Macroscopic Morphometry Research Articles

Anatomo-topographical justification of anesthesia of the inferior alveolar nerve of domestic cat

The publication presents anatomotopographical substantiation of mandibular anesthesia in the domestic cat. The research was carried out on the basis of the Department of Anatomy and Histology of Animals named after Prof. A.F. Klimov and Veterinary Surgery of the K.I. Skryabin Moscow State Automobile Academy of Veterinary Medicine and Biology. The object of the study was a domestic cat (Felis catus) (n=45) aged from 1 to 10 years. The material for the study were mandibles (n=15) and review radiographs of the head region (n=30). We used a complex methodical approach including: anatomical preparation for the purpose of skeletonization of the head, macromorphometry with determination of skeletotopic landmarks of the mandible, overview radiography of the bone structure of the head with subsequent decoding of the obtained information and radiogrammetry in the program “RadiAnt”, as well as statistical processing of the obtained digital data was carried out according to the generally accepted methods. In the analysis of mandibles and review radiographs, we have established species-specific and individual features of anatomo-topographic landmarks (mental and mandibular foramen) corresponding to the structural formations of the mandibular canal in the domestic cat. Thus the shape, variations and skeletotopia of the studied foramen are described. On the basis of the obtained results of macroscopic morphometry and radiogrammetry the skeletotopic landmarks of the mandibular canal-forming foramen are presented, which should be taken into account during mandibular anesthesia. The obtained results are basic for the development of new accesses to the mandibular branch of the trigeminal nerve when performing mandibular anesthesia in veterinary dentistry.

Morphological justification of the risk of mastopathy in cattle

Mastopathy, as it is known, is one of the fundamental reasons for the decrease in dairy productivity of cows, sanitary and technological properties of milk, as well as premature culling of animals. The purpose of this study was to present a morphological justification of the risk of mastopathy in cattle. The research was carried out on the basis of the Department of Anatomy and Histology of Animals named after Professor Alexey Filipovich Klimov of the Moscow State Academy of Veterinary Medicine and Biotechnology – MBA named after K. I. Scriabin" and the breeding plant "Povadino" of the Moscow region. The object was Holstein cows. To conduct the study, an experimental group of animals (n=102) was selected from a herd of 1200 heads according to the principle of analogues, taking into account breed, body weight, age, number of lactations, reproduction index, which included clinically healthy animals (n=51, control) and experimental animals (n=51, mastitis). A comprehensive methodological approach was used, including a visual assessment of the state of the somatic systems of the animal body, macroscopic morphometry in order to determine the type of their constitution, the somatotype index and linear indicators of the mammary gland. Based on the conducted studies, anatomical and echographic parallels of the state of the mammary gland in the studied animals were established. In cows with mastitis, an increase in the circumference of the gland in comparison with the control group is accompanied by destructive changes in its excretory system in the form of massive fibrin overlays in the area of milk passages represented by heteroechogenic sites.The results obtained are basic in improving the methods of diagnosis and prevention of breast pathologies in cattle.

The impact of FSH stimulation and age on the ovarian and uterine traits and histomorphometry of prepubertal gilts

This study investigated the effect of age and follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) treatment on the estradiol (E2) plasma concentration, ovarian follicle development, endometrial histomorphometry, and ultrasonographic parameters of the ovaries and uterus in prepubertal gilts. Thirty-five prepubertal gilts were grouped according to age (140 or 160 d), and within each age, gilts were allotted to receive 100 mg of FSH (treated; G140 + FSH [n = 10] and G160 + FSH [n = 7]) or saline solution (control; G140 + control [n = 10] and G160 + control [n = 8]). The total dose of FSH was divided into 6 similar doses administered every 8 h (days 0–2). Before and after FSH treatment, blood sample was collected, and transabdominal scanning of the ovaries and uterus was performed. Twenty-four hours after the last FSH injection, the gilts were slaughtered and their ovaries and uterus were processed for histological and histomorphometric analysis. The histomorphometric parameters of the uterus differed (P < 0.05) between prepubertal gilts at 160 d and 140 d of age. Moreover, changes (P < 0.05) in uterine and ovarian ultrasound images occurred between 140 and 160 d of age. Age and FSH treatment did not affect (P > 0.05) E2 plasma concentrations. Follicle stimulating hormone treatment did not affect (P > 0.05) the early stage of folliculogenesis in the prepubertal gilts; however, the number of early atretic follicles decreased (P < 0.05) after the FSH treatment. Follicle stimulating hormone administration increased (P < 0.05) the number of medium follicles and decreased (P < 0.05) the number of small follicles in 140 and 160 d old gilts. In the endometrium, luminal/glandular epithelium height and glandular diameter increased (P < 0.05) after FSH treatment. Thus, injections of 100 mg of FSH stimulate the endometrium epithelium and induce follicular growth to a medium follicle size without affecting the preantral stages in prepubertal gilts; also, the uterine macroscopic morphometry does not change from 140 to 160 d of age.

Clinical morphological reasoning of the diagnosis of subclinical cows endometritis

The project presents the results of the clinical and morphological substantiation of the diagnosis of endometritis in cows. The scientific and production part of the experiment was carried out by the method of selection of analog groups, taking into account the reproductive age and live weight, according to generally accepted methods. Two groups of animals were formed. Group one - cows with subclinical endometritis, group two - with no signs of this pathology, which is morphological control. Of these, seven animals were healthy and thirteenth with signs of endometritis. Of these, pathology in an acute form was detected in three animals, in a latent form in ten animals. The formation of a group of animals with a normal course of the postpartum period was carried out on the basis of techniques, including examination of the external genitalia and rectal examinations. General clinical indicators were also taken into account: temperature, pulse and respiration. The studies were carried out on the basis of the Department of Anatomy and Histology of Animals named after Professor A.F. Klimov FGBOU VO MGAVMiB - MBA named after K.I. Scriabin, as well as in ZAO Povadino breeding plant. Hematological studies were carried out on the basis of the Chance Bio laboratory. A comprehensive methodological approach was used in the work, including clinical examination of animals, macroscopic morphometry, anatomical preparation, morphological blood tests, statistical analysis of the obtained digital data. The normative morphological parameters of the uterus in black-white Holsteinized cows were established as the baseline for assessing the nature of structural changes in the organ with subclinical endometritis. Revealed pathognomonic morphological signs of the uterus in subclinical endometritis, expressed in an increase in its cavity and horns, the accumulation of exudate in them, in the swelling and dullness of the endometrium. In the course of the conducted hematological studies, the manifestation of an inflammatory reaction was noted, expressed in an increase in the number of leukocytes, stab and segmented neutrophils and monocytes. The article presents the clinical and morphological substantiation of the diagnosis of subclinical endometritis, based on a comprehensive assessment of changes in the morphometric parameters of the uterus and hematological changes occurring in the body.

NT-proBNP as a biomarker for the assessment of a potential cardiovascular drug-induced liability in beagle dogs

The amino-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) is released into the plasma predominantly from ventricular cardiomyocytes, particularly in patients with chronic cardiac diseases, although small amounts are detectable in the plasma of healthy subjects. While NT-proBNP has been widely exploited in human medicine, limited literature is available related to its characterization in veterinary medicine (e.g., correlation with damage and specificity) and, particularly, in the context of preclinical drug safety assessment. This paper describes the analytical performance characteristics and the biological variability of NT-proBNP in male beagle dogs by using a commercially available enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Male beagle dogs were treated with Casopitant, an NK1 receptor antagonist under development for depression and anxiety, which, when administered chronically to dogs, caused cardiac toxicity. Heart weight increase, myocardial necrosis, degeneration, and inflammation associated with high serum levels of cardiac troponin I characterized the end stage pathology observed in dogs treated orally at 40mg/kg for 39weeks. Based on these data, ad hoc studies were designed in order to evaluate the possible relationship between NT-proBNP serum levels and both standard toxicology endpoints, such as the organ weight and histology, as well as nonstandard endpoints such as macroscopic morphometry and echocardiography. Early changes of NT-proBNP serum levels were observed following 2weeks of treatment onward, preceding most, if not all of the anatomical and functional changes. The results obtained demonstrate that NT-proBNP acts as an early biomarker of cardiac changes, representing a sensitive and predictive marker of drug-induced cardiac liability.

Composite model of healthy arterial wall: material identification based on uniaxial traction tests and morphometric analysis

During a cardiac cycle, the radius of an elastic artery may undergo a variationof about 10% so that the arterial wall is subjected to relatively large deformation.This deformation may change the orientation of fibrous componentsincluded in the arterial wall and leads to interaction between the wall microcomponents.Thus the macroscopic properties of the tissue may changeentirely. Hence, in order to describe properly the mechanical behavior ofhealthy arterial wall, we employ the fibre reinforced composite macroscopicmodel. According to the histological analysis of healthy arteries, the solidmechanical properties of the arterial wall are determined primarily by thetunica media and the tunica adventitia. Consequently, we model the elasticartery as a two-layer thick-wall cylindrical tube where each layer is treated as acomposite of two constituents: the passive fibres (representing the collagen orelastin fibres) embedded in the isotropic matrix (representing other constituentsincluding the extracellular substance). This mathematical model involves manyconstitutive parameters which must be identified using experimental results of amacroscopic specimen of the healthy artery. The proportional representation ofthe basic components in terms of volume fractions (also the elastin length density,the diameter of the aorta and the thickness of the wall) were determinedusing both microscopic and macroscopic morphometry of the tissue samples.In order to find the constitutive parameters, quasi-static uniaxial traction testsof samples from porcine aorta were performed. Methods based on optimizationare adopted to the material identification. Finally, we demonstrate the resultsof our numerical tests.

Comparison of computed density and macroscopic morphometry in pulmonary emphysema.

High-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) scans were obtained at 1 cm intervals in 63 subjects referred for surgical resection of a cancer or for transplantation to find out whether the relative area of lung occupied by attenuation values lower than a threshold would be a measurement of macroscopic emphysema. Using a semiautomatic procedure, the relative areas occupied by attenuation values lower than eight thresholds ranging from -900 to -970 HU were calculated on the set of scans obtained through the lobe or the lung to be resected. The extent of emphysema was quantified by a computer-assisted method on horizontal paper-mounted lung sections obtained every 1 to 2 cm. The only level for which no statistically significant difference was found between the HRCT and the morphometric data was -950 HU. To determine the number of scans sufficient for an accurate quantification, we recalculated the relative area occupied by attenuation values lower than -950 HU on progressively fewer numbers of scans and investigated the departure from the results obtained with 1 cm intervals. Because of wide variations in this departure from patient to patient, a standard cannot be recommended as the optimal distance between scans.

Atherosclerosis in Watanabe heritable hyperlipidaemic rabbits

The spontaneous development of atherosclerotic disease in 38 homozygous and 34 heterozygous Watanabe heritable hyperlipidaemic rabbits was evaluated by qualitative and quantitative light microscopy in aorta, coronary, pulmonary and renal arteries, by naked eye and macroscopic morphometric estimation of aortic atherosclerosis extent and by biochemical analysis of aortic cholesterol content. No noteworthy atherosclerosis was demonstrated within 19 months in heterozygous rabbits. In homozygous rabbits, atherosclerotic lesions were seen from the age of 4 months and progressed with age. All 19-month-old rabbits had severe atherosclerotic disease. As much as 64% of the variation in atherosclerosis extent/severity could be explained by serum cholesterol and age. A highly significant correlation between the various methods for quantitation of atherosclerosis extent and/or severity was demonstrated, suggesting that quantitative microscopy, macroscopic morphometry and determination of aortic cholesterol content may be equally valid as a measure of atherosclerosis in WHHL rabbits and are therefore interchangeable.

Inbred SAM-P/10 as a mouse model of spontaneous, inherited brain atrophy.

We developed a novel inbred strain of mouse with age-related brain atrophy and it was named "Senescence Accelerated Mouse (SAM)-P/10." Macroscopic morphometry indicated that the brains of SAM-P/10 showed age-dependent involutional changes mainly in the frontal portion of the cerebrum. The brain weight decreased by 8.6% throughout the life-span. There were no obvious defects in postnatal development. Semi-macroscopic morphometry revealed a prominent atrophy in the neocortex, olfactory cortex and amygdala. Microscopic morphometry showed that the neocortical neurons were lost with aging, with mostly the large neurons being affected which were lost by 35.6% throughout the life-span. Somata of the neocortical neurons shrank with advancing age. In a control SAM-R/1 strain with only a slight macroscopic involutional change in the brain without weight loss, neither loss of the neocortical large neurons nor shrinkage of the neocortical neurons was evident with aging. Learning and memory skills were evaluated using the one-trial passive avoidance task and conditional avoidance task. Young SAM-P/10 mice performed well in both tasks but older SAM-P/10 showed a poorer performance in both tasks, and this was even poorer than the performance of very old SAM-R/1 mice. Thus, SAM-P/10 can serve as a spontaneous animal model of brain atrophy for a variety of studies of aging of the brain. A better understanding of neurodegenerative diseases with dementia should be forthcoming.

Regional distribution of macroscopic lung disease in cystic fibrosis.

We used macroscopic morphometry and multivariate analysis (Hotelling's T2) to quantitate the extent of chronic lung disease and its regional distribution in formalin-inflated right lungs obtained at autopsy from 17 young adults with cystic fibrosis (CF) and 5 without CF as control subjects. Lungs were point-counted, by lobe, for 6 anatomic variables: parenchyma, nonparenchyma, bronchi, vessels, cysts, and emphysema, and the results were expressed for each as volume proportion (Vv). Considering all 6 variables simultaneously, CF lungs differed significantly from control lungs (p = 0.003). For individual variables, Vv bronchus was significantly elevated and Vv parenchyma was significantly reduced in the CF group. Within the CF lungs, there was a significant difference between upper and lower lobes when all variables were considered together (p = 0.001). For individual variables, Vv parenchyma and Vv vessels were significantly less, and Vv bronchus was significantly greater in the upper compared with the lower lobe. There was no difference in the upper versus lower lobe Vv for any variable in the control group. These results indicate that lung disease and remodeling are irregularly distributed in CF and that the upper lobe is disproportionately severely involved.

Pulmonary air cysts in cystic fibrosis: Relation of pathologic features to radiologic findings and history of pneumothorax

One lung obtained from each of 21 consecutive autopsies in adolescents and young adults with cystic fibrosis was studied prospectively by macroscopic morphometry and light microscopy to determine the prevalence, morphology, and radiographic appearance of subpleural air cysts, which potentially contribute to spontaneous pneumothorax. In 15 lungs, 41 cysts of three anatomic types were identified: bronchiectatic cysts (23), interstitial cysts (13), and emphysematous bullae (5). All cysts were significantly more numerous in the upper lobe. Bronchiectatic cysts had the largest mean diameter, occupied from less than 1 per cent to 47.7 per cent of upper lobe volume in nine patients, and produced large multiloculated hyperlucencies on chest radiographs in five cases. All six lungs with prior pneumothorax contained at least one cyst, but no significant difference was found in the type or proportion of lung volume occupied by cysts between lungs with and without pneumothorax. Patients with large cysts had significantly lower chest radiograph scores, but there was no correlation between the proportion of lung volume occupied by cysts and patient age or duration of either symptomatic lung disease or colonization by bacteria. On chest radiographs only bronchiectatic cysts with conglomerate diameters of greater than 3 cm were visible. Smaller lesions could not be separated from ring shadows produced by bronchiectasis.