Pathogenesis and Surgical Treatment of Congenitally Corrected Transposition of the Great Arteries (ccTGA): Part III.

Congenitally corrected transposition of the great arteries (ccTGA) is an infrequent and complex congenital malformation, which accounts for approximately 0.5% of all congenital heart defects. This defect is characterized by both atrioventricular and ventriculoarterial discordance, with the right atrium connected to the morphological left ventricle (LV), ejecting blood into the pulmonary artery, while the left atrium is connected to the morphological right ventricle (RV), ejecting blood into the aorta.

Cardiac Development and Factors Influencing the Development of Congenital Heart Defects (CHDs): Part I.

The traditional description of cardiac development involves progression from a cardiac crescent to a linear heart tube, which in the phase of transformation into a mature heart forms a cardiac loop and is divided with the septa into individual cavities. Cardiac morphogenesis involves numerous types of cells originating outside the initial cardiac crescent, including neural crest cells, cells of the second heart field origin, and epicardial progenitor cells. The development of the fetal heart and circulatory system is subject to regulatation by both genetic and environmental processes.

Virtual simulations in planning intravascular treatment of aortic coarctation - a retrospective analysis.

Introduction: A number of studies on using both three-dimensional printing and virtual models in assessment of aortic coarctation have been published, yet none of them uses virtual modelling as a planning tool in a blind retrospective analysis.

Aim: Assessment of virtual modelling and virtual reality in planning interventional treatment of aortic coarctation.

Material And Methods: The study involved computed tomography scans of 20 patients performed prior to interventional treatment of aortic coarctation, which were used to create a virtual three-dimensional model of the aorta in Materialise Mimics.

Release of Endocannabinoids into the Cerebrospinal Fluid during the Induction of the Trigemino-Hypoglossal Reflex in Rats.

The endocannabinoid system (ECS) plays an important role in pain processing and modulation. Since the specific effects of endocannabinoids within the orofacial area are largely unknown, we aimed to determine whether an increase in the endocannabinoid concentration in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) caused by the peripheral administration of the FAAH inhibitor URB597 and tooth pulp stimulation would affect the transmission of impulses between the sensory and motor centers localized in the vicinity of the third and fourth cerebral ventricles. The study objectives were evaluated on rats using a method that allowed the recording of the amplitude of evoked tongue jerks (ETJ) in response to noxious tooth pulp stimulation and URB597 treatment.