No abstract

Chronologic and morphometric changes in the inferior olivary nucleus of the human medulla oblongata were studied in eight cases of primary pontine hemorrhage with different survival periods. To measure the olivary areas and analyze the neuronal and glial components, an optic electronic planimeter was used. A desk-top computer was also used for the calculation of the obtained data. The olivary enlargement was observed in cases with survival periods ranging from 3 weeks after the onset to 9.5 months. A morphometric analysis revealed six different stages of olivary changes after the destruction of the central tegmental tract in the pons: (1) no olivary changes, (2) olivary amiculum degeneration, (3) olivary hypertrophy, (4) culminant olivary enlargement, (5) olivary pseudohypertrophy, and (6) olivary atrophy. In stage (3) - noticed here for the first time -, neuronal cellular hypertrophy and sclerotic neurons with "insect-bite appearance" were observed. In stages (4) and (5), we also found the presence of prominent gemistocytic astrocytes in the characteristically enlarged inferior olivary nuclei. However, no proliferation of astrocytes during the olivary enlargement was confirmed in the morphometric analysis.

This paper describes a new series of staining methods which can discriminatively demonstrate every structure of the nervous system, including axons and capillaries, in animal and human materials. Methods described in this paper consist of one primary stain, luxol fast blue-periodic acid Schiff-hematoxylin (LPH) and six different subsidiary staining methods. The LPH triple stain can precisely differentiate the following structures: neurons (Nissl bodies, cytoplasm, nuclear membrane and nucleolus), various kinds of nuclei (glia, ependyma, endothelium, leucocyte, connective tissue, etc.), myelin sheaths, neuronal processes (axons and dendrites), reacted glial cell bodies (protoplasmic astrocytes, foamy cells, etc.), blood vessels (arteries, veins and capillaries), meninges, intervening connective tissue, erythrocytes, lipofuscin granules, amyloid bodies, and others. Subsidiary staining methods are also described briefly. Applications are discussed in the context of staining technology and neuromorphological research.

Our results showed that operation and blood transfusion were potential risk factors for HBV and HCV infection, respectively, and supposed that horizontal HBV transmission may be frequent in adults in Cambodia. Hence, for reducing HBV and HCV infections, it is necessary to improve the safety of blood and medical treatment.

We examined cross-sectional areas of Meissner's corpuscles to evaluate the changes in their morphology and density that occur during the aging process. Our study of 10 tissue specimens from the right index finger pulp of 10 males, showed that both the size and the number of Meissner's corpuscles decrease with age. We claim greater accuracy in our data thanks to the use of a new sectioning method, namely parallel sectioning of the skin.