Nasal mucosal morphology after altera tion of air stream

The nocturnal application of nasal continuous positive airway pressure is used for treatment of sleep apnoea. The study of the histopathological changes that accompany its application is needed for proper evaluation. Fifteen adult rabbits were used in this study, 14 were the subject of the experiments and one animal used as control. Under combined general and local anaesthesia, ring of skin and epithelium was removed from the left nostril, the margins of the wound were undermined, averted and brought together with mattress sutures, effectively closing the nostril. The animals were sacrified at intervals. The duration of surgical closure of one nostril was four days in 7 animals and three months in 7 others. Strip of bony and cartilaginous septum was removed after marking the closed side with a silk stitch. In each interval 4 animals were used for transmission electron microscope [TEM] and 3 for scanning electron microscope [SEM. On the side with sealed nostril the number of goblet cells increased, while the number of ciliated cells decreased. In contrast, on the open side of the nose disappearance of the ciliated cells and a transformation of the respiratory epithelium into thickened multilayered squamous epithelium with no goblet cells

Effect of diazepam on the prenatal development of neuropil of the purkinje cell layer of the cerebellar cortex of the rats embryo [electron microscope study]

Diazepam is one of the most widely used sedative hypnotic agents, and many women take this drug during pregnancy. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of diazepam on the development of the neuropil of the Purkinje cell layer of the cerebellar cortex. Twenty female pregnant rats were used in this study. The rats were divided into two groups, the first group [5 rats] was used as control group and the second group [15 rats] were given 10 mg/kg/day of diazepam orally and sacrificed at 15th, 20th, 25th days of pregnancy. It was difficult to differentiate between the dendrites and the axonal knobs at 15th day of pregnancy. As age advanced, the dendrites were swollen with absence of cytoplasmic organelles or contained few free ribosomes and immature mitochondria. The observed axonal knobs contained ill-defined synaptic vesicles. Immature axo-dendritic synapses were recognized on the 15th and 20th days of pregnancy, while on the 25th days of pregnancy symmetrical axo-dendritic synapses were recognized. From this study, it appears that the exposure to diazepam causes marked changes on prenatal development of neuropil of the Purkinje cell layer of the cerebellar cortex

Aim of the work: the aim of the work was to study the effects of diazepam on the development of the neuropil of Purkinje cell layer of the cerebellar cortex

Morphological and radiological study of the Egyptian calcaneal articular facets and trabecular pattern of the calcaneus

Three hundred normal adult dry calcanei were collected from different anatomical departments in Egypt. The calcanei were subjected to study the morphology of the articular facets. Also, radiological examinations and longitudinal sections were done to study the trabecular patterns of the calcanei. According to the morphology of calcaneal articular facets, type I calcanei represented 63% of the total number of bones and showing one continuous facet situated on the sustentaculum tali and extending to the anteromedial corner of the distal part of the calcaneus. This type divided into two subtypes according to the absence or the presence of the constriction i.e. subtype Ia [40%] and subtype Ib [23%]. Type II calcanei represented 30% of the total number of bones and showing two articular facets which were presented with variable degree of separation between the two facets. Accordingly, this type divided into three subtypes i.e. subtype IIa with narrow separation, subtype IIb with moderate separation and subtype IIc with wide separation. Type III calcanei represented 5% of the total number of bones and showing a single facet on the sustentaculum tali with absence of anterior talar facets. Type IV calcanei represented 2% of the total number of bones and showing a single confluent facet due to fusion of medial, anterior and posterior talar articular facets