Muscular design in the equine interosseus muscle

We studied the forelimb interosseus muscle in horses, Equus caballus, to determine the muscular properties inherent in its function. Some authors have speculated that the equine interosseus contains muscle fibers at birth only to undergo loss of these fibers through postnatal ontogeny. We describe the muscle fibers in eight interosseus specimens from adult horses. These fibers were studied histochemically using myosin ATPase studies and immunocytochemically using several antibodies directed against type I and type II myosin heavy chain antibodies. We determined that 95% of the fibers were type I, presumed slow-twitch fibers. All fibers exhibited normal morphological appearance in terms of fiber diameter and cross-sectional area, suggesting that the muscles are undergoing normal cycles of recruitment. SDS-PAGE studies of myosin heavy chain isoforms were consistent with these observations of primarily slow-twitch muscle. Fibers were determined to be approximately 800 microm long when studied using nitric acid digestion protocols. Short fiber length combined with high pinnation angles suggest that the interosseus muscle is able to generate large amounts of force but can produce little work (measured as pulling the distal tendon proximally). While the equine interosseus muscle has undergone a general reduction of muscle content during its evolution, it remains composed of a significant muscular component that likely contributes to forelimb stability and elastic storage of energy during locomotion.     

A study on the non-linear flow of blood through arteries

The pulsatile flow of blood through arteries is investigated in this paper by treating the blood vessel as a thin-walled anisotropic, non-linearly viscoelastic, incompressible circular cylindrical shell; nonlinearities of the flow of blood are also paid due consideration. The displacement components of the vessel wall are obtained from the equations of equilibrium which have been linearized by employing the principle of superimposition of a small deformation on a state of known finite deformation. The influence of the wall deformation on the flow properties of blood, has been accounted for by considering suitably formulated continuity conditions. A finitedifference scheme is employed for solving the flow equations together with the boundary and initial conditions by using the locally measured values of pressure and pressure gradient. Numerical results obtained for the velocity profile of blood flowing in a canine middle descending thoracic aorta have been presented through figures.     

正常成人脑主要供血动脉的MSCT血管成像研究

目的:观测正常脑动脉多层螺旋CT血管成像(multi-slice spiral CT angiography,MSCTA)主要动脉的起始部内径、走行、形态及其分支的显示情况,为脑血管疾病的诊断提供参考资料.方法:选择40例健康体检者行全脑血管64层MSCTA检查,采用ADW4.2工作站测量各主要动脉起始部内径,观测其走行、形态和变异,并统计各级分支的显示率.结果:正常成人脑动脉常见的变异发生在组成脑底动脉环的大脑前动脉A1段、前后交通动脉及大脑后动脉起始段,以后交通动脉变异最大.颈内动脉末段、大脑前动脉A1段、大脑中动脉、大脑后动脉、眼动脉、前交通动脉、后交通动脉及脉络膜前动脉在MSCTA上的显示率分别为100%、95%、100%、100%、100%、92.5%、58.8%和72.5%.主要脑动脉起始部内径分别是:颈内动脉末段4.013±0.770 mm、大脑前动脉A1段2.709±0.877 mm、大脑中动脉3.498±0.640 mm、大脑后动脉2.025±0.608 mm、眼动脉1.640±0.334 mm、后交通动脉1.491±0.697mm及脉络膜前动脉1.460±0.483mm.结论:正常成人脑血管变异主要发生于脑底动脉环,脑血管直径与其供血范围及分布区血流动力学因素相关.     

A study on large radial motion of arteries in vivo

This study analyses the radial periodic motion of an artery which is modelled as a thin cylinder of uniform cross-section subjected to dynamic inner pressure using the theory of finite deformation of elastic materials. The arterial tissue properties (anisotropy, homogeneity and incompressibility) are taken into account in an analysis based on the use of the strain energy function. The validity of the mathematical analysis is illustrated through numerical computation applying the available in vivo data for elastic constants of the canine middle descending thoracic aorta to the expressions for the intramural pressure and circumferential stresses obtained by solving the necessary equation of motion together with the boundary conditions. Results obtained in this study indicate very low stresses which suggest that the arteriosclerosis resulting from high stress gradients is effectively ruled out in this model.     

A scanning electron microscope study of human cerebral arteries.

Human cerebral arteries were obtained from autopsy, fixed under pressure, cut open, and tacked onto pieces of cork. For one artery the intima was partly teased away, exposing the media, and treated with a silver nitrate process. For another artery the adventitia was exposed. Both arteries were processed through graded ethanols and coated with gold paladium for the scanning electron microscope. The collagen fibers of the adventitia were approximately 5 mum in diameter and consisted of a bundle of microfilaments, each of which had a diameter of 800-1000 A (1 A = 10(-10) m). The collagen fibers were oriented parallel to the long axis of the artery. The muscle cells of the media had a diameter of 2-5 mum and were arranged circumferentially with a pitch of approximately 20 degrees. The collagen fibers of the media travel perpendicular to the muscle cells, and parallel to the long axis of the artery. The fibrillar components of the elastin in the intima had a diameter of approximately 700-1000 A and were arranged parallel to the long axis of the artery. It was postulated that the fibrillar part of the elastin was the elastic component of the elastin.     

Paravascular structures of the major arteries of the cerebral hemispheres (electron microscopy study)

The ultrastructure of the paravasal formations of the magistral arteries in the brain hemispheres has been studied: the paravasal nerve trunks (components of the external nerve plexus of the arteries, running outside the adventitia and surrounded with liquor) and the artery-stabilizing constructions--strings in the human being and in the dog. The human para-arterial nerve trunks possess the vasa nervorum system, presented by blood capillaries situating at the border of endo- and perineurium, by powerfully developed perineurium, which includes into its composition a system of basal membranes and perineural cells. In the canine para-arterial nerve trunks these formation are absent. In the string composition there are collagenous-fibrillar base represented by tightly packed fasciculi of collagenous fibers, oriented in parallel to the long axis of the string, and by stellate cells. Both the paravasal nerve trunks and the strings are surrounded with flattened cells of the endothelial sheath. They are very much alike with the arachnoidendothelial cells lining the subarachnoidal space.