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Biomedical subjects

J Rajs

Publications and source records attributed to J Rajs.

At least 91 records · Page 5Linked to original sources
PubMedDate not supplied

Experiences with the hematoxylin basic fuchsin picric acid staining method for morphologic diagnosis of myocardial ischemia - an experimental study in forensic pathology.

An investigation was performed on 148 medicolegal autopsy cases with the purpose of obtaining experience with the hematoxylin basic fuchsin acid staining method for morphologic diagnosis of early myocardial ischemia. A comparative study was performed on rats with induced myocardial infarcts. The uptake of the basic fuchsin stain in myocardial sections agreed well with eosinophilia, often occurred when myocardial infarction was suspected, but very often yielded false positive and negative results. This lack of reliability probably depended on the high sensitivity of the staining procedure, degree of autolysis, fixation time, thickness of the sections and mainpulative lesions. Although the HBFP-technique does not seem sufficiently reliable in medicolegal autopsy cases it probably produces accurate results under controlled experimental conditions.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Post-mortem findings of cardiac lesions in epileptics: a preliminary report.

In search of satisfactory cause of death in epileptics an attempt was made to examine the hearts with special regard to microscopic findings. All nine examined cases showed fibrosis of the minor arterial walls as well as interstitial fibrosis connected with atrophy or myofibrillar degeneration. Five cases had subendocardial fibrosis, and 4 leukocytic infiltration resembling focal myocarditis. In one case, a fibroma (hamartoma?) of the atrioventricular bundle could presumably explain the symptoms of epilepsy. The authors conclude that epilepsy may be a possible cause of ischemic or hypoxic cardiomyopathy which can contribute to the cause of sudden death amongst epileptics.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Isolated rat hepatocytes as an experimental tool in the study of cell injury. Effect of anoxia.

Rat hepatocytes were isolated by liver perfusion in the presence of collagenase and hyaluronidase and incubated in the absence or presence of oxygen. As a result of anoxia, there was a gradual increase in plasma membrane permeability, noted as an increase in succinate-stimulated oxygen uptake, a decrease in trypan blue exclusion frequency, a leakage of cytosolic lactate dehydrogenase activity and an increased proportion of swollen and disrupted cells. After anaerobic incubation for 30 minutes--but not for 60 minutes--there were signs of recovery from anoxic cell injury upon re-oxygenation. The changes in plasma membrane permeability properties in anoxia seemed to be preceded by a marked decrease in cellular ATP level; aerobic incubation of hepatocytes in the presence of an uncoupler of phosphorylation from respiration led to a similar decrease in cellular ATP concentration followed by similar disturbances in plasma membrane permeability properties. It is suggested that a distrubed plasma membrane function caused by a decreased energy level is of primary importance for the initiation of cell death in anoxia.

Adenosine Triphosphate↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Left ventricular subendocardial haemorrhages. A study of their morphology, pathogenesis and prognosis.

181 medicolegal and clinicopathological autopsy cases with subendocardial haemorrhages were studied with special reference to the primary conditions which might have triggered the haemorrhages, the time interval between the onset of these conditions and death, the gross and microscopic appearances of the subendocardium and other parts of the heart and the cause of death. There was a wide panorama of conditions associated with subendocardial haemorrhages: Trauma, poisoning, eilepsy, surgical and obstetric shock, intracranial diseases and others with the same sudden onset of a process which caused general hypoxia. Death occurred immediately or up to 24 days after the trauma or onset of the primary condition. The subendocardial haemorrhages were associated with myocytic necrosis, inflammatory reaction and vascular lesions in the entire myocardium. The subendocardial regions and the apexes of the papillar muscles were the most common sites of manifestations of the general hypoxic cardiovascular injury. The morphological alterations correlated well with the time lapse after the onset of the associated condition. In 27 cases, or 15 per cent, death was attributed to cardiovascular disturbances, presumably caused by the lesions described. In the rest of the cases, cardiovascular disturbances were not clinically registered due to the short time of survival, or were transient or absent, despite the presence of widely spread cardiovascular lesions. It is suggested that in cases with clinically transient or asymptomatic recent hypoxic cardiovascular lesions there is a possibility for a silent progression of the pathological process in chronic ischemic cardiomyopathy.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Cardiac lesions in intravenous drug addicts.

Postmortem findings in 25 intravenous addicts of centrally stimulating amines and centrally depressive narcotics (opiates) have been analysed with special reference to the presence of pathologic findings in the heart, and the cause of death. Most cases exhibited myocardial lesions of varying age, consistent with various phases of myofibrillar degeneration, such as hemorrhages, contraction bands, focal necroses, granulation tissue, stromal condensation, and scarring, indicating an active chronic process in the myocardium and the subendocardium, with a bias toward the conduction system of the heart. The lesions have been found in drug addicts who died immediately following an injection of narcotics as well as in those who, irrespective of their drug influence, have died following intervening injuries or disease. Cardiac lesions in drug addicts seem to have a variety of causative factors: infections, toxic influence, hypersensitivity, influence of catecholamines and general hypoxia. The authors feel that the two latter suggested causes appear most regularly and deserve special attention. The significance of these heart lesions seems to vary, but at times they may be the determining factor in the fatal outcome of a case.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Isolated rat cardiac myocytes as an experimental tool in the study of anoxic cell injury. Effect of reoxygenation--a preliminary report.

Rat cardiac myocytes were isolated by heart perfusion in the presence of collagenase and incubated in the absence of presence of oxygen. As a result of anoxia, there was a gradual increase in plasma membrane permeability, noted as a decrease in trypan blue exclusion frequency, leakage of cytosolic lactate dehydrogenase and intracellular accumulation of the isotope compound 99Tcm-gluconate. The changes in plasma membrane permeability properties were preceded by a marked decrease in cellular ATP level and an increased proportion of contracted myocytes. The ability of the myocytes to resynthesize ATP and to recover from the anoxic injury upon reoxygenation decreased gradually with the length of initial anaerobic incubation during the first 25 min and disappeared after 30 min of anoxia, indicating that the anoxic injury to the isolated rat cardiac myocytes becomes irreversible after 25--30 min of anoxia. It is suggested that a decreased energy level is of primary importance for the initiation of cell injury in anoxia and that it is followed by cell contracture and subsequently by a disturbed plasma membrane function, cell swelling and death. This experimental model system of isolated viable rat cardiac myocytes is suitable for problems dealing with reversibility of myocytic injury.

Adenosine Triphosphate↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Post-mortem finding of a non-fatal left heart ventricle perforation by a pleural drain. A case report.

A 76-year-old male with a previous history of heart arrhythmia and decompensation was treated for a complicated thoraco-abdominal trauma. Accidentally, a pleural drain was inserted in his heart through the ventricular septum, perforating the left ventricle, the drain tip being buried in its posterior wall. This injury was not recognized until autopsy. The patient died 7 days after insertion of the drain of lung emboli, which were related to his primary trauma and not to the heart perforation.

Aged↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Face and neck injuries due to resuscitation versus throttling.

Face and neck injuries of 21 patients who died of other causes than mechanic asphyxia and who were resuscitated in connection to dying were analyzed during a 3-year period, 1980-1982. The injuries were predominantly of the type nail impression marks (85%) and showed a regular symmetric distribution tending to form circles around the nostrils and mouth. Injuries inflicted upon mouth-to-mouth ventilation were localized to the nose and at jaw-thrust to the mandibular margins and were easy to differ from those due to throttling. Injuries inflicted on the cheeks upon removal of vomit from the mouth were similar to those seen after violent oral occlusion and those occurring at carotid pulse palpation as indicated by throttling. No fractures of the laryngeal skeleton and no conjunctival haemorrhages were seen.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Cause of death in persons aged between 15 and 50 years in the community of Stockholm. A forensic-pathologic and statistical study.

All deaths occurring in the age group 15-50 years in the community of Stockholm during the period November 1st 1979 to April 30th 1980 have been investigated. There were 272 deaths in total (males 176, females 96). The estimated annual death rate was in total 185/100,000 inhabitants (males 238, females 132). The autopsy rate was 82%. The deaths were divided in five main groups: 32 persons (12%) died from cardiovascular diseases, 60 persons (22%) from other natural diseases, 65 persons (25%) from conditions causally associated with exogenous influence (border line cases) such as abuse of alcohol, medicinal drugs and narcotics at sublethal concentrations. Violent deaths amounted to 108 cases (40%) and finally in 7 cases (3%) no plausible cause of death was proven. In 51 cases (19%) the underlying cause of death was attributed solely to chronic abuse of alcohol. Anamnestic information about abuse was available in 42% of all deaths. Deaths due to arteriosclerotic heart disease comprised a small group and were rare under the age of 45; about half of those were considered sudden and unexpected. The estimated annual rates of deaths due to coronary heart disease were 16.2/100,000 inhabitants for males and 1.4 for females. Difficulties were experienced in defining and delimiting the group of border line deaths due to exogenous influences.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Explosion-related deaths in Sweden--a forensic-pathologic and criminalistic study.

All cases of death caused by explosions of explosive solids, fluids and gases in Sweden during the 6-year period 1979-1984 were analyzed. Among the total of 61 fatalities 33 (54%) were due to accidents (2/3 of them occupational and 1/3 miscellaneous accidents), 25 (41%) were suicides, and only 3 (5%) were associated with terrorist activity. About one half of the occupational accidents were caused by deficient safety devices or defective equipment, while the other half was due to transgression of regulations. All suicides were males, relatively elderly, the majority of them burdened with somatic and mental diseases, alcoholism, social or economical problems, most of them being familiar with explosives. The anatomical localization of suicidal explosive injuries was regular and symmetric, while the accidental and terrorist injuries showed great variations. The terrorist-associated deaths had common features different from all other death cases, strongly suggesting the same type of bomb and the same terrorist group. Explosives caused only superficial burns or singes. Symmetric hemorrhages of the vocal folds and fracture of the laryngeal skeleton were found, as well as ruptures of trachea and lungs. When not ruptured, the lungs showed to different types of injury: hyperinflation, probably due to the blast-induced barotrauma to the respiratory passages, or lung contusions. In cases of suspected terrorist explosions close collaboration between the forensic pathologists and police investigators is mandatory since the bodies of victims protect parts of the bomb from fire or from being spread over a larger area and thus constitute a part of the crime scene.

Accidents↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Rupture of the myocardial histoskeleton and its relation to sudden death after infusion of glycine 1.5% in the mouse.

Hypoxic lesions in the subendocardium and long-standing dilatation of the interstitium have been described after exposure of the heart to glycine 1.5%, which is a widely used irrigating medium in endoscopic surgery. To study if the hypo-osmotic properties of the fluid cause these morphological changes, whether their long duration can be explained by rupture of the histoskeleton and whether they promote sudden death, 75 mice received an intravenous infusion of 200 ml/kg or 300 ml/kg over 60 min of either glycine 1.5%, glycine 1.5% in normal saline, normal saline, or no fluid (controls). The animals were decapitated when they were dying from the infusion, or else 7 days later, and 69 hearts were examined by light microscopy and 4 by electron microscopy. Rupture of the histoskeleton and hypoxic lesions in the subendocardium were observed in 47% and 35%, repectively, of the mice given glycine 1.5%, while the incidence averaged 20% in the two other groups. Rupture occurred in 38% of the mice that died, in 23% of those that survived an infusion, and in 0% of the controls. Hypoxic changes correlated with bradycardia, which is a sign of glycine absorption in the clinic. In conclusion, rupture of the histoskeleton and hypoxic changes occur in the subendocardium of mice after volume loading. These morphological changes were aggravated by the hypo-osmotic properties of glycine 1.5%.

Animals↗