[Tuberculosis of the oesophagus (author's transl)].

Two cases of tuberculosis of the oesophagus serve as an opportunity to review the clinical and radiological features of this rare condition. Generally situated at the junction of the upper and middle third of the oesophagus, the lesion is found opposite the invaded inter-tracheobronchial mediastinal nodes which may give rise to a fistula. Confirmed by oesophagoscopy, direct bacteriological examination, oesophageal tuberculosis is usually cured without sequelae by antituberculous therapy.

Spurious and actual improvement in the treatment of preoccupying thoughts by thought-stopping.

Two clients troubled by preoccupying thoughts were treated by a version of thought-stopping described by Wolpe (1969) which has been infrequently reported so far. The frequency of spontaneous intrusive thoughts as they occurred within sessions was found to be a useful measure of clinical outcome, but it is suggested that careful control and definition of variations in procedure is necessary in order to eliminate spurious results. Treatment was found to produce an improvement which was maintained at follow-up.

[The Wirsung's duct of in surgical chronic pancreatitis. Radiologial and anatomical study (author's transl)].

On the basis of pancreatography findings and the study of operative specimens in 32 cases of duodenopancreatectomy, it was possible to distinguish two groups according to whether or not the duct of Wirsung was dilated. When the duct was not dilated, fibrosis was relatively marked, but disseminated and more notable in sections of the head than in sections of the isthmus. Lithiasis was essentially cephalic, but distributed more or less equally between the duct of Wirsung and the canaliculi.

Pancreatic necrosis and acute pancreatitis.

With reference to 115 cases of acute pancreatitis which were either operated on or confirmed, the authors stress the seriousness of the lesion to the glandular parenchyma; it is also difficult to recognise during peroperative exploration. The necrosis, which is sometimes limited to the peripheral and interstitial tissue, sparing the gland itself (its prognosis is less serious) has led many surgeons to perform surgical excision. However, the problems encountered postoperatively have given rise to doubts a posteriori as to whether this is legitimate.

[Intra-hepatic gall bladder complicated by post-operative stones in the common bile duct. The value of endoscopic sphincterotomy (author's transl)].

Two cases of migration of stones in the common bile duct following operation of cholecystitis secondary to cholelithiasis in an intra-hepatic gall bladder are reported. The authors emphasise the difficulties of the operation. When it was necessary to limit surgery to external drainage, migration of stones to the common duct from the gall bladder left in place is possible.

[Radioautographic identification of central monoaminergic neurons by local micro-instillation of tritiated serotonin or noradrenaline in cats].

Monoaminergic neurons in nuclei raphe dorsalis and locus coeruleus of the Cat may be visualized by radioautography after local micro-instillation of tritiated serotonin and noradrenaline. The concomitant administration of the appropriate tracer with the other biogenic amine in non radioactive form permits a specific identification of serotoninergic and catecholaminergic nerve cell bodies. A small contingent of presumptive serotoninergic neurons is thus demonstrated in the region of the locus coeruleus.

[Gastric acid secretion by vagal electrostimulation (author's transl)].

In the operative verification of vagotomy, electrical stimulation of the vagus nerves with the study of pH should seem to be a reliable method. On the basis of an experiment in the cat, the authors emphasise the effectiveness of electrical stimulation of gastric acid secretion, confirmed by 16 clinical cases. Stimulation of the proximal end of the divided right nerve may be used to detect a nervous strand arising above the level of the section and to confirm the completeness of left vagotomy.

Serotonin nerve terminals in the locus coeruleus of adult rat: a radioautographic study.

Serotonin (5-HT) nerve terminals in the locus coeruleus (LC) of adult rat were visualized by high-resolution radioautography, in order to examine their distribution, fine structural features and intimate relationships with norepinephrine neurons. In animals pretreated with a monoamine oxidase inhibitor, prolonged intraventricular perfusion of 10(-4) M [3H]5-HT resulted in a specific identification of most if not all 5-HT axonal varicosities in LC. These terminals were equally distributed between the dorsal and ventral divisions of the nucleus.

[Cystic pneumatosis of the small intestine following jejuno-ileal by-pass for obesity (author's transl)].

The case reported is that of a young woman who underwent a termino-terminal jejno-ileal by-pass procedure for obesity which was refactory to usual forms of treatment. Eight months later, a cholecystectomy was carried out for lithiasis, presenting with abdominal pain. At the time of operation, lesions of cystic pneumatosis were discovered on the excluded length of small bowel.

[Acute pancreatitis. Superficial capsular necrosis and parenchymatous involvement. 115 cases, 11 resections (author's transl)].

The authors report 115 cases of acute pancreatitis who were either operated on or autopsied and emphasise the severity of the glandular parenchymatous involvement which remains, furthermore, difficult to recognise during manual exploration. Necrosis is sometimes limited to the peripheral interstitial tissue and spares the gland itself (the prognosis is then less serious) and has led many surgeons to resections which did not always seem justified a posteriori. The authors refer to pancreatic decapsulation, described by rumanian authors, and suggest a method of operative diagnosis of the extent of glandular necrosis.

[Value of and indications for noxythiolin in generalized peritonitis].

The favourable experience of M. BROWN with noxythiolin in fecal peritonitis has prompted us, over the last seven years, to use this product in all forms of generalized peritonitis. This study involved 187 cases of generalized peritonitis : 102 males and 85 females, whose mean age was 53 years.

[A study of pancreatic insulinomas by electron microscopy. 9 cases (author's transl)].

Nine hypoglycaemia-inducing pancreatic tumours were studied by electron microscopy. In 8 of these tumours, it was possible to identify, within the cell cytoplasm, secretory granules with a "paracrystalline" content, identical in appearance to the granules of the B cell of the normal human pancreas. Thus electron microscopy would appear to be a reliable and sensitive method for the morphological identification of these endocrine tumours of the pancreas.

[Retrograde axoplasmic transport of serotonin in central mono-aminergic neurons].

Following an injection of 3H-5 HT in the neostriatum of the Rat, the tracer is transported by axoplasmic retrograde flow to the cell groups containing mono-aminergic neurons which are known or thought to have afferences to this structure: substantia nigra, dopaminergic group A 8 and n. raphe dorsalis.