Vol 160, No 2 (2022)

BACKGRОUND: There are numerous works in the literature covering issues of age, sexual and bilateral variability of the cerebral arteries in adults. There is no information on morphometric parameters of the cerebral arteries in children.

AIM: To present data on the morphometric characteristics of the paired arteries of the brain in children during early childhood, taking into account sexual and bilateral variability.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: Samples of precommunication segments of the anterior cerebral arteries (ACA), wedge-shaped parts of the middle cerebral arteries (MCA), precommunication segments of the posterior cerebral arteries (PCA), intracranial parts of the vertebral arteries (VA) and cerebral parts of the internal carotid arteries (ICA) seized during autopsy of corpses of 18 children from early childhood (1–2 years) who died for reasons not associated with acute vascular cerebral pathology. Outside and inside diameters, wall thickness were determined.

RESULTS: The mean values of the above parameters were respectively: ACA — 1.76±0.04 mm, 0.14±0.01 mm and 1.49±0.04 mm; MCA — 2.07±0.04 mm, 0.14±0.01 mm, 1.79±0.04 mm; PCA — 1.83±0.06 mm, 0.13±0.01 mm, 1.55±0.06 mm; VA — 2.08±0.06 mm, 0.15±0.01 mm, 1.77±0.05 mm; ICA — 2.60±0.05 mm, 0.15±0.01 mm, 2.30±0.05 mm. Outside and inside diameters of the ACA predominate in the right hemisphere by 17.3% (p=0.009) and 19.9% (p=0.016), respectively. Outside and inside diameters PCA prevailed in boys, respectively, by 9.1% (p=0.019) and 12.9% (p=0.006).

CONCLUSION: Average data of outside diameter, wall thickness and inside diameters of paired arteries of the brain in children in the period of early childhood were obtained. Most parameters have no confirmed bilateral and sexual differences. The findings may be useful for interpreting non-invasive research methods and should also be considered in the design and adaptation of intravascular devices for use in pediatric practice.

BACKGROUND: Resident macrophages of the myocardium are necessary for the normal development and functioning of the cardiovascular system and play an important role in the pathogenesis of a number of cardiovascular diseases.

AIM: To develop a universal methodological approach for the immunohistochemical identification of macrophages in the human and rat myocardium.

MATERIAL AND METHODS: For the study, samples of the myocardium of people of both sexes aged from 28 to 52 years (n=7) and Wistar female rats (at the age of 15 months, (n=5)) were used. The work was performed using immunohistochemical staining method.

RESULTS: The possibility of using polyclonal antibodies against the calcium-binding protein Iba1, which is a well-known microglial marker marker, for the detection of macrophages in the myocardium was shown. An optimal drug processing protocol was developed, the use of which makes it possible to equally effectively detect macrophages in the human and rat myocardium using only one antibody variant.

CONCLUSION: A universal methodological approach has been proposed for the identification of macrophages in the human and rat myocardium, which can be successfully used in scientific and clinical diagnostic studies.

BACKGROUND: Being one of the aspects of the morphological constitution, the component composition of the body reflects the state of metabolic processes in the body and can serve as a kind of predictor of the development of various pathological conditions. One of the most accessible and widely used methods for researchers is the determination of the body mass index, which ensures the comparability of the results obtained by different authors.

AIM: To systematize and compare the literature data of domestic and foreign authors on the body mass index of young people and its relationship with the degree of urbanization and geography of residence.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: The original articles and reviews posted in the scientometric databases PubMed, Google Scholar and eLIBRARY.RU for the last 20 years are analyzed. An analysis of the results of a survey of medical students from Russian universities was carried out depending on the region of residence and the population of the city.

RESULTS: It was revealed that the interest of the scientific community in the study of body composition is constantly growing: every next year the total number of publications on body composition increases by an average of 24% compared to the previous year. An increase in the proportion of students with a low body mass index was noted as the number of the city grew and its shift in the direction from the eastern regions of the Russian Federation to the western ones. The proportion of students with a normal body mass index decreases as the population of the city in which the medical school is located increases.

CONCLUSION: According to our analysis of the results of a survey of medical students in Russia, body mass index is associated with the degree of urbanization and has geographical features.

Functional neurohistology is a field of morphological research that uses microscopic methods to assess the morphological support of the functions of brain structures, nerve tissue and nerve cells. These include classical histological methods, electron microscopy, histochemistry and immunohistochemistry in combination with morphometry. Each of the methodological approaches has its advantages and disadvantages. The choice of methods of functional neurohistology is determined by the specific objectives of the study.

The review describes the methodological approaches used by us to assess the functional state of brain neurons in normal and pathological conditions. The advantages and necessity of using a complex of microscopic methods for a more complete assessment of the state of neurons are substantiated.

On December 26, 2022, Dmitry Borisovich Nikityuk, a well-known anatomist and anthropologist, academician of Russian Academy of Sciences, president of the Russian Scientific Society of Anatomists, Histologists and Embryologists, celebrated his 60^th birthday.

The stages of D.B. Nikityuk’s scientific way in the field of morphological exocrinology, dedicated to the functional morphology of the mucous membrane glands are described. His works have allowed to describe and prove the regularities of morphogenesis of these anatomical formations in the field of anatomo-anthropometric approaches to estimate the nutritional status of healthy and sick people, which is particularly important for revealing the constitutional predisposition to development of a number of alimentary-dependent diseases.