Cadaveric Study On Normal And Variant Anatomy Of Left Coronary Artery

Background: Human heart is supplied by coronary arteries – Right and Left coronary artery. The coronary arteriesarise from the aortic sinuses and the left coronary artery from the left posterior aortic sinus. The left coronaryartery has two branches, the anterior interventricular and circumflex arteries. The anterior interventricularbranch is the continuation of left coronary artery, gives off septal branches, right and left ventricular branches.The left ventricular branches are called diagonal arteries. The left circumflex artery gives off left atrial and leftventricular branches. One of these atrial branches supply the sinoatrial node in 35% of subjects and AV node in10-20% of the subjects.Materials and Methods: The study was carried out in the department of anatomy, Kasturba Medical College,Manipal, India. The study was performed on 50 formalin fixed human hearts of unknown sex and age. The leftcoronary artery and their branches were carefully dissected. The origin, branches & branching pattern of leftcoronary artery was observed, noted and photographed.Results: In present study, 49 samples (98%) showed the origin of left coronary artery from left posterior aorticsinus while 01 sample (02%) had no trunk of left coronary artery. Sino-atrial nodal artery was originating formcircumflex artery in 13 samples (26%) and atrio-ventricular nodal artery from the circumflex artery in 05samples (10%). The trunk of left coronary artery was bifurcating in 37 samples (74%) and trifurcating in 12samples (24%) with one sample (02%) showing absent trunk of left coronary artery. The median artery waspresent in 12 samples (24%) and posterior interventricular artery was originating from circumflex artery in 05samples (10%).Conclusion: Left coronary artery commonly originated from left posterior aortic sinus with very few variations.Sino-atrial nodal artery and atrioventricular nodal artery commonly originates from right coronary artery.Bifurcation of left coronary artery is commoner than trifurcation. The present study is useful in better understandingof the normal and variant anatomy of left coronary artery

Chromosome 22 microdeletion by F.I.S.H. in isolated congenital heart disease.

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the frequency of del22q11.2 in non-syndromic CHDs using classical cytogenetics and Fluorescence In Situ Hybridization (FISH) technique in Indian population. METHODS: 105 prospective cases which included 6 families with isolated, non-syndromic cardiac defects were analyzed clinically by a cardiologist and a geneticist. The cases were then subjected to karyotypic (classical cytogenetics) as well as FISH analysis. The efficacy of FISH technique was compared with inference drawn from classical cytogenetics. RESULTS: Karyotypic analysis of all the 105 patients revealed a normal chromosomal complement. Microdeletion 22q11.2 was observed in six patients (5.71%) by FISH studies. FISH studies were also performed on the parents of these six patients who revealed a normal chromosome 22. No correlation was found between clinical features (mild or unspecific) with 22q11.2 microdeletion. CONCLUSION: The testing for microdeletion 22q11.2 in isolated non-syndromic patients using FISH technique is mandatory even when mild/unspecific extracardiac abnormalities are seen in the patients.

Mutagenicity and carcinogenicity of tea, Camellia sinensis.

Aqueous, caffeine free and tannin fractions of commercial tea and tannic acid were tested for mutagenicity in Ames test. Tea fractions of tannic acid were non mutagenic in strains TA 100, TA 98, TA 1535 and TA 1538 of Salmonella typhimurium with or without metabolic activation (rat-S9 mix) at different doses tested. In strain TA 98 the above tea fractions and tannic acid inhibited the S9 mix mediated mutagenicity of tobacco in a dose dependent manner. The different tea fractions at 60 degrees C, did not increase the tumor incidence in Swiss mice by gavage feeding. They also failed to produce tumors when injected subcutaneously. Caffeine free tea extract decreased the tobacco induced liver tumors but had no effect on lung tumors. The same fraction was ineffective in hexachlorocyclohexane induced liver tumors in Swiss mice.