Intraepithelial Vessels Research Articles

Clinical Experiences of NBI Laryngoscope in Diagnosis of Laryngeal Lesions

Objectives: (1) Describe the use of narrowband imaging (NBI) to enhance diagnostic sensitivity and accuracy in an impressive number of patients. (2) Develop a complete description list of each laryngeal condition, which can serve as a criteria for further laryngoscopic examinations and diagnosis. Methods: This study was conducted between January 2012 and October 2013 at the Department of Otolaryngology, the second hospital attached to Jilin University (Changchun Jilin, China). A total of 3675 patients (2092 males, 1583 females; mean age 50.2 ± 19.5 years) were enrolled in this study. All 3675 patients underwent laryngoscopy equipped with conventional white light and NBI system. A total of 1153 lesions were classified into different groups according to their histopathological results. Results: On NBI view, mucosa of a normal vocal fold was light brown. Intraepithelial vessels displayed blue-green, which were in striking contrast to the surrounding mucosa. Polyps demonstrated a color of light green. Cysts and mucocele appeared as light white. Leukoplakia was shown as a white color and hyperplastic epithelial lesions appeared as a slightly brownish color. Erythroplakia appeared as well-distributed dark brown lesions. Pachydermia displayed light white with a quite different shape from that of cysts. Papilloma were shown as quite delicate green. Abnormal submucosal microvessel changes visualized in laryngeal carcinoma lesions were shown as typical scattered dark brownish spots. Sensitivity and specificity for the diagnosis of malignancy by means of NBI view calculated from these results were 98.81 and 99.89%, respectively. Conclusions: The advent of NBI is a breakthrough in the field of assessing laryngeal diseases, especially malignant ones.

Angiogenesis in squamous precancerous cervical lesions

Vascularisation is one of basic tumor's characteristics. Neoangiogenesis starts at the stage of the dysplastic epithelial changes, thus before the progression into invasive lesion. This study was designed to determine the relation between stromal angiogenesis and the grade of cervical intraepithelial changes (CIN). The tissue sections of 50 cone biopsies were immunohistochemically stained for CD31 antigen, a marker for endothelial cells. All microvessels along the basement membrane subtending dysplastic epithelium were counted. The mean microvessel count was calculated from the three separate fields for each specimen. All the cases were devided into four groups: normal cervical epithelium (n = 5), CIN1 (n = 7), CIN2 (n = 13), and CIN3 (n = 25). The mean microvessel count (MVC) under the dysplastic epithelium was 18.1. For the patients with CIN1 changes the mean MVC was 12.9, while this number was 18.72 and 19.24 for the patients with CIN2 and CIN3 grade of epithelial changes, respectively. In a subset of the high grade lesions vascular structures were also noted in the upper layer of the epithelium. The mean MVC in the cases with the presence of these structures was 22, while this number was 12.91 in the cases without intraepithelial vessels. Althoug we found an increase of the mean MVC with the increase of the CIN grade, statisticaly significant differences were found out between CIN1 and CIN3 lesions. The mean MVC of the patients with the presence of intraepithelial vessels was statisticaly higher than the mean MVC of the patients without these structures. On the basis of the obtained results, we can conclude that the mean MVC and CIN grade positively correlated, while the number of cases with intraepithelial vessels increased with the CIN grade.

Effects of Renal Insufficiency on the Cochlear Absorptive-secretory Areas: A Morphological Study in the Mongolian Gerbil

In order to evaluate the effects of experimental renal insufficiency (RI) on the labyrinthine absorptive-secretory areas (ASA), 54 adult Mongolian gerbils were submitted to bilateral nephrectomy or to sham procedure. At different intervals (3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18, 21, 24 hours) after the surgical procedures, or during the terminal stage (28 h) the animals were decapitated and both temporal bones were dissected to obtain selected specimens of the cochlear ASA. The specimens were processed and analysed by light and electron microscopy. Structurally, RI induced progressive thickening of the epithelial components (stria, prominentia, sulcus); separation by fluid accumulation between stria and mesodermal layer; and frequent dilatation of intraepithelial vessels. Ultrastructurally, diverse signs were observed parallel to the evolution of the RI. After 12 h a progressive enlargement of the intercellular spaces, which was particularly evident in the stria surrounding the vessels and in the other sulcus, was observed. Its latest expression was a marked widening of the basolateral spaces containing a granular substance. After 12 h the formation of large cytoplasmic perinuclear spaces containing small rounded vesicles, probably secondary to fluid accumulation, could be observed in the marginal cells. After 24 h diverse signs of organellar damage became evident (schedule: mitochondrial swelling, lysosome like figures, myelin like figures). In the terminal stage, a general homogenization of the cytosol was common. The findings suggest a definite re-distribution of fluids in the inner ear. A close relationship between renal dysfunction and labyrinthine microhomeostasis is therefore proposed.

Intraepithelial blood vessels in the vomeronasal neuroepithelium of the rat

Epithelial-vascular relationships are established during the development of the vomeronasal neuroepithelium of the rat. Special attention is given to the fine structure of the endothelial wall of intra-epithelial vessels, to ultrastructural aspects of the neuronal-vascular relationships, and to the appearance of inclusion bodies in the neuronal cells adjacent to these vessels. The neuronal perikarya surrounding the blood vessels are filled with highly developed smooth endoplasmic reticulum. Possible functional implications of the vascularization of the neuroepithelium of the vomeronasal organ in mediating olfacto-endocrine relationship are discussed. It is suggested that the intra-epithelial blood vessels are at least supportive and nutritive in nature, while their implication in an olfacto-endocrine connection remains obscure.