Venous drainage from the tail of the pancreas to the lienal vein and its relationship with the distal splenorenal shunt selectivity.

Purpose: To identify the veins draining from the pancreatic tail to the lienal vein and its possible relationship with the loss of the distal splenorenal shunt selectivity.

Methods: Thirty eight human blocks including stomach, duodenum, spleen, colon and pancreas, removed from fresh corpses, were studied with the replenish and corrosion technique, using vinilic resin and posterior corrosion of the organic tissue with commercial hydrochloric acid, in order to study the lienal vein and its tributaries.

Results: The number of veins flowing directly to the splenic vein varied from seven to twenty two (14.

Preservative spleen surgery and hyperbaric oxygen therapy.

Purpose: To assess functional and morphological aspects of spleen auto-implants and of the splenic inferior pole of rats, post-operatively treated or not with hyperbaric oxygen, as well as the survival of these animals, were studied.

Methods: Seventy-eight male Wistar rats, weighing between 192 and 283 g ( 238,3 +/- 9,6g), were randomly distributed into three groups: Group 1--(n=20), spleen manipulation; group 2--(n=36), spleen auto-implantation; group 3--(n= 22), subtotal splenectomy preserving the inferior pole. Each group was subdivided as follows: subgroup a, not submitted to hyperbaric oxygen therapy: 1a(n=10), 2a(n=21), 3a(n= 13); subgroup b, submitted to the therapy: 1b(n=10), 2b(n=15), 3b(n=9).