PURPOSE: To describe the clinical course of three eyes of three patients that underwent surgical ablation as treatment of retinal angiomatous proliferation (RAP). METHODS: Surgical lysis of the retinal feeding arteriole and draining venule was done in two eyes that had stage 2 RAP with serous pigment epithelial detachment (PED). It was done as the first treatment modality in one eye, and after failure of laser photocoagulation in the other. It was also performed in another eye presumed to have very early stage RAP that showed only retinal-retinal anastomosis without any definite intraretinal or subretinal angiomatous lesion. RESULTS: PED decreased within 1 month after ablation in the two eyes with stage 2 RAP, but new anastomoses eventually developed after 1 month, followed by progression of the lesions. In the eye with presumed early stage RAP, successful lysis of retinal-retinal anastomosis was maintained and initially showed no signs of further proliferation at the original lesion site; however, four months later, hemorrhagic PED developed distally and progressed further to retinal pigment epithelial tear and massive subretinal hemorrhage. CONCLUSIONS: Surgical ablation may be unable to halt the progressive nature of neovascular proliferations in RAP.
Arterioles ; Hemorrhage ; Humans ; Light Coagulation ; Macular Degeneration ; Retinaldehyde* ; Venules

PURPOSE: To compare the Doppler velocity waveform pattern of ophthalmic artery of hypertensive patients with that of normotensive subjects. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Doppler velocity waveform was obtained from ophthalmic artery in 45 hypertensive patients and 60 normotensive subjects. Both hypertensives and normotensive subjects were classified according to age into those younger than and those older than 45 years. Doppler indices[pulsatility index(PI), resistance index(RI), the first systolic peak/the second systolic peak(S1/S2), the first sytolic peak/diastolic peak (S1/D)] measured in hypertensive patients were compared with normotensive subjects. RESULTS: Among the various doppler indices, only S1/S2 showed significant difference(p < 0.05) between the hypertensive patients and normotensive subjects younger than 45 years. Doppler velocity waveform of hypertensive patients older than 45 years showed no significant difference from that of normotensive subjects with corresponding age. CONCLUSION: Doppler velocity waveform of ophthalmic artery in hyopertensive patients younger than 45 years shows pattern with S2 higher than that of normotensive subjects. High S2 component(reflective-wave) may represent increased vascular impedance ~ue to vasococonstriction of retinal arterioles in hypertensve patients.
Arterioles ; Electric Impedance ; Humans ; Ophthalmic Artery ; Retinaldehyde ; Ultrasonography*

Acquired digital arteriovenous malformation (ADAVM) consists of an abnormal connection between the arteriole and venule in the acral area of extremities, particularly the fingers. Clinically, the lesions appear as small, slightly- elevated, dark brown erythematous macules on the distal part of fingers. The histological specimens shows close approximation between thin-walled venule and thick-walled arteriole and possibly a direct arteriovenous shunt adjacent to each other lying in the dermis. We herein report seven stereotypical cases of ADAVM.
Arterioles ; Arteriovenous Malformations ; Deception ; Dermis ; Extremities ; Fingers ; Venules

Telangiectasia is characterized by permanently dilated small vessels usually arising from the suprapapillary plexus of venule capillaries, or arterioles. It may be etvlogically divided into the primary and secondary types. Rosacea, varicose vein, prolonged sun xvsure, radiation, and physical trauma may be the causes of secondary telangiectasia. We report herein a case of secondary telangiectasia associated which operation for a femur fracture.
Arterioles ; Capillaries ; Femur ; Rosacea ; Solar System ; Telangiectasis* ; Varicose Veins ; Venules

Dieulafoy's lesion is a rare cause of repetitive and massive gastrointestinal bleeding, and this is characterized by an isolated arteriole protruding through a small mucosal defect. Dieulafoy's lesion is generally found in the stomach within 6 cm of the gastroesophageal junction, and usually on the lesser curvature, but many lesions have been reported in extragastric locations, including the esophagus, small bowel and rectum. A Dieulafoy's lesion in the ampulla of Vater is extremely rare, and only one such case has been reported in the Korean population. We experienced a rare case of Dieulafoy's lesion in the ampulla of Vater with massive pulsatile bleeding, and this was successfully treated by transparent cap-assisted endoscopic hemoclipping. We report here on this case with a review of the relevant literature.
Ampulla of Vater ; Arterioles ; Esophagogastric Junction ; Esophagus ; Hemorrhage ; Rectum ; Stomach

Pre-eclampsia is a major cause of maternal and perinatal mortality and morbidity worldwide, but remains unclear about the underlying disease mechanisms. Pre-eclampsia is currently believed to be a two-stage disease. The first stage involves shallow cytotrophoblast invasion of maternal spiral arteriole, resulting in placental insufficiency. The hypoxic placenta release soluble factors, cytokines, and trophoblastic debris into maternal circulation, which induce systemic endothelial damage and dysfunction. This cause the second stage of the disease: maternal syndrome. Epidemiological research has consistently demonstrated a familial predisposition to pre-eclampsia. Intensive research efforts have been made to discover susceptibility genes that will inform our understanding of the pathophysiology of pre-eclampsia and that may provide direction for therapeutic or preventative strategies. In this review, we summarize the current understanding of the role of genetic factors in the pathophysiology of pre-eclampsia and explain the molecular approach to search for genetic clues in pre-eclampsia.
Arterioles ; Cytokines ; Perinatal Mortality ; Placenta ; Placental Insufficiency ; Pre-Eclampsia ; Trophoblasts

We examined three patients with multiple evanescent white dot syndrome(MEWDS) using confocal laser scanning indocyanine green angiography(ICGA), and observed two types of hypofluorescent lesion which were very characteristic and diagnostic by themselves. One was dot pattern, dense hypofluorescences which were detected evidently in the late phases, and some of them could be confirmed in the early phases. They clustered in the peripapillary area and dispersed sporadically to the midperiphery. The other was circular pattern, relatively lighter hypofluorescences which were evidently observed in the late phases also. They were crowded and fused in the peripapillary area or in the posterior pole and scattered to the midperiphery in a radiating pattern. These area included clinically observed white dot lesions, but were more widespread distinctively. At the recovery stages, all these hypofluorescent lesions disappeared completely. It is supposed that the former represents blocked fluorescence by inflammatory precipitates and the latter reveals circulatory disturbance in the choriocapillary or pre-capillary arteriole. Previous fluorescein angiographic and electrophysiologic studies have demonstrated the involvement of the retinal pigment epithelium(RPE) and photoreceptors in MEWDS. Our findings on ICGA suggest that the ischemic choroidal circulatory disturbance due to the inflammatory precipitates in the choroid may be the primary change and the RPE and photoreceptors may be involved secondarily.
Arterioles ; Choroid ; Fluorescein ; Fluorescence ; Humans ; Indocyanine Green* ; Retinaldehyde

Experimental hydronephrosis was induced in rabbit by ureteral ligation, then deligation followed after certain experimental period as designed. Histopathological changes of the kidney and restoration of hydronephrosis were studied and the following results were obtained: 1. Ligation of the ureter for 3 days produced mild to moderate degrees of tubular dilatation. irregular proliferation and dilatation of small arterioles. Deligation initiates regeneration of the tubules at 1 week and almost normal histology returns by 3 weeks. 2. Ligation of the ureter for 5,7 and 14 days causes marked tubular dilatation, atrophy of the .cortex, and partial obliteration of the glomerulus. By 3 weeks after deligation, the tubules seem to partially regenerate but no significant histological changes were observed. 3. Ligation of the ureter for 21 to 60 days causes formation of scar, marked obliteration of the glomerulus and compensatory hypertrophy of the remaining glomerulus. No morphological restoration was observed by 3 weeks after deligation. 4. It seems that histological restoration starts at periglomerular tubules located closer to the cortex toward the medulla.
Arterioles ; Atrophy ; Cicatrix ; Dilatation ; Hydronephrosis* ; Hypertrophy ; Kidney* ; Ligation* ; Regeneration ; Ureter*

PURPOSE: The vessels of peripheral nerves have been extensively studied since Breidenbach used vascularizd nerve grafts. Tayor and Pinel studied the course and distribution of the vessels of peripheral nerves. However, the vessels of digital nerves are still not well known. The objective of this study was to prove vessels of digital nerves and to investigate the pathway of that. MATERIALS AND METHODS: 36 patients and 2 fresh human cadavers were studied under the microscope and histologic sections under the light microscope. RESULTS: We found that digital nerves had own arterioles and venules as well as peripheral nerves. This small vessels of digital nerves paralleled the digital nerves or run in a spiral. Digital nerves were abundantly vascularized throught their length by a succession of vessels and by their repeated divisions and anastomoses. CONCLUSIONS: The clinical implications of this results can be discussed in relation to the dissection of nerves, the possibility of vasculized nerve grafts.
Arterioles ; Cadaver ; Fingers ; Humans ; Light ; Peripheral Nerves ; Transplants ; Venules

BACKGROUND: To define the exact boundary of the intrathyroid and extrathyroid aspects of a gland when determining the extent of cancer invasion, we plan to clarify the definition of sizable vascular structures, which is one of the helpful histologic clues in determining a minimal extrathyroid extension. We hypothesized that arterial wall thicknesses in extrathyroid soft tissue would be significantly different from the arteries in the thyroid parenchyma. METHODS: Twenty cases of papillary carcinoma were selected. The numbers and wall thicknesses of the arteries and arterioles in intrathyroid and extrathyroid tissue were evaluated. The absence of nerve tissue in the thyroid gland was confirmed using the S-100 protein immunohistochemical stain. RESULTS: The comparison of the mean thicknesses of the total arteries between the extrathyroid and intrathyroid tissues in the retrospective study (26.88 micrometer vs. 15.07 micrometer, respectively) and the prospective study (35.24 micrometer vs. 16.52 micrometer, respectively) revealed significant differences (p=0.000). The greatest thickness of the intrathyroid arteries was 67.93 micrometer. CONCLUSIONS: According to our results, the study showed that the extrathyroidal arteries were significantly thicker than the intrathyroidal arteries. We suggest that the sizable blood vessels of extrathyroidal arteries should be greater than 67.93 micrometer in thickness.
Arteries ; Arterioles ; Blood Vessels ; Carcinoma, Papillary ; Nerve Tissue ; Prospective Studies ; Retrospective Studies ; S100 Proteins ; Thyroid Gland