Myofibroblast persistence and collagen type I accumulation in the human stenotic trachea.

Background: Postintubation tracheal stenosis (PITS) is associated with an increased use of assisted ventilation in intensive care units. We investigated both collagen type I accumulation and myofibroblast localization in human PITS lesions excised for surgical therapeutic procedures, compared with normal tracheas.

Methods: We analyzed 2 segments of normal tracheas and 10 segments of PITS that were stained by hematoxylin-eosin and picrosirius red techniques and processed for immunohistochemistry using antibodies against both α-smooth muscle actin (α-sma) for myofibroblast detection, and collagen type I.

The developmental anatomy of the human superior hypogastric plexus: A morphometrical investigation with clinical and surgical correlations.

The superior hypogastric plexus (SHP) is the part of the autonomic nervous system, which is responsible for the sympathetic innervation of pelvic organs and extrapelvic genitals in humans of both sexes. The SHP also functions as the anatomic pathway for the major part of visceral sensitive fibers originating from pelvic viscera. In this study, the morphology of the SHP was analyzed through anatomical dissections performed both in human adult and fetal cadavers.

Morphometrical analysis of the human mandibular canal: a CT investigation.

Purpose: This study aimed to clarify the correct localization of the mandibular canal (MC) that is essential in order to avoid injuries to the inferior alveolar neurovascular bundle during oral surgical procedures.

Methods: We have analyzed the position of the MC using computed tomography data bank examinations of the oral region from 50 partially dentulous Brazilian patients aging from 25 to 75 years old (mean ± SD values = 51.70 ± 4.

Developmental steps of the human cervical spine: parameters for evaluation of skeletal maturation stages.

The central objective of this investigation was to focus on the development of the cervical spine observed by lateral cephalometric radiological images of children and adolescents (6-16 years old). A sample of 26 individuals (12 girls and 14 boys) was classified according to stages of cervical spine maturation in two subcategories: group I (initiation phase) and group II (acceleration phase). The morphology of the cervical spine was assessed by lateral cephalometric radiographs obtained in accordance with an innovative method for establishing a standardized head posture.

A radiological investigation of the hepatorenal space: the importance of the ventral decubitus for safer percutaneous right renal access.

We investigated anatomical and radiological morphometric parameters, aiming to minimize the risk of hepatic and colonic injuries during right percutaneous kidney access under either ventral or dorsal decubitus of patients. Prone and supine abdominal computerized tomographic examinations from 31 normal adult volunteers (men = 12; women = 19; without history of abdominal pathology) were analyzed morphometrically in order to study the dynamic anatomical relations between the liver and the right kidney. The age of the volunteers ranged from 22 to 64 years old (mean +/- SD = 42.

The human superior tarsal muscle (Müller's muscle): a morphological classification with surgical correlations.

The superior tarsal muscle (STM) is a smooth muscle that originates from the undersurface of the levator palpebrae superioris muscle (LPSM) and inserts onto the superior tarsal plate (STP) of the upper eyelid. We have performed a morphometrical investigation of the STM in 49 adult human cadavers (34 males, 15 females). Histological analysis has shown a transitional area between the skeletal striated muscle (LPSM) and the adjacent smooth muscle (STM).

Strapping the spinal cord: an innovative experimental model of CNS injury in rats.

Experimental models of spinal cord (SC) lesion are essential for understanding a few of the primary and secondary mechanisms of injury and functional recovery of the central nervous system (CNS). We have developed an experimental model of SC injury in adult rats (n=32), that involves the use of a device (SC-STRAPPER) that straps the SC and promotes gradual and controlled SC injury similar to clinical compressive SC injuries. SC strapping is a less-invasive procedure in comparison to other SC injury models, and it performs compression with smaller infection risk and undetectable paravertebral or vertebral lesions.

Cleland's and Grayson's ligaments of the hand: a morphometrical investigation.

The cutaneous ligaments of the human digits are delicate functional structures essential for normal skin stability during digital movements. These ligaments extend bilaterally between the phalanx and the finger dermis, either posteriorly (Cleland's ligaments) or anteriorly (Grayson's ligaments) to the digital neurovascular bundles. We have performed a series of detailed anatomical dissections of the human digits so as to investigate morphometrically Cleland's and Grayson's ligaments and their topographic arrangements.

Axonal and extracellular matrix responses to experimental chronic nerve entrapment.

We have analyzed the ultrastructural and histopathological changes that occur during experimental chronic nerve entrapment, as well as the immunohistochemical expression of chondroitin sulfate proteoglycan (CSPG). Adult hamsters (n = 30) were anesthetized and received a cuff around the right sciatic nerve. Animals survived for varying times (5 to 15 weeks) being thereafter perfused transcardially with fixative solutions either for immunohistochemical or electron microscopic procedures.