Studies in lipid histochemistry

Summary It was shown by experiments with staining reactions performed in situ in blood smears of adults and children, in sections prepared by various procedures, in spot tests, and by chromatographic examination of extracted lipids that haemoglobin is responsible entirely for the staining of red blood cells in the acid haematein test and for the greater part for the staining in the OTAN reaction. The acid haematein test is from the point of view of lipid histochemistry neither specific nor sensitive. On the other hand the OTAN reaction is sensitive although it is not specific. It is concluded that the extraction test with chloroform-methanol must always be performed when the lipidic nature of the demonstrated substance(s) is to be proved unequivocally and that the non-lipidic nature of the residual staining must be always considered.     

Criteria for Internal Mammary Artery Implantation Based on Cine Coronary Arteriography

Preoperative coronary arteriograms were correlated, in a group of 50 patients, with left internal mammary angiograms obtained from 11 to 32 months, with a mean of 17 months, after mammary artery implantation. In all patients in whom the internal mammary artery was patent and considered functional with good angiographic opacification of the anterior descending coronary artery, the preoperative coronary angiogram showed total or subtotal obstruction of the latter vessel, with indirect evidence of decreased flow and pressure distal to the obstruction. This evidence was provided by the presence of a collateral circulation or, in a few cases of subtotal obstruction, delayed opacification of the vessel distal to the obstruction.In patients in whom the internal mammary artery was patent but showed no anastomotic connection with the anterior descending coronary artery or only opacification of small coronary branches, the degree of coronary obstruction was, in most cases, less than 90% of the lumen of the coronary artery in the absence of any collateral circulation or delayed opacification of the vessel distal to the obstruction.Occlusion of the internal mammary artery was seen as often in the presence of total or subtotal obstructions as with lesser degrees of anterior descending coronary artery obstruction, and is believed unrelated to the degree of pre-existing coronary artery disease.Successful internal mammary artery implantation can be related to specific coronary angiographic patterns recognizable before operation; these may serve as reliable criteria for the selection of patients.