Stereological analysis of the New Zealand rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) placenta.

The onset of gestation is characterized by growth, morphological and functional changes of the placenta. We aim to evaluate the placental compartments in New Zealand rabbits by means of stereological methods. The fetal and maternal portion of placenta (12, 14, 18 and 20 gestational days) was randomly sampled for the stereological analysis.

The quantification of testicular cells during the postnatal development in two Caviomorph rodents: the guinea pig (Cavia porcellus) and the cutia (Dasyprocta agouti).

The germinative, Sertoli and Leydig cells of two caviomorph rodents (Cavia porcellus and Dasyprocta agouti) were counted as well as the estimation of the total volume of the testis and the total volume of seminiferous tubules and interstitium in prepubertal, pubertal and adult animals. The number of spermatogonia, spermatocytes and spermatids cells increased during the pubertal phase in both rodents, notably the spermatid cells. The spermatocyte and spermatid slightly decreased in the adult of both rodents, but the increment in spermatogonia cells number was seen, mainly in cutias.

Correlation between myocardial scintigraphy and CT angiography in the evaluation of coronary disease.

Background: Coronary multidetector CT angiography (CTA) has shown good accuracy for detection of coronary stenosis. Although this is a promising technique for the evaluation of CAD, its correlation with the functional expression of the disease is not yet well established.

Objective: To evaluate whether the presence of CAD and the degree of coronary stenosis assessed by CT angiography are associated with changes in the Myocardial Perfusion Scintigraphy (MPS).

Digital stethoscope as an innovative tool on the teaching of auscultatory skills.

Physical cardiovascular examination, particularly cardiac auscultation, is one of the most difficult clinical skills for students during their medical training. Studies suggest that the use of technologies such as digital stethoscope increase the accuracy of clinical examination, however, its impact on the teaching of cardiac auscultation for undergraduate students of medicine is not known. The objective is to demonstrate the usefulness of the digital stethoscope compared to traditional methods as a tool in the teaching of auscultatory skills.