cell function, presumably via residual bodies. The ability for spermatids to modulate the functional activity of Sertoli cells is demonstrated by recent data on cyclin-protein-2, beta nerve growth factor and cytokines that are involved in gonadal cell-cell interaction.

The authors are reporting an exceptional case of unexpected venous anastomosis between a right inferior diaphragmatic venous and a right hepatic venous discovered during a total hepatectomy before an orthotopic transplantation. Never described in the literature, this abnormality may be explained by the embryology of the transversum septum, junction of the hepatic draft and the draining tracts of the future diaphragm.

In all countries of the world the amount of time allotted to teaching anatomy has been drastically reduced during the 'sixties. This restriction has intensified the discussion about the contents to be taught. Between the contradictory opinions concerning the problem, this study is intended to indicate a middle way, insofar as it advocates a basic anatomical knowledge orientated towards general medical practice. More detailed anatomy would then be studied during the postgraduate curriculum, according to the specific needs of the clinical specialty chosen. This paper presents the results concerning the respiratory system.

The areas of prevailingly solid (SHC) and prevailingly cystic (CHC) Hassall's corpuscles in the thymuses of both male and female fetuses 16-39 weeks old were established. The results show that the mean areas of the Hassall's corpuscles increase with fetal age, with the greatest difference between the 16-19 week and 20-23 week age groups. The data indicate that the thymus represent an organ showing a developmental pattern similar to other organs like the spleen's relative growth in human fetus, whose functions are different during the fetal period, being necessary to study its growth in distinct short periods to determinate differentials growth coefficients.

Immunohistochemical, morphometric and statistical methods were used to study oxytocin immunoreactive elements in the supraoptic nucleus (SON) of the hypothalamus of 180 male rats. Untreated rats, rats that were given either an intraperitoneal (ip) or intracerebroventricular (icv) injection of histamine (HA) (n = 40 each group) and control animals that received ip or icv injections of saline were included in our study. Oxytocin immunoreactive neurons and oxytocin-labelled nerve tracts were found in the SON of untreated animals. Treatment with saline either intracerebroventricular or intraperitoneally did not modify the oxytocin immunoreaction described for untreated animals. I.c.v. treatment with HA increased the numbers of oxytocin labelled elements. On the contrary, oxytocin immunoreaction after intraperitoneal treatment with HA was similar to that described for control and untreated animals. The morphometric and statistical studies confirmed these findings. The importance and signification of these results are discussed in this paper.

Primary neuronal cultures from mammalian fetal brains are widely used for morphological, biochemical and pharmacotoxicological studies. The usefulness of relatively pure neuronal cultures are now demonstrated for such studies. We have compared the neuronal survival and differentiation, the synaptophysin expression and the glial cell percentage in primary neuronal cultures using two different media: a M1 medium containing 10 % fetal calf serum and a M2 medium supplemented with hormones, ions and chemicals. Our study demonstrates that the M2 medium (a serum-free defined medium) is associated with an increased survival at 14 days of culture, an earlier neuronal differentiation and synaptophysin expression in cell bodies and neurites as it was confirmed by immunocytochemical and confocal laser microscopic studies.