Morphology

MATERIAL AND METHODS: This study was carried out on 20 male Wistar rats, of which 15 were injected with a bacterial–fungal suspension into the cavity of the hock (tarsus) joint. Specifically, the rats were injected with Klebsiella–Candida suspension (1:1) with a microbial concentration of 10⁶ CFU/ml prepared by using the museum strains Klebsiella pneumoniae ICIS-278 and Candida albicans ATCC 24433 under the control of an X-ray apparatus and digitizer FireCR+. Five intact animals served as the control. On day 15 of the experiment, a bacteriological and histological examination of the affected joints was carried out while maintaining topography after euthanasia.

RESULTS: In rats infected with the Klebsiella–Candidiasis suspension, pain syndrome and functional changes typical of arthritis were noted on days 2–3. The bacteriological examination of the affected joints in 75% of rats isolated K. pneumonia cultures that were identical, according to polymerase chain reaction, to the original strain that was part of the bacterial–fungal suspension. At the same time, fungi of the genus Candida, which was also used in the experiment to infect animals, were not detected in the affected joints of rats. The established model of Klebsiella–Candida arthritis was characterized by the pathomorphological signs of panarthritis accompanied by the purulent inflammation of all joint structures (synovial membrane, cartilage, and bone tissue) with the involvement of soft periarticular tissues.

CONCLUSION: The model of Klebsiella and fungal arthritis presented by this work can be used to test new means of antimicrobial (antibacterial and antifungal) therapies, which are an integral component of the treatment of infection-associated arthritis.

BACKGROUND: Adaptation to climatic conditions influences the main characteristics of subjective physical development and morphofunctional state. These characteristics tend to differ in different geographical regions of northeast Russia.

AIMS: A comparative analysis of basic somatometric indicators was conducted to identify differences between representatives of Magadan Region and Chukotka Autonomous District.

MATERIAL AND METHODS: One hundred and ninety-eight young men aged 17–21 years old (Koryaks and Evens) from Magadan Region (the City of Magadan) and 87 young men (Chukchi) aged 17–21 years old from Chukotka Autonomous District (the City of Anadyr) participated in this study. Chest circumference was measured, and body mass index and body area were calculated by using the length and weight of the body. The strength of the physique was estimated by applying the Pinier index, and the total body fat content in the two groups was determined.

RESULTS: Somatometric indicators exhibited by modern young male aborigines inhabiting different regions of the Far East demonstrated no significant differences between groups. However, relative to that to that of their peers in previous years, the subjective overall body size of the analyzed samples from the two regions had increased (body length: by 7.7 cm in the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug and 6.5 cm in the Magadan Region; body weight: by 3.7 kg in the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug and by 4.4 kg in the Magadan Region).

CONCLUSION: Aborigines from Magadan Region and Chukotka Autonomous District developed morphotypes with accelerated variables. The changes observed were not dependent on the region of residence or ethnicity.

BACKGROUND: Studies on the morphological and hemodynamic changes in the structure of the portal vein of the liver and the splenic vein in various pathologies, one of which is portal hypertension, remains relevant.

AIM: To perform a histological study on the structure and thickness of the membranes of the portal vein of the liver and splenic vein in people of different age groups with normal conditions and with portal hypertension.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: Sectional material for the study of the portal vein of the liver and splenic vein was obtained from 89 people aged 7–30 years old who died from injuries incompatible with life. A total of 57 cases had a history of portal hypertension during life, and the remaining 32 cases were considered as controls. The cellular and tissue components of the vein walls were studied in paraffin sections stained with hematoxylin–eosin and Van Gieson’s stain (picric acid and fuchsin) using Weigert’s hematoxylin.

RESULTS: The thicknesses of the inner and middle membranes of venous vessels significantly increased in all age groups with portal hypertension relative to those in the control. The pathological features of changes in the thickness and microstructure of the components of the portal vein wall of the liver and splenic vein in topographically different parts of the veins were observed.

CONCLUSION: The histological and morphometric examination of the wall of the portal vein of the liver and the splenic vein in normal cases and cases of portal hypertension syndrome in different age periods revealed not only the structural features of the portal vein of the liver and splenic vein, but also the features of age-related pathomorphological changes in the individual parts of the veins and in each of the membranes. Such features are of considerable interest for clinical medicine.

BACKGROUND: Smoking is an important societal problem that greatly threatens the health of the population.

AIMS: To study the effect of smoking on the hepatobiliary system of rats.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: We used 46 outbred white male rats. The control group comprised intact animals (n=10). The experimental rats in groups 1 (n=12), 2 (n=12), and 3 (n=12) were exposed to an atmosphere of tobacco smoke for 7, 14, and 21 days, respectively.

RESULTS: The greatest changes in the liver were noted in the third group. Small foci of necrosis were detected, around which a perifocal inflammatory reaction occurred. Signs of hydropic dystrophy and the presence of acidophilic lumps around the nuclei and thrombotic masses in the vessels were found. Signs of the capillaryization of the sinusoids were revealed. In all experimental groups, the number of cells up to 10 µm in diameter significantly increased. The percentage of cells with a diameter of up to 10–20 µm increased in the central zone in group 1; that in group 2 increased by 3 and 2.6 times in the central and peripheral zones, respectively; and that in group 3 increased by 3.4 and 2.8 times in the central and peripheral zones, respectively (p <0.001). The number of cells with a diameter of up to 20–30 µm decreased in group 1, that in in group 2 decreased by 1.9 and 1.5 times in the central and peripheral zones, respectively; and that in group 3 decreased by 2.7 and 2.0 times in the central and peripheral zones, respectively (p <0.001). The number of cells with a diameter of more than 30 had changed and showed the greatest changes in the peripheral zones: that in groups 1 and 2 decreased by 2.7 times, and that in group 3 decreased by 2.9 times.

CONCLUSIONS: Under tobacco smoke intoxication in rats, dystrophic and necrobiotic changes occurred in the liver, the number of binuclear cells decreased, the number of normal hepatocytes with a diameter of 20–30 μm decreased, and the percentage of cells with diameters of up to 10 and 10–20 μm increased.

The article is devoted to a brief scientific biography of the world-famous Soviet histologist, professor Anton Vitalievich Nemilov, a student of the Russian histologist and embryologist Alexander Stanislavovich Dogel.

This article aims to clarify the contribution of prof. A.V. Nemilov to the largest scientific areas of research in biology in the first half of the 20th century and in the formation of knowledge in biology, which has become axiomatic by now, and demonstrate its role in solving the problems in practical biology.

This work used materials from the Central State Archive of St. Petersburg and the Museum of Kursk State Medical University.

Professor A.V. Nemilov contributed to neuromorphology, histophysiology, and endocrine gland histology, as well as to the methodology and methods of histology teaching in the history of Leningrad State University and Leningrad Agricultural Institute.

Professor A.V. Nemilov, as one of the leaders of Leningrad State University, participated in the defense of the besieged Leningrad in 1941–1942.

The results of the scientific studies of the students of professor A.V. Nemilov contributed to scientific morphological research, the methodology of histology teaching, the organization of the country’s higher education system, and the preservation of the heritage and memory of their teacher.