Proceedings of the Anatomical Society of Great Britain and Ireland. July 1978. The summer meeting for the session 1977--8 was held on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, 18, 19 and 20 July at the Department of Anatomy, University of Glasgow. abstracts of papers.

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J. Anat. (I 978), 127, 3, pp. 641-667 Printed in Great Britain

Proceedings of the Anatomical Society of Great Britain and Ireland JULY 1978 The Summer Meeting for the session 1977-8 was held on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, 18, 19 and 20 July at the Department of Anatomy, University of Glasgow. The following are the authors' abstracts of papers:

COMMUNICATIONS 1. William Hunter and the anatomy of the human lymphatics. By J. SHAW DUNN. Department of Anatomy, University of Glasgow The Hunterian Museum in Glasgow preserves many of the original specimens used by William Hunter in his early and controversial research on the structure and function of lymphatics. The specimens were prepared in London between 1740 and 1790, probably by Hunter himself and by his successive assistants William Fewson and William Cruickshank. The lymphatic vessels are mostly shown by injection with mercury, one of the most modem and powerful techniques of investigation at the time. About fifty of the present specimens show the human lymphatic system, while the remainder are from fish, amphibia, reptiles and mammals. The human specimens fall into three main groups. The first shows peripheral lymphatics of the lower limb. The major vessels are filled with mercury and the position of the valves is indicated externally by constrictions. Particularly beautiful specimens show the lymphatic plexuses surrounding the regional glands, and some detail of their internal structure. The second group of dissections shows lymphatics in the heart, lungs, liver, intestine and reproductive organs. Of special interest are the deep and superficial lymphatics of the lung and liver, the latter extending clearly on to the diaphragm. High-pressure retrograde injections were used to demonstrate the testicular lymphatics, the mercury apparently breaking out into the testicular stroma and then finding its way into the lymphatics. In the intestine, different specimens show natural and mercury-filled lacteals. The major specimen of the last group is a dissection of the posterior mediastinum and root of the neck from behind, showing the thoracic duct and its lymphatic and venous connexions. Hunter noted the similarity of the general lymphatics to the 'absorbent' lacteals, and on this basis assumed that the lymphatics must be the "general absorbents of the body and carry the juices to the duct, the receptaculum and finally to the jugular vein". 2. Uterine lymphatics in the pig and the sheep. By A. WONG, 0. REID and R. J. SCOTHORNE. Department of Anatomy, University of Glasgow The distribution of lymphatics in the uterus of pigs and sheep has been investigated by optical microscopy of semithin Araldite sections of material fixed by vascular perfusion with glutaraldehyde. This method allows ready distinction between lymphatics, with their content of stained precipitated lymph proteins, and blood vessels, whose lumina are empty. In five non-pregnant pigs and one pig in early pregnancy, lymphatics were found in abundance in the subserosal, muscular and endometrial layers. They were present throughout the endometrium, extending close to the surface epithelium. In four non-pregnant ewes, lymphatics were abundant in the subserosa and muscularis, and in the deeper half of the caruncular endometrium, but were not found, in the many sections studied, within the superficial half of the endometrium. Nine pregnant uteri carrying embryos of 5 5 to 200 mm CR length were also studied. Lymphatics became progressively more prominent in subserosa and muscularis but appeared to be progressively more confined to the deepest part of the endometrium, with advancing pregnancy. The significance of these findings was discussed in relation to the problem of the conceptus as an allograft. 4I-2

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3. Lymphatic connexions between the ovary and the uterus in CBA mice. By A. C. WAUGH, N. K. BENNETT and R. J. SCOTHORNE. Department of Anatomy, University of Glasgow There is good evidence, in several species, for local reciprocal influences between the ovary and the ipsilateral uterine horn. The anatomical pathways involved are not fully established, although in sheep the luteolytic influence of the ipsilateral uterine horn on the ovary seems to involve veno-arterial countercurrent mechanisms. In mice, while there is little evidence for a local effect of the uterus on the ovary, there are several indications of a local effect of the ovary on the uterus. In the present study we have looked for lymphatic connexions between the two organs. In 60 mice the subserous lymphatics of the anterior (ovarian) end of the uterine horn were injected with India ink. In 8 of these animals ink extended forwards within a lymphatic channel lyiag in the ligament of the ovary and filled the intraovarian lymphatics. In a further 11 mice ink injected into the ligament of the ovary, at the level of the hilum of the ovary, readily filled the intraovarian lymphatics, and, in 8 of the 11 mice, extended in lymphatic channels in the ovarian ligament, to fill subserosal lymphatics in the cephalic end of the uterine horn. Within the horn, lymphatics were found in the subserosa and muscularis, but were absent from the endometrium. The lymphatic nature of all the channels was confirmed by optical microscopy of semithin Araldite sections of perfused material. The normal direction of lymph flow remains to be established, but the interconnecting channel was much more readily injected from its ovarian rather than from its uterine end. The possible significance of the interconnexion as a route for local endocrine influence of the ovary on the uterus, requires further experimental study. 4. On the response of regional uterine lymph nodes in inbred (CBA x CBA) and outbred (CBA x A/JAX) pregnancies in mice. By H. V. DOCHERTY, 0. REID and R. J. SCOTHORNE. Department of Anatomy, University of Glasgow There is a conflict of evidence on the response of regional uterine lymph nodes in pregnancy. Beer & Billingham (Adv. Immunol. 14, 1971) and Maroni & De Sousa (Clin. exp. Immunol. 13, 1973) found significantly greater enlargement of the nodes in allogeneic pregnancy, an effect which they ascribed to a maternal immune response, and a similar view was taken by McLean and his colleagues. Hetherington (J. Reprod. Fert. 33, 1973), on the other hand, used congeneic resistant strains and found that maternal/fetal incompatibility at the H-2 and H-3 loci did not result in differential changes in lymph nodes. In the present study of mice at 11, 13, 15, 16 and 18 days of gestation, we find the following changes, similar in degree, in allogeneic and syngeneic pregnancies: (i) involution of the thymus, (ii) increased weight of spleen, between 11 and 15 days, (iii) increased weight of regional uterine nodes. The increased weight of regional lymph nodes is not attributable to an immune response, since any differences between inbred and outbred pregnancies were not statistically significant. Moreover, optical microscopy of semithin Araldite sections of the regional uterine nodes showed no differences between the syngeneic and allogeneic groups. In particular, there was no significant difference in numbers of immunoblasts in thymus-dependent cortex at any stage between 10 and 16 days. These findings make it clear that, in CBA x A/JAX pregnancies, the existence of undoubted differences in histocompatibility does not result in a morphologically detectable immune response in the regional uterine nodes. 5. Acetylcholinesterase in myoid and epithelial cells of the rabbit thymus. By J. A. SHARP and P. C. Woo-SAM. Department of Anatomy, University of Leeds (Fig. 1) During a survey of the ultrastructure of the thymus in New Zealand White rabbits whose sizes ranged from fetuses to mature adults, we have found several examples of cells with characteristics similar to skeletal muscle (myoid cells). These myoid cells were oval, about 15 ,m in diameter, sometimes multinucleated, and their cytoplasm was packed with disordered arrays of myofilaments (Fig. 1 A). A cytochemical technique for the ultrastructural localization of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) (Lewis & Shute, J. Cell Sci. 1, 1966) was applied to specimens of thymus from two rabbits. Myoid cells in electronmicrographs of these specimens showed a positive

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reaction for AChE on the plasma membrane, the nuclear membrane, and in scattered areas between groups of myofilaments (Fig. 1 B). Thymic epithelial cells also displayed a positive reaction with a similar distribution (Fig. 1 C), and in their cytoplasm the enzyme appeared to be associated with the endoplasmic reticulum. No AChE activity was detected in the thymic lymphocytes. Absence of reaction product in electron micrographs of control specimens, incubated in medium containing the anticholinesterase BW284C51, indicated that the enzyme was a specific acetylcholinesterase. Although myoid cells have previously been described in the thymus of several reptiles and mammals, this appears to be the first report of their presence in the rabbit thymus. The presence of AChE in the myoid cells and epithelial cells was discussed in the context of recent reports that acetylcholine receptors can be detected on striated muscle fibres developing in cultures of rat thymus (Kao & Drachman, Science, N. Y. 195, 1977) and on epithelial cells of human thymus (Engel et al. Lancet i, 1977), and with reference to current views on the aetiology of myasthenia gravis. 6. 'Rostral mesoderm' and 'caudal mesoderm' as descriptive embryological terms. By M. J. T. FITZGERALD. Department of Anatomy, University College, Galway, Ireland Prior to the formation of the head and tail folds in the human embryo, the intraembryonic mesoderm skirts the oropharyngeal and cloacal membranes to become continuous across the midline at the rostral and caudal extremities of the embryonic disc. Rostrally, it is usually referred to as the cardiogenic mesoderm and, caudally, as the (future) genital tubercle. Neither term is valid because both are too restrictive. The term 'rostral mesoderm' is suggested to denote the mesoderm rostral to, and beside, the oropharyngeal membrane (FitzGerald & Gillan, Med. Biol. Illus. 22, 1972). The term is suitably non-committal because the mesoderm here, in addition to forming the pericardium and heart, gives rise to the septum transversum rostral (later caudal) to the pericardium. 'Caudal mesoderm' is suggested for the mesoderm beside and caudal to the cloacal membrane; its derivatives include the genital tubercle and the infra-umbilical abdominal wall. The two regions are, literally, pivotal in the formation of the head and tail folds. The new terms highlight their reciprocal role in these respective events and are descriptively convenient (FitzGerald, Embryology: A Regional Approach, Harper & Row, 1978). 7. The fetal membranes of Arctictis binturong. Temminck, 1824. By A. YOUNG. Department of Anatomy, University of Glasgow The morphology of the fetal membranes of wild carnivores is relatively poorly documented. The family Viverridae Gray, 1821 includes the subfamilies Viverrinae and Paradoxurinae Gill, 1872. Previous descriptions of the fetal membranes in this family are by Strahl (Abh. Senckenberg. Naturf. Gesellschaft 27, 1905) on Viverra civetta, and Moghe (Proc. Nat. Instut. Sci. (India), 22 B, 1956) on Paradoxurus h. hermaphroditus. An intact conceptus of Arctictis binturong (a second genus of the Paradoxurini) at 65 days' gestation (F.T. = 92 days) is thus sufficiently rare to merit description. The complete sac (11 cm long by 6.75 cm in diameter) had a zonary placenta varying in width from 6.4 cm antifundally to 2.8 cm at the cord root. The maternal surface of the placenta was red with some paler adherent decidual tissue on it. There was a thin, narrow, orange-coloured margin all around and continuous with a wider irregular band of similar tissue across the widest part of the girdle. The allantois extended the full length of the chorionic sac. The amnion was shorter and closely enveloped the male fetus (9 cm C.R. length) and was not attached to the chorionic sac except at the cord root. The amniotic portion of the cord contained distally two umbilical arteries, the allantoic duct, vitelline vessels and duct, and two umbilical veins which united in the proximal 1 cm of the cord. The cord flattened and widened transversely with one artery and one vein going to each margin, where they bifurcated and followed the margins towards the wide antifundal region. No arterial anastomoses were found between the two umbilical arteries or across the antifundal

region. The distal end of the allantoic duct opened out alongside the yolk sac, transversely situated


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in the angle between the primary vascular bundles covered by amnion and allantois. The yolk sac (thin-walled with a velvety lining) was thus in contact with only a small area of the placenta.

8. The effect of hydrocortisone on human fetal gastric mucosa in vitro. By A. H. SWAIN. Department of Anatomy, Charing Cross Hospital Medical School, London The technique of organ culture has not yet been successfully applied to mucosa from the acidproducing (fundic gland) area of the adult human stomach (Trier, N. Engl. J. Med. 295, 1976). A modified roller tube technique for the organ culture of human fetal fundic mucosa was presented. Stomachs from human fetuses of approximately 20 weeks gestation were obtained from the Tissue Bank of the Royal Marsden Hospital, London. Fundic mucosal explants were cultured in roller tubes contained in a perspex chamber gassed with 5 % carbon dioxide in oxygen. The culture medium consisted of 65 % medium 199, 20 % NCTC 135 and 15 % fetal bovine serum, supplemented with penicillin, gentamicin and amphotericin B. In fundic mucosa at the 20 weeks stage, surface and crypt mucous cells and parietal (oxyntic) cells can be identified by light and electron microscopy, but chief (zymogen) cells are difficult to distinguish. In vitro, epithelial growth occurs and a sheet of new cells extends around the margin of the explant to reach the serosal surface. Addition of hydrocortisone, to a concentration of 10-6 M, produced distension of the surface and crypt cells with mucus after 2 days in culture. A similar effect has been demonstrated in the culture of rat fetal stomach (Yeomans, Gastroenterology 71, 1976). This finding is contrary to the view that steroids interfere with mucoprotein synthesis (Parke, Topics in Gastroenterology 4, Blackwell, 1976). The possibility that this effect is due to factors other than hydrocortisone was discussed. 9. Development of ferret limb buds in organ culture. By A. P. GULAMHUSEIN and F. BECK. Department of Anatomy, University of Leicester Since the establishment of a technique by Trowell (Expl Cell Res. 6, 1954; 16, 1959) involving the cultivation in vitro of various mammalian organs, many workers have adopted the technique for cultivating mammalian limb buds (Neubert et al., Methods in Prenatal Toxicology, Georg Thieme, Stuttgart, 1977). The limb buds develop from the blastema stage to well differentiated cartilaginous anlagen of the long bones and paw skeleton. Most published work involves the use of laboratory rodents (especially mice), the limb buds of which have been cultivated in chemically defined media for 6 days. This communication presents the results of experiments involving the culture of limb buds of a carnivore, the ferret. The forelimb bud explants from ferret embryos at days 20, 21, 22, 23 and 24 of gestation were placed on membrane filters (Sartorius 1303), supported by stainless steel grids and placed in plastic petri dishes with culture medium just touching the grids and wetting the filters from beneath. The procedure was that of Aydelotte & Kochhar (Dev. Biol. 28, 1972). The limb buds were cultured either in Bigger's medium (Flow Laboratories, U.K.) supplemented with fetal calf serum, glutamine, ascorbic acid, penicillin and streptomycin or in Ham's F-12 Nutrient Mixture (Gibco Bio-Cult, U.K.) supplemented with fetal calf serum, ascorbic acid, glucose, penicillin and streptomycin. Incubation was carried out at 37 °C in a H20-saturated 5 % C02-air atmosphere. The medium was changed every 3-4 days. At the end of the culture period the limb buds were fixed in 10 % formalin, stained with methylene blue and cleared in xylene to evaluate the degree of the formation of the cartilaginous skeleton. Satisfactory differentiation of the limb bud skeleton was achieved with limbs from embryos explanted at 22 days of gestation (45-49 somites). The level of differentiation corresponds to that obtained with mouse limb buds from 11-12 days old embryos (40-43 somites). The time taken to achieve differentiation in the ferret greatly exceeded that required by the mouse; the culture period in the ferret being 18 days compared with 6 days in the mouse. This is a great advantage in teratogenesis experiments involving manipulation of the environment since longer periods of treatment are possible. Ferret limb buds explanted at 20 and 21 days had poorly differentiated distal segments while those explanted at 23 and 24 days provided less information than that obtained from earlier stages because chondrogenesis was already under way at the commencement of culture. For this reason we conclude that the optimal time for culture of ferret limb buds is 22 days of gestation.

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10. The in vivo and in vitro action of sodium salicylate on rat embryos. By C. McGARRr, N. J. SAMANI and F. BECK. Department of Anatomy, University of Leicester The purpose of this investigation is to determine whether sodium salicylate, which is known to be teratogenic in rats (Warkany & Takacs Am. J. Path. 35, 1959) has a direct action on the developing embryo or whether maternally mediated metabolic factors are important. The New culture technique (J. Reprod. Fert. 48, 1976) permits the growth of rat embryos in homologous serum. Embryos were explanted at 9 5 days of gestation and grown for 48 hours in culture. Pregnancy was timed from midnight of the night preceding the morning when sperm were demonstrated in the vaginal smear. Embryos were grown for the first 24 hours in one of four treatment groups and then transferred to normal serum for the remainder of the culture period. The four experimental groups were (i) serum taken 3 hours after injection of a single subcutaneous dose of 450 mg/kg sodium salicylate (cf. Demonstration D. 8) in which the serum salicylate level was 65-70 mg/100 ml. (Serum salicylate levels were determined using the Trinder method: Biochem. J. 57, 1954); (ii) serum taken 18-5 hours after injection (salicylate level of 20-25 mg/100 ml); (iii) serum to which salicylates were added to a level of 65-70 mg/100 ml; (iv) serum to which salicylate was added to a level of 30-35 mg/100 ml. For each group control embryos were grown in untreated serum. Embryos were examined using a number of parameters, e.g. presence of vitelline circulation, yolk sac diameter, somite number, normal folding and neural tube closure. In all parameters, treated embryos in each group were affected more than the controls. Further, there was a difference in response between the higher dose (groups 1 and 3) and the lower dose (2 and 4), those at the higher level being more affected than those at the lower. The form and degree of malformation was comparable in embryos grown in serum from a treated animal and serum to which salicylate had been added. An in vivo comparison was conducted by injecting 10 CFHB rats at 9 5 days gestation with 450 mg/kg subcutaneously and the pregnancy terminated at 11-5 days. The types of malformation observed in this group were similar to those observed in vitro. These results suggest a direct effect of salicylate on the developing embryo. Detailed analysis of these results is presented in Demonstration D. 8.

11. Retinoic acid-induced malformations of the heart. By I. M. TAYLOR, A. AGUR and M. J. WILEY. Department of Anatomy, University of Toronto, Canada Administration of retinoic acid to pregnant Syrian hamsters as a single oral dose on one of days 7, 8, 9 or 10 has a profound effect on the development of the fetal heart and great vessels. High frequencies of transposition, double outlet right ventricle and overriding aorta in association with pulmonary stenosis and a ventricular septal defect can be induced in the litters of females given 80 mg/kg of retinoic acid. An ultrastructural study of the fetal heart at various time intervals, ranging between 2 and 56 hours after administration of the drug, revealed extensive areas of cellular damage and necrosis which were found mainly in the muscle cells of the bulboventricular loop. A variety of effects of retinoic acid on the ultrastructural appearance of cells in this region was noted, such as the cell membrane swelling and budding, increases in the numbers of lipid droplets and cytoplasmic vacuoles, and irregularity of the nuclear membranes. Mitochondrial changes were frequently observed and numerous dead and dying myocardial cells were a prominent feature of hearts 24 hours or more after treatment with the teratogen. Although cell death was found in the hearts of both treated and untreated control animals, the degree and extent of damage in the retinoic acid-treated hearts was greatly in excess of that observed in the bulboventricular loops of the controls. These results support the hypothesis that complete transposition, double outlet right ventricle and the overriding aorta complex are all expressions of a single malformation spectrum. They represent different degrees of abnormal bulboventricular development all of which have the same underlying pathogenesis. Supported by MRC of Canada and the Atkinson Charitable Foundation.


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12. Developing conducting tissue in relation to induced malformations in the hearts of chick embryos. By MICHELLE J. TERLESKI and P. R. VASSALL-ADAMS. Department of Anatomy, Charing Cross Hospital Medical School, London The form and position of the atrioventricular bundle and its branches has been investigated in the hearts of chick embryos operated upon in order to induce cardiac malformations. The embryos were operated on after 3 days of incubation. A short nylon rod (5/0 gauge; 2-5 mm in length) was placed beneath the outflow tract of the heart, and thereafter left in situ. The hearts were removed after a total of 11 days of incubation and were serially sectioned in the coronal plane for examination with the light microscope. The majority of operated embryos showed failure of fusion of the anterior body wall with herniation of both thoracic and abdominal viscera. Normal hearts of the same incubation age were available for comparison. The distribution of developing conducting cardiac tissue in relation to small ventricular septal defects has been previously reported (Vassall-Adams, J. Anat., 127, 1978). The present study is concerned with the form and position of the atrioventricular bundle and its branches in nine hearts exhibiting large ventricular septal defects. In these hearts the atrioventricular bundle, the right and left limbs and the septal component of the ring branch were present as discrete fasciculi. The atrioventricular bundle ran beneath the defect, where it dividedinto its three branches. However, the atrioventricular bundle was diminished in size relative to that of normal hearts of the same incubation age, and, in contrast, the septal component of the ring branch was relatively large. Additionally the septal component of the ring branch had a 'node-like' expansion at the point of contact with atrial tissue. These observations suggest that in operated hearts with large ventricular septal defects the septal component of the ring branch may be acting as an accessory atrioventricular bundle. 13. The aetiology and pathogenesis of spina bifida. By J. McKENZIE and D. J. WATT. Department of Developmental Biology, University of Aberdeen Treatment of the 24 hours old chick embryo with insulin causes necrosis of the neural folds at or about the time of fusion. The reason for this specific effect has not been previously investigated, but experiments using substances associated with cellular oxidative metabolism and their analogues suggest that insulin acts by interfering with this metabolic pathway. A thin strip of necrotic cells occurring normally along the opposing edges of the neural folds as they meet and gross necrosis after the administration of insulin to the chick embryo has led to the use of other agents interfering with cellular oxidative metabolism and to an explanation for both the normal and abnormal necrosis in the neural folds. A gradient of diminishing oxygen and nutrient concentrations from the base of the neural fold to its edge is probably responsible for the normal necrotic zone, while the administration of sublethal doses of teratogens inhibiting the oxidative metabolism of all cells of the embryo could have the effect of increasing this zone of necrosis. This causes interference with the closure of the neural folds, resulting in various degrees of spina bifida. The implication of these findings in relation to the aetiology and pathogenesis of spina bifida in the human is discussed. 14. Electron microscope observations on the changing relationships between unmyelinated axons and Schwann cells in human fetal nerves. By H. J. GAMBLE, J. FENTON and GRETA ALLSOPP. Departments of Anatomy and Morbid Anatomy, St Thomas's Hospital Medical School, London Serial sections of nerves from small laboratory mammals have shown that the Schwann cells of unmyelinated axons may exhibit considerable changes in form over lengths no greater than a few microns. The manner of the transfer of such axons to the consecutive Schwann cell or cells is not known (Aguayo & Bray, Peripheral Neuropathy, vol. 1, Saunders, Philadelphia, 1975). In the rather different Schwann cells of unmyelinated axons of adult human cutaneous nerves, cytoplasmic processes investing single axons have been traced through serial sections to their terminations where they are overlapped by a similar process from the consecutive Schwann cell: at such junctions no axon has ever been found uncovered by a wrapping of Schwann cell cytoplasm. (Eames & Gamble, J. Anat. 106, 1970.)

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The examination of near serial sections of nerve bundles within superior rectus oculi muscles of human fetuses has shown an extremely simple communal investment of axons by Schwann cells in a specimen of 5 cm CR length. In older specimens increasing complexity is found and made more evident by the examination of the serial sections. It has been shown that axons may transfer from one Schwann cell to another not only at the end of Schwann cells but also at points along their length, as, for example, from the perinuclear region of one Schwann cell to that of another lying alongside. Axons making such transfers are sometimes invested by Schwann cell cytoplasmic processes but often are invested only by basal lamina.

15. The uptake and retrograde transport of horseradish peroxidase by guinea-pig colonic nerves in vitro. By P. N. ANDERSON, J. MITCHELL and D. MAYOR. Human Morphology, University of Southampton Horseradish peroxidase (HRP) can be taken up by ligated guinea-pig hypogastric nerves and transported retrogradely to neuronal perikarya in the inferior mesenteric ganglion (IMG) in vitro (Anderson et al. Brain Res., in the Press, 1978). This system has been extended by using a preparation comprising 2-4 cm of distal colon, with its ends ligated, attached to the IMG by the colonic nerves. This allows a study of the uptake of HRP by ligated colonic nerves and by intact nerve endings in the wall of the colon. A twin compartment incubation chamber was used so that the site of application of the peroxidase could be separated from the neuronal perikarya under investigation during the 24 hours period of incubation of the preparation in vitro. When HRP was applied to ligated colonic nerves, reaction product was present in neurons located throughout the IMG. Many more neurons were labelled than in experiments using the

hypogastric nerves. In experiments where HRP was added to the lumen of the colon, reaction product was present throughout the interstitial spaces of the colonic wall and within vesicles in most types of cells. With the light microscope, dense reaction product could be seen around the periphery of intermural ganglia, but could not be seen between the ganglion cells. However, electron microscopy revealed small amounts of reaction product in the extracellular spaces of the ganglia. The intramural neurons contained membrane-bound peroxidase granules. Neurons within the IMG were also labelled, indicating that the uptake and retrograde transport of HRP in vitro is not confined to ligated axons but also occurs along intact colonic nerves from the colon to the IMG. In experiments where HRP was applied to ligated colonic nerves, reaction product was also found in a few neurons of the myenteric plexus of the colon in some experiments. The difficulty in finding such cells indicates either that the colonic afferents to the IMG are few in number, or that they are less efficient at the uptake and retrograde transport of HRP than the postganglionic sympathetic neurons previously studied. 16. Histochemical changes in rat neocortex after intracortical needle wound. By S. AL-ALT and N. ROBINSON. Department of Anatomy, The London Hospital Medical College (Fig. 2) Intracortical penetration of a needle or electrode for neurophysiological or behavioural studies produces cell necrosis and various physiological changes at the site of operation. Morphological changes have been reported but little is known about the changes in cell metabolism in response to the injury. Three respiratory enzymes and acid phosphatase, all acting in major pathways of brain metabolism, have been studied in needle wounds up to 15 months after operation to elucidate these changes. Within 24 hours toluidine blue sections showed numerous red blood cells and debris at the site of injury. Between 2 and 5 days post-operation, there was a massive macrophage infiltration (Fig. 2A, toluidine blue) and depletion of oxidative enzymes, but some astrocytes were reactive (arrows, Fig. 2B, LDH at 5 days); acid phosphatase activity was high in macrophages. Between 7 and 14 days, oxidative enzyme reactions showed little further change but acid phosphatase activity increased. At 14 days some astrocytic scarring was evident and macrophages were prominent (Fig. 2 C, toluidine blue). Astrocytes exhibited moderate oxidative enzyme activity but their processes, forming early scarring, showed no activity (Fig. 2D, LDH). The astrocytic population increased during 19-25 days (Fig. 2E, toluidine blue), but enzyme activity remained unchanged. At 30 days a core of scar tissue (arrows, Fig. 2 F, toluidine blue) mainly populated


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by astrocytes, showed strong oxidative enzyme activity (arrows, Fig. 2G, LDH), whilst acid phosphatase activity was reduced in fewer cells (arrows, Fig. 2H). By 15 months, except for a raised acid phosphatase activity in some macrophages, enzyme activity was normal. In conclusion, therefore, only astrocytes and macrophages showed raised enzyme activities in response to trauma. 17. Observations on the locus coeruleus in the rat following lesions of its ascending projections. By D. A. REW and V. NAVARATNAM. Department ofAnatomy, University of Cambridge The locus coeruleus in the rat is a bilateral structure in the pons near the floor of the fourth ventricle. It consists of about 1500 noradrenergic neurons which, in spite of their non-cholinergic nature, stain heavily for acetyicholinesterase and their ascending axons are carried in the dorsal tegmental bundle (DTB) and then in the medial forebrain bundle (MFB). These compact bundles are convenient sites for performing axotomy of locus neurons. Sixteen young adult Sprague-Dawley rats were lesioned electrolytically in the MFB on one side. The animals were killed between 6 and 120 days after operation and perfused with 20 % formol saline. The pons was serially sectioned and the material was stained by a variety of methods including cresyl violet and stains for acid phosphatase and for acetylcholinesterase. In these animals, no histological changes could be detected in the locus despite extensive destruction of its ascending projections. The location of the lesion was checked in each specimen and in 4 animals, which were allowed to survive 6 days, the forebrain was assayed for catecholamines. A fall in the forebrain catecholamine content confirmed that the lesion had indeed interrupted noradrenergic axons. In a further 12 animals substantial lesions were placed in the DTB close to the locus coeruleus and depletion of acetyl cholinesterase was observed in its rostral part. 18. Development of adrenergic responsiveness in the neonatal rat iris. By D. C. DAVIES and V. NAVARATNAM. Department of Anatomy, University of Cambridge The iris is a particularly suitable organ for study of the maturation of peripheral sympathetic innervation because of its accessibility for topical application of drugs and the ready availability of a control on the opposite side. However, in assessing experimentally induced changes in pupil diameter it is essential to make allowance for the growth of the eye during development and to determine the basic pupil diameter at any particular stage. Neonatal Sprague-Dawley rats aged between 0 and 30 days were used in the present study. The animals were anaesthetized and subjected to topical application of drugs known to agonize or antagonize neuromuscular transmission in the iris. The basic (paralysed) pupil diameter was measured in four animals for each stage of development, after administering atropine sulphate, phenoxybenzamine and dichloroisoproterenol in succession. Under these circumstances the pupil diameter was found to remain relatively stable for the first 12 days at 2-2 mm, followed by a reduction to 1-7 mm at 15 days and then an increase to 3-8 mm at 30 days and to 4 9 mm in the adult. The effects of a-adrenergic, f-adrenergic and cholinergic stimulation were tested separately for each stage of development; in testing a particular receptor type, the other receptors were blocked with appropriate drugs. The results indicated that all three types of receptors in the iris become excitable about the 9th or 10th day of neonatal development, about the same time that innervation becomes functional and when release of endogenous neurotransmitter can be effected. The receptor sites become maximally excitable after the 14th day after birth. 19. 5-OH dopamine labelling of nerve terminals in the specialised and general myocardium of the rat heart. By V. NAVARATNAM and A. S. AYETrEY. Department of Anatomy, University of

Cambridge The distribution of autonomic nerve terminals in the rat heart was studied after 5-OH dopamine labelling in 12 adult animals. Sections of representative regions of heart muscle, including general atrial and ventricular myocardium as well as the nodes and the atrioventricular conducting system, were viewed under the electron microscope. In this way the distributions of


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labelled (noradrenergic) and unlabelled (predominantly cholinergic) nerve terminals were studied. Both types of terminal were found in all regions of the heart, the nodal regions showing the maximum density of total innervation. In the atrial myocardium, and in the nodes, cholinergic terminals outnumbered noradrenergic terminals in a ratio of approximately 1-3:1 whereas in the ventricular myocardium, cholinergic endings are outnumbered by the noradrenergic variety in a ratio of approximately 1:1 6. The proportion of the two types of terminal in various parts of the atrioventricular conducting system ranges between the typical atrial and ventricular patterns. A noteworthy feature of the distribution of nerve terminals is that, in all cardiac regions, unsheathed cholinergic and adrenergic profiles often lie adjacent to each other without an intervening Schwann cell process. This relationship supports the view that there may be crosstalk between nerve terminals and particularly that acetylcholine released from a cholinergic terminal can affect nicotinic or muscarinic receptor sites on an adjacent noradrenergic nerve terminal thus concomitantly modulating its activity. The possible significance of these findings are discussed. 20. The ultrastructure of the atrioventricular bundle and limbs in the avian heart. By P. R. VASSALLADAMS. Department of Anatomy, Charing Cross Hospital Medical School, London Although the ultrastructure of the ring branch and of diffuse Purkinje tissue has been previously reported, the avian atrioventricular bundle and limbs have not been studied with the electron microscope. This may reflect the fact that dissection of the bundle and limbs in the bird is more difficult than in the mammal because in birds these structures are buried within the muscle of the interventricular septum. In the present study, specimens from the mid-point of the atrioventricular bundle and of both limbs were obtained from the hearts of turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo). After the birds were electrocuted, the hearts were either rapidly dissected in the fresh state prior to obtaining the specimens, or were perfused with saline, followed by fixative (buffered 2 %Y glutaraldehyde) before dissection. All specimens were processed routinely for electron microscopy. On examination, the tissues of the atrioventricular bundle and of both limbs were similar, and they consisted of Purkinje cells which were characteristically large, elongated in the direction of the bundle and limbs, and contained myofibrils within an abundant cytoplasm. Groups of cells were separated by collagen, fibroblasts and nerves. The myofibrils were principally orientated in the long axis of the cell. Myofibril content was variable but in all cases appeared to be much less than in the myocardial cells. The regions of the cell cytoplasm which were not occupied by myofibrils or by cell organelles, contained only diffuse fibrillar material. Occasional leptomeres were observed. Both the transverse and lateral cell junctions exhibited interfibrillar regions, desmosomes, nexuses and unspecialized areas. Numerous and extensive nexuses were conspicuous features of the lateral cell junctions. These findings indicate that the ultrastructure of the cells of the atrioventricular bundle and limbs is essentially similar to that of the Purkinje tissue previously described in other regions of the avian heart.

21. Correlated studies of the development of the hypophyseal portal circulation and thyrotrophs in sheep. By A. A. GADIR, 0. REID and R. J. SCOTHORNE. Department of Anatomy, University of Glasgow The development of the hypophyseo-portal circulation was studied in 38 sheep embryos. In the earliest group examined (28-35 mm CR), blood vessels within the pars distalis were already continuous with the capillary plexus on the anterior part of the median eminence and with ' portal veins' on the posterior part of the eminence. There was a gradual change in this pattern in progressively older embryos. The definitive pattern, in which pars distalis is vascularised principally by portal vessels coming from the anterior part of the eminence, was established in embryos of about 60 mm CR length. PAS- and aldehyde-fuchsin-positive cells were detected in the pars distalis of embryos at all stages down to 25 mm CR length. An electron microscopic study of the pars distalis in

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0-8 ppm fat droplets appear in the cytoplasm of the tubular gland cells of these two regions. The surface epithelial cells lining the oviduct appear to be unaffected by the diet. The response of the oviduct to mercury ingestion, therefore, is not uniform. If the morphological variations observed are taken as an indication of subcellular sensitivity, then the magnum and isthmus are able to withstand greater concentrations of mercury than other regions of the oviduct. The reaction is reversible. Birds returned to a normal diet of seed barley without dressing resume laying within 2-3 weeks and the oviduct regains its normal size and appearance. 28. Some effects of liquid paraffin feeding on the tissues of mice and rats. By M. G. ADAMS (introduced by R. BARER). Department of Human Biology and Anatomy, University of

Sheffield It has been shown that during recovery from the administration of high-lipid diets certain organs show increased mitotic activity (Barer et al. J. Anat. 123, 1976). The present experiments were planned to see if a mineral oil, presumed to be non-metabolisable, produced similar effects. Liquid paraffin was fed to femiale mice and rats for 1, 2 and 3 days as 50 % of the diet. Colchicine was given intraperitoneally 4 hours before killing, and the salivary glands, extraorbital lacrimal glands, heart, lungs, liver, pancreas, duodenum, spleen and kidneys were removed for examination. In both species there was an increase in lacrimal gland acinar cell size and mitotic index. In mice the latter increased from 0-6 % in controls to 5-6 % after 2 days and 4-25 % after 3 days. Comparable values for rats were 0 1 %, 2 8 % and 18-0 %. Mean lacrimal gland weight increased progressively over 3 days by 57-4 % in mice and 38-8 % in rats. The submandibular and sublingual glands also showed increased acinar cell mitotic activity. This was observed after 2 and 3 days in mice and after 3 days in rats. In both species submandibular and sublingual gland weight increased after 3 days. Submandibular gland weight increased by 35 3 % in mice and 21-8 % in rats, and sublingual gland weight by 40(6 % in mice and 27-3 % in rats. The only other tissue examined that showed an obvious increase in mitotic activity was the mouse kidney. This was confined to the proximal convoluted tubules and was greatest after 3 days. Kidney weight increased by 12-5 %, but this was not statistically significant. It would appear that liquid paraffin feeding produces both hypertrophy and hyperplasia in some tissues of mice and rats. In distinction to the changes seen after recovery from high-lipid diets these effects occurred during the administration of liquid paraffin. 29. Assessment of irradiation damage in the small intestinal mucosa using the scanning electron microscope. By K. E. CARR, R. HAMLET*, C. WATr and A. H. W. NLAs* Department of Anatomy, University of Glasgow, and * Institute of Radiotherapeutics, Belvidere Hospital, Glasgow While heavy doses of ionising radiation cause marked mucosal injury, the changes following smaller doses are less striking. Three schedules of radiation dosage have been compared, the damage to the gut being assessed by a crypt counting technique, to estimate regenerative capacity, as well as by SEM. Schedule A involved 300 rad whole-body gamma irradiation per day, followed by a 900 rad assay dose. Schedule B involved 450 rad whole-body gamma irradiation per day. Schedule C involved 250 rad partial body X-irradiation three times per day. Since many of the samples studied showed relatively slight mucosal damage by SEM, a ranking system was used to compare the results from the different schedules; various aspects of


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villous shape and contour were individually scored, and a composite histogram was then prepared for each schedule to indicate the effect of increasing cumulative radiation dosage. Schedule A was found to produce marked surface changes despite relatively little change in the crypt count. Schedule B showed only slight mucosal surface damage although the crypt count was considerably depressed. Only in Schedule C was there a parallel between progressive mucosal surface damage and a progressive fall in the crypt count. 30. Cellular toxicity of P-chloramphetamine in an adenocarcinoma. By P. J. M. TUTrrON and D. H. BARKLA. Department of Anatomy, Monash University, Australia Two independently derived lines of evidence now support the notion that alterations in hormone receptors are an important component of malignant transformation in the colonic epithelium. Firstly, it has been shown that the enzyme, guanyl cyclase, which is intimately associated with various hormone receptors, is present in higher concentrations in human colonic tumours than in the anticedent epithelium (De Rubertis, Chayoth & Field, J. Clin. Invest. 57, 1976) and can be induced, in soluble form, by treatment of rat colon with the carcinogen methylnitro-nitrosoguanidine (De Rubertis & Craven, Cancer 40, 1977). Secondly, experiments in our laboratory have demonstrated that whilst cell proliferation in both the colonic crypt and in chemically induced adenocarcinomata of rat colon could be stimulated by various amines, the receptors stimulating tumour cell proliferation, unlike those stimulating crypt cell proliferation are within the cytoplasm (Tutton & Barkla, Virchows Arch. (Cell Pathol.) 21, 1976). In addition, whilst noradrenaline stimulates crypt cell proliferation, serotonin and histamine stimulate tumour cell proliferation. p-chloramphetamine causes long lasting depletion of serotonin in the central nervous system and is believed to be cytotoxic to serotinergic neurons. Since rat colonic adenocarcinomata are also dependent upon serotonin it was decided to explore the effect of p-chloroamphetamine on the tumours. Rats were injected with 1,2-dimethyldrazine at weekly intervals for 26 weeks. Following an interval of 6 weeks they were treated withp-chloroamphetamine and killed 24 hours later. Colonic tumours from these rats and from control animals not treated with p-chloroamphetamine were then prepared for histological examination. Tumours from control animals were well differentiated adenocarcinomata showing only occasional areas of necrosis. Tumours from p-chloramphetamine-treated animals showed disrupted acini and numerous necrotic cells. The crypt epithelium from the p-chloroamphetaminetreated animals appeared to be normal. 31. Fine structure of an intramuscular haemangiopericytoma from the dystrophic mouse. By S. D. STRANOCK. Department of Neurological Science, Royal Free Hospital, London (Fig. 5) Haemangiopericytomas are vascular neoplasms characterized by the presence of proliferating capillaries surrounded by tumour cells thought to be of pericytic origin. The tumour was located in the region of the left gastrocnemius muscle of a 7 month male dystrophic mouse. The muscle itself was severely atrophied and many of the fibres had been replaced by large masses of collagen. Tumour capillaries (Fig. 5 C) were of variable calibre and lined by apparently normal endothelial cells resting on a prominent, unbroken basement membrane. The ultrastructural organization of the tumour pericytes (Fig. 5P) was consistent with a high level of physiological activity. They were elongated, mononucleate cells with long, branching cytoplasmic processes (Fig. SE) extending from the cellular poles. The plasma membrane was commonly pitted by saccular invaginations, and formed pinocytotic vesicles occurred throughout the cytoplasm. The presence of a bristle coat attached to the cytoplasmic aspect of some invaginations and vesicles suggests that they may have been involved in the cellular uptake of proteins. Tumour cell cytoplasm was of variable density and contained numerous large mitochondria with well developed cristae. Golgi complexes, osmiophilic and lipid-like droplets and vacuoles were common cytoplasmic inclusions. Granular endoplasmic reticulum occurred as scattered, isolated cisternae. Basement membrane was frequently absent or, where present, poorly defined. Varying amounts of collagen were seen in the intercellular spaces. 42-2

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Fig. 5 The breakdown of the normal pattern of mitochondrial organization and the accumulation of large amounts of vacuolar material in some tumour cells suggests that they may have been degenerating. 32. Mineralization of the larynx, trachea and syrinx in the domestic fowl. By D. A. HOGG. Department of Anatomy, University of Glasgow The development of mineralization in the larynx, trachea and syrinx of the domestic fowl has been studied by alizarin red S staining in birds from hatching to 182 days postnatum, and in adults aged 21 years. After it was established that the alizarin reaction was strongly developed in the older birds in the series, portions of laryngeal cartilages and tracheal rings were removed from birds aged 154, 168 and 182 days and 21 years and these were examined histologically. In the larynx, mineralization was first encountered in the arytenoids at 105 days and in the cricoid and procricoid at 126 days. Subsequently, all cartilages were involved to a variable extent. Tracheal ring mineralization was first observed in 1 bird at 98 days, then variably up to 112 days and in all older birds examined. It commenced at the caudal end of the trachea, though it was not found in the last ring, and spread cranially. The first ring was not involved until 126 days. In no case was every ring mineralized. The most caudal rings soon became fully involved with the exception of the last, which was only mineralized partially in the adults and the penultimate ring which frequently was incompletely mineralized. At 154 and 168 days, histological examination revealed only mineralized cartilage. Bone tissue was identified in the tracheal rings at 182 days and in the laryngeal cartilages and tracheal rings in the adults. Other than in the cranial syringeal cartilages included in the study of the trachea, mineralization in the syrinx was found only in the pessulus and the most ventral parts of the first caudal


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syringeal cartilages. In these three sites mineralization was always found simultaneously and was first identified at 98 days and in all older birds examined. 33. Growth of the ape skull and variation in the adult. By J. L. CRUICKSHANK (introduced by D. R. JOHNSON). Department of Anatomy, University of Leeds The positions of between 25 and 30 standard craniometric landmarks were recorded from 64 skulls, 16 of each sex from the chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) and the gorilla (Gorilla gorilla), using the technique described in Demonstration D.12. The eigen-values and eigen-vectors were computed for the distribution of each landmark and the variation within each sample was expressed graphically as in the demonstration. The pattern of variation thus demonstrated in the adult appeared to correspond with the movements of the landmarks during the end stages of growth, and it is suggested that a major component of adult variation is the result of variation in the stage of development at which growth ceases. The major vectors describing the distributions of the facial landmarks in the gorilla samples appear to lie upon a family of curves passing inferiorly and then anteriorly from the cranial base. These correspond with those developed according to a theoretical model of logarithmic growth by Hildyard, Moore & Corbett (Anat. Rec. 186, 1976). A family of curves was also found in the two chimpanzee samples, but these appear to correspond less well with the theoretical model in that their radii decrease anteriorly.

34. Shapes of the conarticular surfaces of the human talocrural joint. By A. J. PALFREY and LINDA K. ZIEMER. Department of Anatomy, Charing Cross Hospital Medical School, London Quantitative examinations of the shapes of the conarticular or mating surfaces in human synovial joints are lacking in the literature. Such information would increase our understanding of the functioning of normal joints as well as joints undergoing degenerative changes. Fresh specimens of three human ankle joints were obtained from amputations, care having been taken not to damage the articular cartilage or to allow it to dry out. Multiple casts were made of the trochlear surface of the talus and of its mating surface on the tibia employing dental techniques. These casts were cut coronally and sagittally into sections of 3 mm or less. Each section was then projected and the curve of the articular cartilage was traced on to grid paper. Points were marked along the curves of each section and their spatial coordinates were determined. This procedure was repeated for approximately 200 points on each surface. The cartilage on these same specimens was then removed and the entire procedure was repeated. This quantitative information was analysed with the aid of a computer which produced two dimensional contour maps and three dimensional reconstructions of both the cartilage-clad and subchondral bony surfaces. From this procedure, information was obtained on (1) the changing geometry across each articular surface and the variation between specimens, (2) the degree of congruency of the mating surfaces, (3) the thickness of the articular cartilage, (4) the area of the articular surfaces, and (5) the similarity in shape between the cartilage and subchondral bony surfaces. All of these findings may prove informative relative to problems of joint lubrication and wear. The relation between cartilaginous and bony surfaces has direct application to the study of fossils where cartilage is not preserved and all inferences are made from the shape of the subchondral bony surfaces. 35. Electron microscopic stereological analyses of the restitution of secretion granules in the rabbit parotid gland following isoprenaline-induced degranulation. By G. H. COPE and M. A. WILLIAMS. Department of Human Biology and Anatomy, University of Sheffield Stimulation of the rabbit parotid gland with isoprenaline causes the acinar cells to become depleted of their stores of secretion granules (Cope & Williams, J. Anat. 116, 1973). At the same time, protein synthesis is stimulated and the cell's complement of granules is restored within about 16 hours. Glands taken from groups of animals 2, 4, 8, 12 and 16 hours after isoprenaline treatment have been analysed stereologically to provide information on the mode of formation and maturation of secretion granules. The results have been compared with those from control

glands.

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In control glands the acinar cells contained a polydispersed population of secretion granules with a Gaussian distribution and a mean diameter of 1-06 Fsm. These granules occupied about 33 % of cell volume, but after degranulation the residual population occupied only 5 % of cell volume. After a short latent period, the volume density (Vv) of granules in acinar cells increased almost linearly to 35 % of cell volume by 16 hours. Analyses based on measurement of granule profile diameters revealed several phases in the process of restitution. Mean granule size of the nascent population changed little over the first 8 hours, the increase in volume density over this period being largely attributable to a rapid rise in granule numbers. This period was marked by a strong positive skewness of the size-frequency distribution of granule diameters. Thereafter, increased volume density of granules in acinar cells was due to increases in granule sizes which resulted in a shift in their size-frequency distribution back approximately to a normal one. In the latter stages of restitution a decrease in granule number per cell was detected, indicating that a limited amount of granule fusion may occur.

36. Distribution of sodium and potassium in toad oocytes estimated by a stereological method. By K. B. IBRAHIM and D. A. T. DICK. Department of Anatomy, University of Dundee Ten to thirty per cent of the internal sodium in toad (Bufo bufo) oocytes is known to be sequestered in some cytoplasmic component; on the other hand the internal potassium appears to be freely distributed throughout the oocyte. In the present experiments, the total sodium and potassium concentrations in oocytes were determined by flame photometry and correlated with the volume densities of various cytoplasmic organelles determined by stereological analysis during different stages of development. By determining the cytoplasmic components whose volume density changes in correlation with the total sodium or potassium content of the oocyte, it is possible to decide whether sodium or potassium is localized within them and to form a preliminary estimate of the concentration by a technique already used in the rat hepatocyte by Hooper & Dick (J. gen. Physiol. 67, 1976). The volume density of a vesicular component of the cytoplasm (including the endoplasmic reticulum) correlated positively with the sodium concentration of the oocyte but negatively with the potassium concentration, suggesting that this component has a high concentration of sodium but a low concentration of potassium. 37. Scanning microdensitometry of the Feulgen-DNA content of oral epithelium. By R. B. LONGMORE and C. G. CowAN. Department of Anatomy, University of Dundee, and Department of Dental Surgery and Pathology, Queen's University, Belfast Diagnosis of pre- and early malignant change in oropharyngeal epithelium is still dependent on the subjective assessment of variations in nuclear size, shape and staining characteristics. This preliminary report examines the possible role of scanning microdensitometry as a quantitative method for the determination of the Feulgen-DNA content of oral epithelium in histological section. In addition, by restricting the survey to tissue obtained from young healthy adults, it was hoped to provide a base line against which future studies of abnormal tissue could be compared Buccal mucosa was biopsied from seven student volunteers. Paraffin sections were cut at 10 prm to ensure the inclusion of whole nuclei and stained by the Feulgen method. Sections were examined using a Vickers M86 scanning microdensitometer with electronic compensation for residual glare using a method described by Goldstein (J. Microsc. 105, 1975). Integrated optical density and nuclear area were measured in 100 randomly chosen suprabasal nuclei in each specimen. Measurements could not be recorded for basal cells due to their close proximity to each other and the overlapping of the nuclei in section. Mean nuclear density (DNA-Feulgen content) and nuclear area were calculated for each specimen. Analysis of variance for the seven specimens showed a significant variation for both nuclear area (F = 81-90, P < 0 01) and nuclear density (F = 36-62, P < 001). This variation in the nuclear area and DNA-Feulgen content may be due to errors of sampling, machine inaccuracies and technique and/or true biological variation. Further experiments and an increase in the number of specimens are required before a realistic appraisal of the scanning microdensitometry as an investigative technique can be made.


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38. Stereological characterization of hemidesmosomes in hamster cheek pouch epithelium. By F. H. WHITE and K. GOHARI (introduced by M. E. ATKINSON). Department of Oral Pathology, University of Sheffield Hemidesmosomes (HD) are cell membrane specialisations situated on the basal plasma membrane (BM), adjacent to the connective tissue, of the basal cell layer of stratified squamous epithelium. They probably function in the attachment of epithelium to connective tissue. This investigation was designed to characterize a variety of hemidesmosomal parameters in normal hamster cheek pouch epithelium using stereological methods, in order to establish base line data for a more comprehensive quantitative morphological study of the effects of chemical carcinogenesis on this epithelium. Tissue samples were obtained from the cheek pouches of 5 golden hamsters, fixed in glutaraldehyde-paraformaldehyde fixative, routinely processed for electron microscopy and flatembedded. Five blocks per animal were selected randomly for ultrathin sectioning and 8 micrographs (final mag. x 18750) were recorded from each section. Intersection counting was performed to estimate the hemidesmosome-basal plasma membrane ratio (HD/BM), surface density of hemidesmosomes (SVHD) and number of hemidesmosomes per unit surface area of basal plasma membrane (NSHD). The ratio of basal plasma membrane to total plasma membrane (BM/PM) for basal cells was used in conjunction with estimates of average basal cell plasma membrane area to derive the mean absolute area of BM (ABM). Mean profile diameters, (D5 HD) and mean individual hemidesmosomal areas (aHD) were also calculated. From a knowledge of ABM, it was possible to characterize the mean number (NHD) and total surface area (AHD) of hemidesmosomes per average basal cell. The results obtained were HD/BM = 40-1 %, SVHD = 0-08 ,#m2/um3, NSHD = 9.6/C4m2 NHD = 654, AHD = 27-1 ,mm2 DHD = 0 23 ,um, aHD = 0-04 ,tm3. This study indicates the value of applying stereological intersection counting for the quantification of cell surface specialisations and that these methods can be applied for the quantitative investigation of epithelial pathology and comparative anatomy. 39-56. Symposium on the Basic Medical Sciences in the Postgraduate Education of Surgical Trainees. Abstracts of communications will be published later.

DEMONSTRATIONS D.1. Formation and destruction of blood cells in the human fetal liver at 12 weeks. By J. SHAW DUNN. Department of Anatomy, University of Glasgow The average histological section of human fetal liver at 12 weeks shows a large area of haemopoietic tissue. This consists of confluent cell islands in which maturing cells of the erythroid series predominate. Older erythroblasts appear to migrate from the blood islands into the surrounding vascular sinusoids which contain both erythroblasts and apparently mature red blood corpuscles. The lining of the sinusoids contains at frequent intervals large Kupffer cells with numerous microvilli. These cells are usually surrounded by clusters of immature nucleated erythroblasts, many of which are partially or wholly encircled by extended microvilli. The cytoplasm of the Kupffer cells contains degenerating cells of the same series as inclusion bodies. Acid phosphatase staining shows positive reaction in the cytoplasm and in the inclusion bodies. There is thus morphological evidence not only of the formation of erythroblasts but also of the apparent destruction of these cells before they attain full maturity. This may be partly accounted for by the supposed high fragility and short life of nucleated erythroblasts, or by the deliberate sequestration of primitive forms from the circulation. The process of sequestration might be comparable with the large scale sequestration and destruction of lymphatic cells by reticulo-endothelial cells in the fetal thymus. D.2. Correlated studies of the development of the hypophyseal portal circulation and thyrotrophs in sheep. By A. A. GADIR, 0. REID and R. J. SCOTHORNE. Department of Anatomy, University of Glasgow Illustrating Communication 21.

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D.3. The Harderian gland in the golden hamster; its histology, physiological control and behavioural role. By A. P. PAYNE, J. MCGADEY, H. S. JOHNSTON, M. R. MOORE* and G. G. THOMPSON*. Department of Anatomy and * Department of Materia Medica, University of Glasgow The Harderian gland of the hamster exhibits numerous sex differences. The male gland contains two cell types, while the female only possesses one. Male cells contain a unique polytubular complex which is not found in the female. Moreover, the female gland contains large quantities of porphyrin (much of which is deposited as solid intraluminal accretions) in concentrations up to a thousand times higher than those found in the male. Levels ofd-amino laevulinic acid (ALA) synthetase are also higher in the female gland. Castration of the male results in changes in the histology, ultrastructure and porphyrin content of the gland to the female pattern. These changes can be prevented by various androgens, including testosterone, 5ac-dihydrotestosterone and androstenedione. In the female, porphyrin content changes over the 4 days of the oestrous cycle, being high at oestrus (day 1), low on day 2, and then rising. Porphyrin content increases during pregnancy and lactation. Both porphyrin content and ALA synthetase activity are highest in the summer and lowest in the winter and early spring. Pre-pubertal males have glands resembling the female pattern (including high porphyrin content), but after assuming the adult pattern, the male gland does not alter with age. Conversely, porphyrin levels in the female decline markedly in old age. Male hamsters are attracted to smears of male and female Harderian glands, which they sniff and lick. Female gland smears prove most attractive, but glands from females in oestrus seem no more attractive than glands from mid-cycle. Thus, the Harderian gland could be a source of pheromones giving information on the sex of an individual.

D.4. A staining sequence for the differentiation of alpha, beta and delta cells of the pancreatic islets of the guinea-pig. By J. McGADEY (introduced by R. J. SCOTHORNE). Department of Anatomy, University of Glasgow A staining sequence, using alcian blue, chrome haematoxylin, acid fuchsin and aurantia, was developed for easy identification of the alpha, beta and delta cells of the guinea-pig pancreatic islets. Four #tm sections of guinea-pig pancreas which had been fixed in Bouin's fluid, were deparaffinised, hydrated, oxidised in equal volumes of 0 3 % KMnO4 and 03 % H2SO4, decolourised in 2 % oxalic acid and stained in 1 % alcian blue in 70 % alcohol for 10 minutes. Then they were stained for 5 minutes in chrome haematoxylin; followed by placing in a dilute aqueous acid fuchsin solution before treatment with 2 % phosphotungstic acid for 1 minute. They were washed in running water until only the alpha cells retained the red stain and were then counterstained with alcoholic aurantia for 5 minutes. Finally the sections were cleared in xylene and mounted in D.P.X. Within the islets, beta cells stained blue-green, alpha cells bright red, delta cells pale yellow. The wide separation between these colours gives excellent individual cell recognition within the islets. D.5. Histochemical localization of acetylcholinesterase in some specialized skin glands of the roe deer (Capreolus capreolus). By M. G. ADAMS and ELIZABETH JOHNSON (introduced by R. BARER). Department of Human Biology and Anatomy, University of Sheffield and Department ofZoology, University of Reading Roe deer have a number of modified regions of skin with enlarged sebaceous and apocrine sweat glands that produce chemicals used in communication. Using the technique of Langford & Silver (J. Physiol. 242, 1974), the distribution of acetylcholinesterase (acetylcholine hydrolase EC 3.1.1.7) has been examined in three of these modified regions, the forefoot interdigital glands, hind foot interdigital glands and metatarsal glands in female roe deer. In each of these regions acetylcholinesterase was detected in blood vessels, arrector pili muscles and sebaceous glands. In the forefoot and hind foot interdigital glands, the enzyme was detected in the ductal but not in the secretory portion of the apocrine sweat glands. However,


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in the metatarsal gland the enzyme occurred in both ductal and secretory portions of the apocrine sweat glands. The distribution of this enzyme in the secretory portion of the glands was localized towards the basal area of the secretory cells in the region of the myoepithelium. Many acetylcholinesterase-containing nerve fibres were also present around the secretory tubules in this region. This differential distribution of acetylcholinesterase in the apocrine sweat glands of the interdigital and metatarsal glands in female roe deer may reflect differences in the type of secretion that each of these regions produces.

D.6. Some aspects of the morphology of the guinea-pig inferior mesenteric ganglon. By J. MITCHELL, P. N. ANDERSON, ELIZABETH ADAM, F. A. H. AL-KHAFAJI, and D. MAYOR. Human Morphology, University of Southampton The guinea-pig inferior mesenteric ganglion (IMG) usually encircles the inferior mesenteric artery. The rostral portion is attached to the intermesenteric, colonic and splanchnic nerves, whilst the larger caudal portion is attached to the hypogastric, colonic and splanchnic nerves. Cell counts taken from serial semithin sections of an IMG from an adult guinea-pig revealed the presence of 6893 neuronal perikarya (39 % of which were binucleate) and 1352 small granulated cells (SIF cells). SIF cells fluoresce intensely with techniques for monoamines and have been described in the IMG by Elfvin et al. (J. Ultrastruct. Res. 51, 1975). There are usually two groups of SIF cells in the caudal part of the ganglion, separated from the neuronal perikarya by a capsule of flattened connective tissue cells and collagen fibres. The masses of SIF cells have a more profuse vasculature than the neuronal parts of the ganglion and SIF cell processes abut on to the walls of the blood vessels. In such places the SIF cells lose their satellite cell sheath and have several morphological features which may indicate that secretion is occurring at these sites. Many of the small blood vessels are fenestrated, the pore usually having a diaphragm. Although other workers found no evidence that the SIF cells synapse with the neurons, the relationship with the blood vessels opens the possibility that SIF cells may influence neurons by releasing substances into an hypothetical portal system of vessels which might supply the neuronal perikarya. However, the blood vessels within the SIF cell regions drain into a superficial venous network surrounding the ganglion which then drains into the inferior vena cava and the portal system of veins. No evidence was found for a system of vessels by which the SIF cell secretions could influence the neurons within the IMG. The present observations do not rule out the possibility that some SIF cell processes may have more specific connexions. D.7. Experimental peptic ulcers of rat duodenum. By K. E. CARR, S. N. JOFFE,* P. G. TONERt and C. WATr. Department of Anatomy, University of Glasgow, * Department of Surgery and t Department of Pathology, Glasgow Royal Infirmary Peptic ulcers of the duodenum, produced in rats by subcutaneous infusion of gastric secretagogues, have been examined using the scanning electron microscope. The lesions are established by an infusion of 24 hours' duration and the animals are then killed at intervals to allow the healing process to be studied. In most animals, multiple areas of duodenal ulceration are present: in some cases, these lesions are found to have perforated, with resultant peritonitis and adhesions. The scanning electron microscope has been used to study the distortions of villous pattern produced by these ulcers, and to examine the surface morphology of individual villi at and near the healing ulcer margins. Amongst the practical problems encountered in this study are the need to handle unusually large specimens, and the requirement for montage recording of the various lesions in each animal. This useful animal model of peptic ulceration provides a valuable base line for projected morphological studies of human duodenal disease using the scanning electron microscope.

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D.8. Investigation of the teratogenic effects of sodium salicylate in rats. By N. J. SAMANI, C. McGARRITY and A. P. GULAMHUSEIN. Department of Anatomy, University of Leicester The teratogenic effect of salicylates has been demonstrated by Warkany & Takacs (Am. J. Path. 35, 1959). In our experiment, 13 rats (CFHB strain) were injected subcutaneously with a single dose of 450 mg/kg sodium salicylate on the 9 5 day of gestation; pregnancy was timed from midnight preceding the morning on which sperms were detected in the vaginal smear. The pregnancies were terminated on 20 5 days. 186 implantation sites were recorded of which 77 (41 %) were resorptions. Of the 109 survivors 24 (22 %) showed external abnormalities comprising craniorachishisis, spina bifida, exomphalos, thoracophagus, absence of eyelids, lower limb and tail defects. Two thirds of the survivors were sectioned by Wilson's free-hand razor technique (Wilson, Teratology: Principles and Techniques, 1965) and the remainder of the fetuses were cleared and the skeletons stained with alizarin red. Both internal and skeletal abnormalities were observed and these, together with the external abnormalities, were demonstrated. Ten control rats were injected subcutaneously with 1 ml 09 % saline on the 9 5 day; a resorption rate of 2 % was obtained and no abnormalities were seen. To investigate the teratogenic effects of sodium salicylate further, 9 5 days old embryos (CFHB strain) were grown in vitro for 48 hours using the New technique (New et al. J. Reprod. Fert. 48, 1976). Explanted embryos were grown in roller tubes containing immediately centrifuged, heat inactivated serum. Four different experimental procedures were used, two involving the addition of sodium salicylate to culture serum and two using serum from animals treated with a single 450 mg/kg dose of sodium salicylate. An in vivo comparison to the in vitro work was carried out by injecting 450 mg/kg sodium salicylate at 9 5 days and terminating the pregnancy at 11-5 days. The results were presented in Communication 10.

D.9. The fetal membranes of Arctictis binturong Temminck, 1824. By A. YOUNG. Department of Anatomy, University of Glasgow Illustrating Communication 7

D.10. The use of models in teaching gross and microscopic anatomy. By M. J. T. FITZGERALD and MAEVE FITZGERALD. Department of Anatomy, University College, Galway, Ireland Models made in our department are of plasticine, coated for protection with cold-setting polyester resin (FitzGerald & O'Neill, J. Anat. 121, 1976). The demonstration gives examples of its usefulness in introducing topics in gross and microscopic anatomy. Two approaches are used: (a) the use of single models to illustrate a particular structure or relationship, e.g. the wall of the anal canal, the small intestine, the glomerular filtration membrane, the relations of the thyroid gland; (b) series of models depicting 'reconstructions' of a region, each one being built on the relevant skeletal material, e.g. a series on the gluteal region and thigh showing (i) muscle markings, (ii) iliopsoas, pectineus and adductors, (iii) quadriceps, (iv) hamstrings, (v) distribution of femoral and sciatic nerves, (vi) distribution of the obturator nerve, (vii) blood supply of the region. This approach is used for series on the neck, pterygoid region, axilla, hand and foot. The models are displayed together with taped descriptions. Students report favourably on their three dimensional value as aids to understanding histological slides and dissected parts. D.11. An inventory of lingual proprioceptors in the monkey. By M. J. T. FITzGERALD and S. R. SACHITHANANDAN. Department of Anatomy, University College, Galway, Ireland An earlier report (FitzGerald & Sachithanandan, J. Anat. 124, 1977) listed the principal proprioceptors found in a series of cynamolgus monkey tongues. The demonstration illustrates the completed inventory, which includes virtually every type of nerve ending found in skeletal muscle elsewhere.


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D.12. Methods for determining variation in the primate skull. By J. L. CRUICKSHANK (introduced by D. R. JOHNSON). Department of Anatomy, University of Leeds In recent years a number of workers have developed methods of recording three dimensional coordinates of the positions of skull landmarks in order to apply modern numerical techniques to the study of the form and development of the skull. An improved method and an apparatus for performing this have been developed. The skull is held in a craniostat, similar to that described by Ashton & Pardoe (Man 163, 1950), above a sheet of paper. Landmarks are projected vertically down to this paper and recorded there as pinpricks using a new form of projector. Heights of landmarks above the paper are simultaneously recorded. A digitising table is used to register the pinpricks as cartesian coordinates directly on to paper tape for computer input. The recorded height values are also fed into the computer. A computer programme has been written in ICL Extended FORTRAN IV to perform the appropriate rotations and standardizations required to express the positions of the landmarks as rectangular cartesian coordinates relative to a standard set of axes. This programme further examines the distribution of positions of a landmark from a sample of skulls and describes the shape of this three dimensional distribution as a series of eigen-values and eigen-vectors. For an ellipsoidal distribution, these can be regarded as representing the length and orientation of the three principal axes of the ellipsoid. Further computer programmes have been developed to express these values in a graphical form, using SPECTRE, the Leeds Graphical Output System.

D.13. The study of pneumatization in the avian skeleton. By D. A. HocG. Department of Anatomy, University of Glasgow Although the existence of widespread pneumatization of the avian skeleton has long been recognized, there are few reliable reports of its extent, variability and timing of development in individual species. The various methods employed in a study of pneumatization of the skeleton of the domestic fowl in growing and adult birds were demonstrated, the appearance of pneumatization as seen by each method shown and the advantages and disadvantages of each method indicated. The methods involved were gross examination by naked eye with and without prior injection of the air sac system, gross examination with the aid of an operating microscope with and without prior injection, histological examination, transillumination of the skull, radiology of the skull with prior impregnation with silver nitrate and radiology of the humerus in live birds. D.14. Tympanic membrane ultrastructure. By R. M. H. McMINN, D. H. BOSMAN and S. E. GSCHMEISSNER. Department of Anatomy, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Royal College of Surgeons of England, London Electron micrographs have been prepared to illustrate the ultrastructure of the tympanic membrane in various species with special reference to the composition of the connective tissue fibrils. In the frog, chicken and pigeon the fibrils show typical collagen banding, and, on transverse section, display a range of diameters similar to those of the fibrils of many tendons. The human membrane contains fibrils of more uniform diameter like those of the lamina propria of a typical mucous membrane, but in many mammals fibrils that appear to be unique to tympanic membrane are present, as originally described by Lim (Acta otolaryngol. (Stockh), 66, 1968) and Johnson, McMinn & Atfield (J. Anat. 103, 1968), having a square proffle on transverse section and being apparently composed of four subunits. In some species such as the guinea-pig and mouse these square fibrils seem to be present exclusively, but in others like the hamster, rabbit, dog and marmoset, some rounded fibrils are scattered among the square variety. The possible functional significance of these differences is not known.

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D.15. Anisotropic stereology. VI. Studies on the number of nuclei in red and white skeletal muscle. By G. W. ATHERTON and N. T. JAMES. Department of Human Biology and Anatomy, University of Sheffield It has long been known that red muscle tissue contains a larger number of nuclei than white muscle tissue. Biochemists have found that red muscle contains higher amounts of DNA than white muscle. The numbers of nuclei are usually measured in cross sections of muscle and the results expressed in numbers per unit area (NA). Little information is available on the number of nuclei per unit volume of muscle tissue. The derivation of such values for the different types of muscle is important in studies of developing muscle and of processes which occur during muscular hypertrophy and also in studies of pathological muscle. The nuclei in skeletal muscle fibres are not randomly distributed. They are elongated and tend to lie with their long axes parallel with the long axis of the muscle fibre. In most mammalian fibres the nuclei tend to lie close to the sarcolemma. The number of nuclei per unit volume of tissue (Nv) can be estimated using quantitative stereological techniques specially derived for analysing partially orientated systems in space. In the present study, the number of nuclei per unit volume of muscle has been estimated using the stereological relation

Nv

=

NAIL,

where N, is the number of nuclei seen per unit cross section of muscle and L the mean length of muscle nuclei. Semithin transverse and longitudinal sections (- 1 /sm) were prepared for analysis from rat soleus, semitendinosus and extensor digitorum longus muscles. Red muscle nuclei 14 ,m in length and those from white muscle were 18 ,m in length. Nv estimates were ranged from 2-97 x 105 #um- for white muscle to 4-38 x 1O ,um-3 for red muscle. %

D.16. An iterative approach to the interpretation of autoradiographs. By M. A. WILLLAMs and A. M. DowNs. Departments ofHuman Biology and Anatomy, and Applied Mathematics and Computing Science, University of Sheffield An iterative scheme has been designed for determining the best 'model' for dividing up the areas of autoradiographs into identified items of known relative specific activity, such that the dispersion of silver grains over the autoradiographs is fully and satisfactorily explained. A trial model is first set up for which, using a square matrix of estimates of 'notional cross-fire' between the chosen items, a 'solution' is obtained. The quality of the model is then examined using extended notional cross-fire data contained in a rectangular matrix. These data are used to compare (via a form of the chi2 test) the observed grain distribution over the extended set of items with that which would be expected for these items on the basis of the model under test. If the model is shown to be unsatisfactory, an improved model (of tissue subdivision) is postulated and the whole process repeated until a model deemed to be satisfactory is attained. The computations are such that the data can be processed rapidly on the laboratory bench using a small machine (this was demonstrated using a Tektronix 31). The approach allows a logical estimation of error values to be attached to the final answers, a process which is set out in Demonstration D.17.

D.17. Estimation of errors in autoradiograph analysis. By A. M. DOWNS and M. A. WILLLAMs. Departments of Applied Mathematics and Computing Science, and Human Biology and Anatomy, University of Sheffield The process of analytical autoradiography, commencing with live radioactive tissue and concluding with estimates of specific activities in the various parts of a tissue or cell, is a complex, multilayered operation containing many potential sources of error. In particular, refined methods of analysis which attempt to correct for the cross-fire of silver grains between items are inevitably prone to errors due to the probable nature of the processes involved. The numerical results of such high-level analyses are of very limited value unless they are accompanied by realistic estimates of confidence limits. We give consideration to a number of sources of error and suggest means by which certain of the errors can be reduced to acceptably low levels. Methods are then


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described for estimating theoretical standard error values associated with each of four remaining errors judged to be of major significance, which may be identified as follows: (i) the cross-fire probability errors; i.e. the errors in assessing the values of the probabilities in the cross-fire probability matrix; (ii) the real cross-fire errors; i.e. the errors arising from the use of the probability matrix to predict the nature of the cross-fire actually occurring within the specimen; (iii) the random decay error; i.e. the error in assuming that the number of decays actually occurring within any item during the exposure time is strictly proportional to the amount of radioactivity present in that item; (iv) the point-counting error in the estimation of the relative areas of the items. An overall standard error value to be attached to the specific activity estimates (obtained by the iterative scheme described in Demonstration D.16) is thence obtained.

D.18. Analysis of granule populations in rabbit parotid glands during recovery from isoprenalineinduced degranulation. By G. H. COPE and M. A. WILLIAMS. Department ofHuman Biology and Anatomy, University of Sheffield Drug-induced degranulation of the rabbit parotid gland synchronizes its cyclical secretory activity and permits the analysis of the granule population which develops subsequently. Such analyses are facilitated by the extensive degranulation which can be achieved with isoprenaline, the homogeneous nature of this serous gland and the prominent, and usually discrete nature of the secretion granules. The demonstration illustrates the way in which the development of the population of granules has been analysed using stereological techniques at intervals during the restitution of the granule stores in the cells following extensive degranulation. The parameters which have been measured include the volumetric (Vv) and numerical (Na) densities of the granules and the diameters of granule profiles. From the last parameter, size-frequency distributions of the populations have been constructed and the way in which these distributions are corrected to provide distributions of true granule diameters, using desk-top calculator programs, will be demonstrated, together with ways in which such data can be employed to calculate mean granule sizes and granule numbers per cell. The demonstration shows how, during development, the granule population changes from a highly skewed distribution to small granules to a Gaussian distribution with a somewhat larger mean granule diameter. The demonstration complements Communication 35.

D.19. Effects of pulsed electromagnetic field energy (Diapulse) on the normal common peroneal nerve in rats. By A. R. M. RAn (introduced by RUTH E. M. BOWDEN). Department of Anatomy, Royal Free Hospital School ofMedicine, London and the Royal College ofSurgeons of England, London Previous work by Wilson & Jagadeesh (Paraplegia 14, 1976) suggested that pulsed electromagnetic field (Diapulse) accelerated the rate of regeneration following transection of the combined median and ulnar nerve in rats. The technique of effective irradiation of repaired nerves unavoidably exposes the whole animal to P.E.M.F.; therefore the effects of Diapulse on the normal common peroneal nerve were studied in 12 rats. Each animal received 400 pulses/seconds for 15 minutes daily for a period varying between 1 and 8 weeks. A control group of 12 rats was subjected to mock treatment of similar duration, i.e. they were in the machine but received no P.E.M.F. Paired, treated and untreated animals were sacrificed at intervals varying from 1 to 8 weeks. The common peroneal nerves were subjected to quantitative and qualitative analysis using both light and electron microscopy. All specimens were fixed in buffered 4 % glutaraldehyde, post-fixed in buffered 1 % osmium tetroxide and embedded in Araldite. Thick 1 ,tm sections were stained in 1 % toluidine blue in 1 % borax; the ultrathin sections were stained with a saturated solution of uranyl acetate and Reynolds' lead citrate. The qualitative and the quantitative findings were reported. The results indicated that P.E.M.F. had no morphological effect on the normal nerves.

Proceedings of the Anatomical Society of Great Britain and Ireland. November 1978. Abstracts.

Proceedings of the Anatomical Society of Great Britain and Ireland. 19-21 December 1989. Abstracts.

Abstracts of the Anatomical Society Summer Meeting 2013, July 4-5, 2013, Dublin, Ireland.

Proceedings of the British Pharmacological Society meeting. University of Glasgow, 10-12 July, 1991. Abstracts.

Pancreatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland. Abstracts of papers presented at the third annual meeting.

Pathological Society of Great Britain and Ireland 161st meeting. 10-13 July 1990, Nottingham. Abstracts.

Proceedings of the Thoracic Society. A meeting held in Oxford on 6--7 July 1978. Summaries of papers.

Proceedings of the Anatomical Society of Southern Africa. July 1978.

Neonatal society. Meeting held on 29 June 1979 at the University of Glasgow [proceedings].

Proceedings of the British Pharmacological Society meeting. University of Southampton, 18-20 September, 1991. Abstracts.

Proceedings of the Anaesthetic Research Society Glasgow meeting July 7, 1979.

Proceedings of The Society of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgeons of Great Britain and Ireland. Summaries of the papers.

Proceedings of the British Pharmacological Society Meeting. Dublin, 8-10 July 1992. Abstracts.

Abstracts of the Irish Society for Rheumatology, Autumn Meeting 2013, 19-20 September, 2013, Co.Meath, Ireland.

Abstracts of the 48th Annual Scientific Meeting of the Vascular Society of Great Britain and Ireland, 27–29 November 2013.

Pathological Society of Great Britian and Ireland. 163rd Meeting. 3-5 July 1991, Belfast.

Abstracts of the 49th Annual Scientific Meeting of the Vascular Society of Great Britain and Ireland, November 26-28, 2015.

Pancreatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland. 14th annual meeting. 17 November 1989. Abstracts.

Abstracts of papers presented at the eighteenth annual meeting of the Congenital Anomalies Research Association of Japan Yokohama, Japan July 13-14, 1978.

British Association of Clinical Anatomists. Abstracts of papers presented at Summer Meeting, 1978.

Abstracts of the 53rd Annual Meeting of the European Society for Paediatric Endocrinology (ESPE), September 18-20, 2014, Dublin, Ireland.

British Thoracic Society summer meeting. 11-13 July 1990, Birmingham. Abstracts.

Abstracts of papers presented at the 94th Meeting of the Society of British Neurological Surgeons, London, 14--15 September 1978.

Neonatal Society. Meeting held on 8 February 1979 at the Institute of Child Health, London. Abstracts of papers.