The behavior of three types of large sinus node arteries with regard to the blood supply of the atrial myocardium.

Purpose: We describe angiographic findings of sinus node arteries (SNAs), focusing in the large sinus node artery (LSNA) variants, regarding the blood supply of the SN and atrial myocardium.

Methods: We examined the SN arteries via postmortem angiographic visualization in six hundred hearts derived from victims of various accidents.

Results: The main stem or a branch of the SNA supplied the right atrium (RA) and part of the interatrial septum (IS) in 32% of cases (Group A), one atrium, the IS and a small part of the other atrium (Group B) in 39% and the entire atrial myocardium (LSNAs) (Group C) in 29%.

Merkel cell carcinoma with kidney metastasis in a 81-year-old man. A rare case report.

Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) is a primary neuroendocrine carcinoma of the skin. The prognosis of the disease is considered poor. Secondary metastasis is common, however a secondary metastasis to kidney from Merkel cell is a very rare phenomenon.

Age-related fibromuscular dysplasia in the human left ventricle papillary muscles arteries.

We describe histologically cases of patients between 31 and 60 years of age who had fibromuscular dysplasia (FMD) in the tunica media (TM) of the left ventricle papillary muscles (PM) arteries. We also compared them with our previous findings in subjects younger than 30 years of age. We examined histologically samples taken from the tip of the anterior PM of the left ventricle in 200 healthy male hearts.

Histological findings of the atrioventricular conductive system in street heroin addicts, victims of sudden unexpected death.

A study of the atrioventricular (AV) conducting tissue was considered necessary for the examination of probable histologic changes that could justify the arrhythmias observed in street-heroin addicts. Postmortem coronary angiography and microscopic examination were performed in 50 heroin addicts (group A) and in 50 nonaddicts (group B), all male 16-40 years old. In group A, fatty and/or fibrous tissue replaced the AV node in 50% of cases while in group B in 14%.