distal fascicle of the anterior inferior tibio-fibular ligament in correlation with talar impingement

Up till now, the anterior inferior tibiofibular ligament [AITFL] is described in the anatomic tradition as one entity. The present investigation confirmed the presence of what was recently termed [a distal fascicle] of the ligament, which appeared as a separate band found in all [thirteen] the examined cadavers. It took the shape of a parallelogram that lied below and parallel to the rest of the AITFL. A pad of fat separated this fascicle from the rest of the ligament that masked its easy differentiation for a long time. In extreme dorsiflexion of the ankle, the lower border of the fascicle became tight and touched the dome of talus. Also, the clinical study showed audible popping and friction between the thickened fascicle and the opposite hyaline cartilage on talus. This indicated a ligamentous talar impingement with chronic pain on the anterolateral aspect of the ankle in 5 out of 9 patients with soft tissue talar impingement syndrome related to the anterolateral compartment of the ankle. Arthroscopic resection of the distal fascicle gave excellent results with complete relief of pain in all 5 patients suffering of this lesion. Arthroscopic removal of this fascicle along with treatment of other offending pathological lesions gave excellent results in 8 out of 9 patients after an average follow up of 13 months. It was concluded that the anatomy of this distal fascicle has to be included in literature. Furthermore, its pathologic role in talar impingement should be appreciated, yet not overemphasized by clinicians and those dealing with sport injuries, especially when exostoses are absent in radiographs

Isolated gastric mucosal cells: a model for gastric injury induced by bile acids

The current study examined the deleterious effect of glycocholic [GC] and deoxycholic acids [DC] exposure of isolated gastric mucosal cells in culture. Bile salts were known to be injurious to gastric mucosa. Dispersed gastric cells were obtained from rabbit gastric mucosa by collagenase digestion technique. Freshly isolated gastric cells were exposed to 0.2, 0.5 and 1.0 mmol/L of glycocholic and deoxycholic acids for period of up to 45 minutes in C-199 medium with 10% fetal bovine serum [FBS] [pH 7.0-7.4]. Control cell suspension was exposed to salt solution phosphate buffer saline [PBS++] without DC or GC. An attempt to establish long cell culture model was not successful as the isolated gastric cells rapidly lose their characteristic phenotypes and convert into fibroblast-like cells within one week in culture, in spite their continuous expression of cytokeratin of epithelial cells. Ultrastructural changes of timed series of samples were observed. Widespread epithelial and endothelial cells changes were seen. The most prominent alteration was degranulation of apical mucin secreting cells and excessive cytoplasmic vesiculation. The zymogen secreting cell appeared more resistant to bile salts effect, whereas the parietal cells showed excessive breaking of intracellular canaliculi [ICC]. The enteroendocrine cells exhibited loss of mitochondrial cristae, loss of their granulations, cytoplasmic vesiculation and lipid accumulation

Effect of cessation of cigarette smoking on semen quality and sperm morphology

Semen samples were collected from 42 male heavy cigarette smokers [ages 27-35 y] before and two years after successful abstinence from smoking. Semen samples were also obtained from ten healthy volunteers who never smoked. Those later served as negative control. All Selected subjects had no known cause that may alter the process of spermatogenesis The collected semen samples were evaluated for sperm density, motility and percentage of abnormal forms. Serum testosterone was assayed by RIA in control persons and in smokers before and after their successful quitting. Seminal fluids from all subjects were also examined by transmission electron microscope in an attempt to visualize accurately the morphologic characteristics of the sperms. All the investigated parameters of semen quality were significantly altered in smokers compared to nonsmokers testosterone level was significantly reduced in smokers and abnormal forms of sperms were encountered more. Two years after cessation of smoking, significant improvement was found in all the semen parameters together with a parallel rising up of the serum testosterone level. In spite of the marked improvement in semen quality and testosterone level after cessation of smoking, most of these parameters were still significantly different from the control the result of this work proved beyond doubt the harmful effects of smoking on potential male reproductive capacity evidenced by bad semen quality, abnormal hormonal profile and distorted ultrastructure of spermatozoa However, these effects were at least partially reversible and improved after prohibition of cigarette smoking for two years