Toothed Whales Have Black Neurons in the Blue Spot.

Neuromelanin (NM) is a dark polymer pigment that is located mostly in the human substantia nigra, and in the locus ceruleus, referred to as "the blue spot". NM increases linearly with age, and has been described mainly in the human brain; however, it also occurs in the neurons of monkeys, horses, giraffes, cattle, sheep, goats, dogs, rats, and even in frogs. While in most of these mammals NM shows the histochemical and ultrastructural features typical of lipofuscins, human NM is confined within cytoplasmic organelles that are surrounded by a double membrane, suggesting an autophagic origin.

Morphological Structure of the Aortic Wall in Deep Diving Cetacean Species: Evidence for Diving Adaptation.

This study analyses the aortic wall structure in nine cetacean species with deep diving habits belonging to four Odontoceti families: Ziphiidae, Kogiidae, Physteridae, and Delphinidae. Samples of ascending, thoracic and abdominal aorta were processed for histological and morphometric studies. The elastic component was higher in the proximal aortic segments, and the muscular elements increased distally in all cases.

Budd-Chiari-like pathology in dolphins.

Nearly two decades ago, pathologic examination results suggested that acoustic factors, such as mid-frequency active naval military sonar (MFAS) could be the cause of acute decompression-like sickness in stranded beaked whales. Acute systemic gas embolism in these whales was reported together with enigmatic cystic liver lesions (CLL), characterized by intrahepatic encapsulated gas-filled cysts, tentatively interpreted as "gas-bubble" lesions in various other cetacean species. Here we provide a pathologic reinterpretation of CLL in odontocetes.

Pulmonary and Systemic Skeletal Muscle Embolism in a Beaked Whale with a Massive Trauma of Unknown Aetiology.

An adult female Sowerby's beaked whale was found floating dead in Hermigua (La Gomera, Canary Islands, Spain) on 7 December 2016. Severe traumas of unknown aetiology were attributed, and the gross and microscopic findings are consistent with catastrophic trauma as a cause of death. Rib fractures affected the intercostals, transverse thoracis skeletal muscles, and thoracic rete mirabile.

Microdissection of the Human Renal Nervous System: Implications for Performing Renal Denervation Procedures.

Despite the use of renal denervation to treat hypertension, the anatomy of the renal nervous system remains poorly understood. We performed a detailed quantitative analysis of the human renal nervous system anatomy with the goal of optimizing renal denervation procedural safety and efficacy. Sixty kidneys from 30 human cadavers were systematically microdissected to quantify anatomic variations in renal nerve patterns.

Morphological structure of the aortic wall in three Delphinid species with shallow or intermediate diving habits: Evidence for diving adaptation.

Some modifications in the vascular system of marine mammals provide adaptive advantages for diving. This study analyses the organisation of the aortic wall in dolphins, observing artery changes in volume and blood pressure for diving behaviour. Samples of three aortic segments (ascending, thoracic and abdominal) of three dolphin species were processed for histological and morphometric studies.

Comparative morphology, histology, and cytology of odontocete cetaceans prostates.

The prostate is the only male accessory gland in cetaceans. However, little is known about this organ in these species. Anatomical and histological characteristics of the prostate have been described in only a few cetacean species, further, one study reported a high incidence of prostatic pathologies in cetaceans that may impair reproduction.

The morphogenesis of the renal plexus: Renal artery and sympathetic fibers.

To examine the origin and development of the renal plexus and its relationship to the renal vessels in embryos and early human fetuses. Serial sections of 34 human embryos (stages 16 to 23 of Carnegie, 4 or 5-8 weeks) and 38 fetuses (9-19 weeks) were analyzed. Throughout the embryonic period, the kidney was not innervated by the renal plexus.

Verminous Arteritis Due to Crassicauda sp. in Cuvier's Beaked Whales (Ziphius Cavirostris).

The vascular system of Cuvier's beaked whales (CBW) (Ziphius cavirostris; family Ziphiidae), an extremely deep, prolonged-diving cetacean, is increasingly receiving anatomic and physiologic study due to possible anthropogenic interactions; however, vascular pathology rarely has been reported in this species. Thirteen CBW stranded in the Canary Islands from June 2008 to June 2014 were autopsied. A careful dissection of the thoracic and abdominal vasculature was performed on these animals.

The gross anatomy of the renal sympathetic nerves revisited.

Catheter-based renal denervation techniques focus on reducing blood pressure in resistant hypertension. This procedure requires exact knowledge of the anatomical interrelation between the renal arteries and the targeted renal nervous plexus. The aim of this work was to build on classical anatomical studies and describe the gross anatomy and anatomical relationships of the renal arteries and nerve supply to the kidneys in a sample of human cadavers.

Streptozotocin-induced diabetes, and the optic nerve blood barrier.

Objective: To study the features of the endoneurial micro-vessels of the optic nerve in streptozotocin-induced diabetic animals.

Methods: Optic nerves from control and streptozotocin-induced diabetic animals were studied by light and transmission electron microscopy. Patency was determined by indirect immunofluorescence albumin detection.

High-grade astrocytoma (Glioblastoma Multiforme) in an Atlantic spotted dolphin (Stenella frontalis).

This report describes the gross, microscopical and immunohistochemical features of a high-grade astrocytoma (glioblastoma multiforme) in an adult male Atlantic spotted dolphin (Stenella frontalis). On necropsy examination, a 5 × 2.5 × 2 cm, poorly demarcated, red, friable and locally expansile mass effaced the thalamus and the left periventricular region and extended to the left lateral ventricle of the brain.

Endothelial cell influence on dorsal root ganglion cell formation.

Although endothelial cells are known to produce neutrotrophic factors, endothelial cell influence on growth and survival of ganglion cells has not been documented. For this reason, a long-term culture technique was modified to obtain dorsal root ganglion (DRG) cells. Cells, among them neurons, were released from clusters into the medium for more than four weeks.

Estrogen receptor expression and synthesis in the human internal thoracic artery.

The inhibition of vascular smooth muscle cell proliferation is mediated through two intracellular estrogen receptors (ERs), ER-alpha and ER-beta. Deletion variants of ER-alpha have been decribed for cultures of smooth muscle cells. The internal thoracic artery is frequently used as coronary artery bypass graft, yet neither has it been studied for the expression of ER subtypes nor for the synthesis of the ERs in morphologically hetergeneous smooth muscle cells.

[Epileptic crisis and multiple sclerosis: anatomo-clinical correlation].

Introduction: The prevalence of epilepsy in multiple sclerosis (MS) is low and the occurrence of an epileptic seizure as a first sign of this illness is even more infrequent. The relationship between both these illnesses is not clear; as epilepsy is a common condition, a coincidental association only could exist between the two diseases.

Objective: To establish a nexus of causality between epilepsy an MS.

Ultrastructural analogies between intimal alterations in veins from diabetic patients and animals with STZ-induced diabetes.

The aim of this study was to document similarities and differences between veins from human diabetic patients and an experimentally induced diabetic animal model. The saphenous vein and posterior tibial vein from diabetic patients and the femoral vein from rats were studied. An increase in the extracellular matrix with migration of smooth muscle cells and endothelial alterations were observed in the intima of all specimens.

Immunohistochemical and ultrastructural study of microvessels in diabetic veins.

The aim of this study was to examine the localization and features of the intramural microvessels in the wall of inferior limb veins in diabetic patients. The study was conducted in a group of 10 insulin-dependent diabetic patients, who had suffered inferior limb amputation as a consequence of chronic limb ischemia. Sections of long saphenous and posterior tibial veins were investigated by light and transmission electron microscope.

Diabetes-induced structural changes of venous and arterial endothelium and smooth muscle cells.

The structural alterations of endothelium and smooth muscle cells of the hind limb and heart veins and arteries were investigated in Golden Syrian hamsters subjected to streptozotocin induced diabetes. Animals were examined at 5, 10, and 15 weeks after induction of diabetes. At each time point body weight and plasma glucose concentrations were recorded.