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Biomedical subjects

G R Howells

Publications and source records attributed to G R Howells.

16 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1981

Improvements in histological techniques for epoxy-resin embedded bone specimens.

A procedure is presented in which some of the processing difficulties with fixation, embedding and cutting whole mouse bones and large bone pieces from other species are considered. The bone specimens are fixed in acetone or by a Karnovsky-formol-saline process which preserves intact endosteal surface-to-cortex layers. After fixation the bones are embedded in a hard mixture of epoxy resin to provide blocks with face sizes up to 3.5 x 3.0 cm. Mineralized sections are cut to 4 micrometer; demineralized at 3 micrometer. Sections are fastened to gelatin-subbed slides with pressure plates which produce flat, secure sections. After removal of the plastic, an unmodified Mayer's hematoxylin and a polychromatic eosin staining method is applied to demineralized sections, and a slightly modified method to mineralized sections.

Animals↗
PubMed1979

Quantitative microscopic studies of the distribution and retention of 239Pu in the ilium of the female CBA mouse.

Three month old female CBA mice were injected with 50 nCi kg-1 body mass of minimally polymeric 239Pu-citrate and killed at 24 hours, 10 days, 1 month and 3 months after injection. The distribution of 239Pu in the ilia of these mice was analysed using neutron-induced autoradiography of bone sections together with computer-based methods of data reduction. Results of these investigations demonstrate that while 239Pu is initially localized on bone surfaces, by 3 months after injection it is fairly uniformly distributed throughout mineral bone and its included marrow.

Animals↗
PubMed1979

Plutonium in the tissues of foetal, neonatal and suckling mice after Pu-administration to their dams.

Twelve-week-old female (C3H x 101)F1 mice were injected intravenously with an ultrafiltered solution of 239Pu in per cent trisodium citrate, and mated to uninjected PCT males. The plutonium content was examined radiochemically and autoradiographically in placentae and foetuses on the 12th and 18th days of gestation, and in neonates during the 24 hours after birth and also at 18 days postnatally. Plutonium was distributed in most tissues of the late foetus and the suckling as it is in adult mice. However, on both the 12th and 18th days of gestation the concentration in the yolk-sac splanchnopleure was much higher than in any other foetal tissue. The amount of 239Pu in 18-day-old sucklings was between two and seven times as great as in 1-day-old neonates because of ingestion of milk from the lactating dams. In the first litter following administration of the radionuclide to the dam, about 0.02 per cent of the plutonium injected was transferred to an individual offspring by the time of birth, and a further 0.08 per cent by the time of weaning.

Animals↗
PubMed1978

Plutonium-239 deposition in the skeleton of the mouse.

Using the technique of neutron-induced autoradiography, together with computer-based methods of data reduction, the distribution of intravenously injected plutonium-239 in the skeleton of the female CBA mouse, 24 hours after injection, has been investigated. With these techniques, it is possible to measure the localization of 239Pu on the endosteal and periosteal surfaces of the bone to an accuracy of approximately +/- 2 x 5 micrometer. Results are reported for the distribution of 239Pu in the third lumbar vertebra, a central caudal vertebra, the right ilium and the right femur. Radiochemical analyses of the 239Pu in other comparable bones of the skeleton are also reported.

Animals↗