Search PubMed⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

W F Marovitz

Publications and source records attributed to W F Marovitz.

41 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMedDate not supplied

Intercellular junctions in the differentiating rat otocyst.

Intercellular junctions between cells of the rat otocyst on the 12th day of gestation were studied using lanthanum tracer and freeze-fracture techniques. At the luminal surface, the intercellular space is closed by a series of tight junctions. Gap junctions are also present between cells both within and below the luminal junctional complex. The presence of tight and gap junctions at this early stage in the differentiating otocyst is probably essential for the development of a normally functioning adult ear.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Evaluation of tympanic neurectomy and chorda tympanectomy surgery.

Thirty patients were treated by tympanic neurectomy, chorda tympanectomy, or both for a variety of conditions. Out of six patients with gustatory sweating treated by tympanic neurectomy, two patients were relieved of symptoms, two were improved, and two remained unchanged. In five cases of benign recurrent painful parotid swelling, only two patients noted improvement in symptoms. Seventeen patients suffered from drooling. Out of 12 postresection head and neck patients, 5 (41%) were improved following such surgery. Two of four cerebral palsy children initially had a good result. However, the long term follow-up of the patients demonstrated that the drooling recurred. An additional patient who suffered from drooling caused by bulbar weakness following a cerebrovascular accident had fewer problems with salivary secretions postoperatively. The pertinent anatomy and pathophysiology is outlined. The possible reasons for the relatively disappointing results achieved are discussed.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

An evaluation of normal strial capillary transport using the electron-opaque tracers ferritin and iron dextran.

Enzymatic tracer techniques to study normal and pathologic strial capillary transport pose various problems. The use of electron opaque tracers can circumvent many of these problems. Iron dextran (mol. diam 20--70 A) and ferritin (mol. diam 110 A) were injected intravenously and the mice sacrificed at intervals of 1/2, 1, 2, 5, and 24 h. The iron dextran results were unusual in that from 1/2 to 5 h after administration the tracer was present within the cytoplasmic matrix of endothelia, but by 24 h it had been cleared out. No transendothelial exchange was noted. The ferritin results were in conflict and previous results using horse-radish peroxidase. Transport of ferritin was minimal regardless of time sacrificed. No more than a few molecules were scattered about the capillary basal limina. Those molecules transported across capillaries were apparently delivered by means of the micropinocytotic system. The results suggest a blood-strial barrier similar to the blood-thymic and blood-myenteric barriers. Experimental as well as control animals exhibited strial light cells which contained ferritin-like particles within their cytoplasmic matrices. These light cells are probably reticuloendothelial type cells. Ferritin may be useful to gauge strial capillary transport alterations associated with auditory pathologies.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

A ferritin-containing cell type in the stria vascularis of the mouse inner ear.

This report describes a new cell type within the stria vascularis of the mouse inner ear. The cell is similar ultrastructurally to the classically described intermediate cell. However, it can be distinguished by the presence of dense vacuoles, presumably lysosomes, within which can be visualized electron dense particles resembling ferritin molecules. In addition, the ferritin-like particles are present throughout the cytoplasm and occasionally within the endoplasmic reticulum. These cells characteristically abut capillary basal lamina. Electron probe analysis of the dense vacuoles revealed the presence of iron. It is suggested that these cells may sequester iron released from dying erythrocytes in the strial capillary system, whereupon the iron is conserved through ferritin synthesis.

Animals↗