Pattern of hypertrophy of left ventricle--a histometric analysis of eighteen cases.

The pattern of myocardial hypertrophy in different sites of the left ventricular wall was morphometrically analysed in aortic stenosis (6 cases), hypertensive hypertrophy (5 cases), mitral incompetence (4 cases), and dilated cardiomyopathy (3 cases). The diameter of individual circumferentially oriented mid wall (or middle) fibre was significantly greater than those of subepicardial and subendocardial zones. Thus, hypertrophy does not affect the entire left ventricular myocardium uniformly. It seems to vary according to the spatial configuration of the fibrosis in relation to the cavity.

Intracardiac autonomic ganglion cells in leprosy and dilated cardiomyopathy.

Disturbances in cardiac autonomic functions are known to occur in patients of lepromatous leprosy and dilated cardiomyopathy. We have analyzed the number of cardiac autonomic ganglion cells in patients of lepromatous leprosy (2 cases), dilated cardiomyopathy (2 cases) and compared with those of control subjects (2 cases). The average number of ganglion cells in cases of dilated cardiomyopathy (1164) and leprosy (1138) did not show any significant deviation from the average neuronal number of control subjects (1352).

Transbronchial lung biopsy in diffuse lung disease--a study of 28 cases.

Twenty-eight patients with diffuse lung disease underwent transbronchial lung biopsy during fibreoptic bronchoscopy. In 26 patients (93%) adequate tissue was obtained. Of these 26 biopsies specific diagnosis was possible in 20 (76%); a further 2 had non-specific inflammatory changes and a third, who was clinically normal, had normal lung. The inclusion of these cases raises the yield to 88%. The conditions most frequently seen were interstitial fibrosis (35%) and granulomatous diseases (31%). Three patients (11%) had procedure related pneumothorax; only one required a chest tube. This is a high yield, safe procedure and should be used more widely in India.