Variation in subcapsular liver structure and its significance in the interpretation of wedge biopsies.

Wedge biopsies from the inferior border of the normal liver were studied in 72 cases. They were divided into three groups according to the extent and degree of capsular and subcapsular fibrous tissue. The changes were not sufficiently severe or extensive to cause confusion with nodular cirrhosis or to make wedge biopsy unreliable as a diagnostic tool.

Ciguatoxin: isolation and chemical nature.

Ciguatoxin, the agent responsible for ciguatera, a disease produced in humans from ingestion of certain fishes, has been isolated from specimens of the moray eel, Gymnothorax javanicus. The toxin is apparently a lipid containing quaternary nitrogen, hydroxyl, and carbonyl functions.