Human body donation in Thailand: Donors at Khon Kaen University.

BACKGROUND: Culture, society and spirituality contribute to variability in the characteristics of human body donors and donation programmes worldwide. The donors and the body donation programme at Khon Kaen University, northeast Thailand, reflect all these aspects of Thailand, including the status accorded to the donors and the ceremonial acknowledgement of the donors and their families. METHODS: Data from the programme records and from surveys of samples of currently registering donors and recently received donor bodies are analysed to define the characteristics of both registering and received donors, including motivation, demography, socio-economic status, health, and use of the bodies. FINDINGS: The body donation programme at Khon Kaen University currently has a very high rate of registration of body donors, with gender and age differences in the patterns of donation. Registrants include more females than males, a long-standing pattern, and are an average age of 50 years. The bodies of 12% of registrants are received after death and include more males than females. Both sexes are of an average age of 69 years. Males had registered their donation eight years prior to death and females ten years prior. Current registrants identified altruistic motives for their decision to donate, although the coincidence of body donation by a highly revered monk with a surge in donations in 2015 suggests that Buddhism plays a primary role in motivation. The opportunity to make merit for donors and their families, and respect shown to donors and the nature of the ceremonies acknowledging the donors and their families, including the use of the Royal Flame at the cremation ceremony, all contribute to decisions to donate. CONCLUSIONS: The characteristics of body donors and the body donation programme at Khon Kaen University are reflective of Thai society and the centrality of Buddhism to Thai culture.

Scanning electron microscopy of newly excysted metacercariae of Paragonimus westermani-like, Nakhon Nayok, Thailand.

Scanning electron microscope (SEM) observation of surface structure was done on newly excysted metacercariae of Paragonimus westermani-like (Nakhon Nayok, Thailand). The surface of the body was covered with numerous single-pointed tegumentary spines, large dome-shaped papillae, small one with a pit, and small one with a smooth surface were situated around the suckers. There were 27 to 30 of the small dome-shaped papillae with a pit around the oral sucker and 10 to 13 of the small ones with a smooth surface around the ventral sucker. The present report is the new record of excysted metacercariae of P. westermani-like (Nakhon Nayok, Thailand) by SEM.

Centrocestus formosanus: surface morphology of metacercaria, adult and egg

The surface morphology of metacercariae isolated from Puntius spp., adult worms from infected hamsters and eggs of Centrocestus formosanus (Digenea: Heterophyidae) were studied using scanning electron microscopy. It was found that the surfaces of the metacercariae and adult worms were closely similar in appearance. The oral sucker was surrounded by a circumoral expansion with two rows of 32 spines (16 spines each). The ventral sucker, with six large nonciliated papillae on the lip, and the genital opening were located mid-ventrally. The excretory pore was terminal. The body surface was covered with pectinate scale-like spines of varying sizes. The scales in the middle area were larger than those in the anterior and posterior parts of the body. Sensory papillae, mostly uniciliated, were present in greater abundance at the anterior region of both stages. However, morphological variations were observed among the adults depending on the age of the worms. At 4 weeks, the oral sucker and circumoral expansion were cobblestone-like in structure and the grooves of spines split compared with their smooth surfaces at 10 days. In addition, the ventral sucker became depressed and its large papillae on the lip disappeared at 10 weeks post infection. Multiciliated papillae were also present in 10-week old worms. Each egg of this parasite possessed a prominent operculum and a latticed design on the egg shell.

Eggshell morphology of the small eggs of human trematodes in Thailand.

Light and scanning electron micrographs of Opisthorchis viverrini, Haplorchis taichui, H. pumilio, A Phaneropsolus bonnei, and Prosthodendrium molenkampi eggs were studied. Under light microscopy. O. viverrini eggs had rough eggshells and prominent shoulders. H. taichui, H. pumilio were similar in shape and had smooth eggshells and prominent shoulders. H. pumilio eggs were bigger than H. taichui eggs. P. bonnei and P. molenkampi eggs had smooth eggshells and indistinct shoulders. P. bonnei eggs were thinner and bigger than P. molenkampi eggs. Some deformed eggs of O. viverrini and Haplorchis sp. were found and they had no embryos and indistinct opercula. Under scanning electron microscopy, O. viverrini eggs looked like musk-melon skin; they had prominent shoulders and long knobs. H. taichui eggs had curly, thread-like ridges and prominent shoulders and knobs. H. pumilio eggs had streched ridges, like Chinese bitter mormodica, and prominent shoulders. P. bonnei and P. molenkampi eggs had smooth eggshells and small shoulders and knobs.

Scanning electron microscopy of the tegumental surface of adult Haplorchis pumilio (Looss).

The surface structure of adult Haplorchis pumilio from experimentally infected hamsters was studied in detail using scanning electron microscopy. Almost the entire surface of the worm was covered with scale-like spines regularly arranged in transverse rows. Most spines were pectinate. The size of the spines and the number of the teeth in each individual were largest in the spines around the middle region of the worm. The area surrounding the excretory pore was free of spines displaying a slightly wrinkled appearance. Many ciliated papillae were present on the anterior two-thirds of the body. The papillae on the oral sucker were more abundant than those elsewhere. The body papillae were distributed in a bilaterally symmetrical arrangement, appearing in groups, pairs or singly between the spines.

Scanning electron microscopy of adult Echinostoma malayanum.

Scanning electron microscopy observations of E. malayanum adult obtained from small intestines of infected rats was made. The number of collar spines were 41. The features observed were a pair of corner spines (3 oral and 2 aboral) total 10; a pair of lateral collar spines (10 spines each side); total 20; dorsal collar spines (5 oral and 6 aboral) total 11. Sensory papillae were found more densely situated on the circumoral disc around the oral sucker and on the ventral sucker. Other sensory organs, dome shaped, found only on the circumoral disc. The scales appear mainly on the ventral surface. The microvilli are present on the tegument where the scales occur, while the other part of dorsal side had pitted tegument.