THE MEDICAL COLLECTIONS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF TARTU.

In the year 1999, a new and modern building Biomedicum was finished addressed to preclinic subjects of the Medical Faculty of the University of Tartu; the institutions of anatomy as well as pathological anatomy and forensic medicine moved there. However; no place was planned to exhibit the collections of specimens. Many of the specimens which had so far only been used for learning purposes found their place in the Old Anatomical Theatre, in the hope that this could be transformed as a museum. The medical collections of the Medical Faculty were opened up for a broader audience in October 2005. With the support of the national programme "The collections of humanities and natural sciences", the medical study specimens, models, moulages, and literature related to them in danger of being destroyed were collected from several subdivisions and buildings of the Medical Faculty. In 2012, the medical exhibition moved to the premises of Science Centre AHHAA and in the same time a specifc educational study began to be developed.

Macroscopic oropharyngeal signs indicating impaired defensive function of palatine tonsils in adults suffering from recurrent tonsillitis.

The present study explored in adults suffering from recurrent tonsillitis the association between macroscopic oropharyngeal signs of recurrent inflammation, immunomorphology of palatine tonsils (counts of neutrophils by CD4 and macrophages by CD68 monoclonal antibodies in tonsillar microcompartments) and the occurrence of post-tonsillectomy bacteremia. The study involved 50 adults (31 females and 19 males) with recurrent tonsillitis. According to predominance of either inflammatory changes or evidence of sclerotic process in palatine tonsils and surrounding tissue macroscopic at oropharyngeal examination, the patients were divided into groups with 'inflammatory-type' and 'sclerotic-type' tonsils. Biochemically detected mean collagen content was significantly higher in 'sclerotic-type' tonsils than in 'inflammatory-type' tonsils (p=0.001). Post-tonsillectomy bacteremia was found in 22 patients (44%). A noteworthy finding was the higher recovery of anaerobes from blood cultures than in previous studies. A logistic regression analysis revealed that the post-tonsillectomy bacteremia was strongly associated with 'sclerotic-type' tonsils (p=0.0015) and with low counts of neutrophils in tonsillar tissue (p=0.047). We conclude that macroscopic oropharyngeal signs of sclerotic process in palatine tonsils indicate impaired tonsillar defense, in terms of lowered counts of neutrophils, increasing the risk of post-tonsillectomy bacteremia.