The authors studied the ultrastructural changes of liver cell mitochondria in autolysis. The male Sprague-Dawley rats, weighting 140~160 gm were sacrificed for extract liver tissue. The slices of the liver tissue were incubated in 37 degrees C aseptic normal saline, and those were examined by following intervals; 10, 20 and 30 minutes and 1, 2, 6, 12 and 24 hours with light and electron microscope. The results obtained by light microscopy were summerized as follow. Several fine intracytoplasmic vacuoles were observed 1 hour after incubation. After 3 hours, focal destruction of cytoplasmic membrane with pyknosis of nuclei were observed. More delicate intracytoplasmic architectural changes could not be detected at light microscopic studies. The cord arrangement and cellular boundaries were relatively well preserved until 24 hours after incubation. Electronmicroscopically, mild intramitochondrial swelling with diminution of intramatrical granules were observed at 20 minutes. These were the earliest findings. Both high amplitude swelling and destruction of mitochondrial membrane were observed concurrently at 1 hour after incubation. The earlier membrane changes were observed at inner membrane with cristae and followed by degeneration of the outer membrane. The intramatrical amorphous dense deposits were observed at 30 minutes when the membranes were not destroyed. These deposits were noted in the other experimental groups which were incubated longer than 30 minutes. More electron dense deposits were observed after 1 hour at that time the membrane changes appeared. Vhe results suggest in this experiment that the earliest autolytic changes of liver cell mitochondria is loss of intramitochondrial granules and the membraneous changes led to the irreversible mitochondiral injury. The appearance of two types of intramitochondrial dense deposits would be an interesting finding needed to require further investigation for the chemical stucture and mechanism of dense deposit formation.
Male ; Humans

The authors studied the formation of giant mitochondria in liver cell. The Sprague Dawley rats were sacrificed following intervals; 5, 10, 20, 30, and 60 minutes after intraperitoneal injection of hydrazine in the amount of 200 microliter/kg. And the extracted liver tissues were examined with light and electron microscopes. The results obtained were summarized as follow; Light microscopically, there is little difference between control and experimental groups. Electron microscopically, elongated, bizzare shaped mitochondria are appears 5 minutes after hydrazine injection. Those show attenuated portion, Y, U, or C shaped feature suggesting fusion or budding mitochondria. The number of giant mitochondria is decreased after 10 minutes group and rarely present in 60 minutes group. The results suggest in this experiment that the formation of giant mitochondria is kind of reversible change and it is different from the mitochondrial swelling of cellular injury. Intermitochondrial fusion and mitochondrial budding may be related with the formation of giant mitochondria.
Rats ; Animals

Testicular microlithiasis (TM) is an uncommon abnormality in which concentric laminated bodies are scattered throughout the testis within seminiferous tubules. The sonographic appearance of TM is characteristic. In a retrospective analysis of 281 testicular sonograms, TM were found in 7 cases (2.5%). The presence of TM was associated with the presence of acute epididymitis (n=3), varicocele (n =l), hydrocele (n =l), testicular tumor (n =l), and cryptorchidism (n =l). The pathogenesis of TM is still poorly understood and its clinical relevance is unclear. However, because TM may be associated with testicular tumor, we advocate careful evaluation and follow up of the testes when this abnormality is detected.
Cryptorchidism ; Epididymitis ; Follow-Up Studies ; Male ; Retrospective Studies ; Seminiferous Tubules ; Testis ; Ultrasonography ; Varicocele

Adult polycystic kidney disease is a genetic disease characterized by bilateral multiple renal cysts and is transmitted as an autosomal dominant traits. The disease usually manifests in the fourth decade of life. The affected patients usually die with end stage renal failure, cardiovascular assaults and infection etc. Cardiovascular assaults include ruptured berry aneurysm, spontaneous intracranial hemorrhage, acute myocardial infarction, dissecting aortic aneurysm and hypertensive heart failure. Fatal intracranial hemorrhage and hypertensive heart failure occur in 15% and 2% of patients, respectively. Genetically-determined structural weakness in the arterial wall have been suggested as a possible factor in the genesis of berry aneurysm. We have experienced three autopsy cases with cardiovascular causes of sudden death. Two cases have intracranial hemorrhage (1 berry aneurysm and 1 intracerebral hemorrhage) and the remaining one is dead with hypertensive cardiomyopathy. All of them are aged over 40 years and associated with polycystic liver disease. Histologically, myriad cysts of enlarged bilateral kidney are lined by single layer of cuboidal cells with focal hyperplastic epithelial configuration. Diffusely scattered liver cysts are also lined by flat to cuboidal epithelium and often associated with portal fibrosis.
Adult* ; Aortic Aneurysm ; Autopsy ; Cardiomyopathies ; Cerebral Hemorrhage ; Death, Sudden ; Epithelium ; Fibrosis ; Heart Failure ; Humans ; Intracranial Aneurysm ; Intracranial Hemorrhages ; Kidney ; Liver ; Liver Diseases ; Myocardial Infarction ; Polycystic Kidney, Autosomal Dominant* ; Renal Insufficiency

No abstract available.
Ear, Middle*

Placental transmogrification is a very rare lung disease, where the alveoli resemble the chorionic villi of placenta, and this change is a characteristic finding. A 31-year-old female patient presented with cough and dyspnea that had begun 2 weeks prior to admission. Along with giant bulla found in the left upper lung field, subsegmental consolidation was also identified in the lingular segment on plain chest radiograph and CT scan. Wedge resection was performed to remove the bulla. Pathologic examination of the resected bulla revealed destruction of the normal structures and characteristic villous and papillary changes. These changes led to a diagnosis of placental transmogrification. We made an encounter of an unusual placental transmogrification which had different image findings from other reported transmogrification cases. Thus, we report an atypical placental transmogrification case where both consolidation and giant bulla coexist.
Adult ; Chorionic Villi/*pathology ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Female ; Humans ; Lung/*pathology/radiography/surgery ; Lung Diseases/pathology/*radiography/surgery ; Pneumonectomy ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed/*methods

In July 2010, we identified an outbreak of vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) in our 26-bed neonatal intensive care unit. We performed an epidemiological investigation after clinical cultures of 2 neonates were positive for VRE. Identification, susceptibility testing, and molecular characterization were performed. Cultures of 3 surveillance stool samples of inpatients and 5 environmental samples were positive for VRE. All isolates were identified as Enterococcus faecium containing the vanA gene. Two distinct clones were identified by performing pulsed-field gel electrophoresis. The 2 clones exhibited different pulsotypes, but they represented identical Tn1546 types. Two sequence types, ST18 and ST192, were identified among all of the isolates with multilocus sequence typing. Our investigation determined that the outbreak in the neonatal intensive care unit was caused by 2 genetically different clones. The outbreak may have occurred through clonal spread and horizontal transfer of the van gene.
Anti-Bacterial Agents/pharmacology ; Bacterial Proteins/genetics ; Bacterial Typing Techniques ; Carbon-Oxygen Ligases/genetics ; DNA, Bacterial/analysis ; *Disease Outbreaks ; Electrophoresis, Gel, Pulsed-Field ; Enterococcus faecium/drug effects/*genetics/isolation & purification ; Feces/microbiology ; Genotype ; Gram-Positive Bacterial Infections/diagnosis/epidemiology/*microbiology ; Humans ; Infant, Newborn ; Intensive Care Units, Neonatal ; Male ; Multilocus Sequence Typing ; Vancomycin/pharmacology ; *Vancomycin Resistance

The authors analysed 53 cases of sudden cardiac death(SCD) without prominent structural abnormalies of heart out of witnessed 300 cases. Thirty four cases were associated with sleep and 19 with activity or rest. Twenty one cases were classified as having normal hearts, and the rest as structurally mild abnormal ones. Male was predominant, and almost of the victims were suffered in their twenties or thirties. All cases collapsed instantaneously or in very short time with various and not specific terminal symptoms. Inducing or trigger factors are not clarified in almost of the cases. Mechanisms or causes of death could not be defined clearly. We concluded that careful heart examination with detailed clinical history under the appropriate postmortem investigation system is only effective approach for the true mechanism and cause of death.
Adult* ; Cause of Death ; Death, Sudden, Cardiac* ; Heart* ; Humans ; Male

PURPOSE: A laparoscopy-assisted gastrectomy with lymph node dissection for gastric cancer is considered technically more complicated than the open method. To evaluate the short-term surgical validity, the surgical outcome of the laparoscopy-assisted distal gastrectomy (LADG) with extraperigastric lymph node dissection was compared with that of the conventional open distal gastrectomy (CODG) in patients with early gastric cancer. METHODS: One hundred and forty-seven patients with early gastric cancer received a radical distal gastrectomy during 2002 and 2003, where a LADG was performed on 71 patients. The clinicopathological characteristics, postoperative outcomes and courses, and the postoperative morbidities and mortalities were compared between the two groups. Data were retrieved from the stomach cancer database at Dong-A University Medical center. RESULTS: Baseline characteristics, including gender, age, body mass index (BMI), American Society of Anesthesiology (ASA) class, tumor size, T stage, and lymph node metastasis, were similar between the two groups. No significant differences were found between these groups in terms of the number of retrieved lymph nodes with respect to D1+(D1+no. 7) and D1+beta (D1+no. 7, 8a, and 9) lymphadenectomies. In the LADG group, the wound size was smaller (P <0.0001), but the operation time was longer (P=0.0001) than in the CODG group. The perioperative recovery was faster in the LADG than in the CODG group, as reflected by the shorter hospital stay (P=0.0176) and less additional analgesics (P=0.0370). The serum albumin level in the LADG was higher (P=0.0002) on day 7 than that in the CODG group, and the leukocyte count in the LADG lower (P=0.0445) on day 1 than that in the CODG gruop. There were no significant differences in the postoperative morbidities and mortalities between the two groups. CONCLUSIONS: Our data confirmed that a LADG with an extraperigastric (no. 7, 8, and 9) lymph node dissection was a feasible and acceptable surgical technique for early gastric cancer. From a surgical point of view, a LADG with an extraperigastric lymph node dissection is suggested to be a preferred surgical option for patients with early gastric cancer. Its oncological validity awaits larger and prospective multicenterd trials.
Academic Medical Centers ; Analgesics ; Anesthesiology ; Body Mass Index ; Gastrectomy* ; Humans ; Length of Stay ; Leukocyte Count ; Lymph Node Excision* ; Lymph Nodes* ; Mortality ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Serum Albumin ; Stomach Neoplasms* ; Wounds and Injuries

Primary thymic mucinous adenocarcinoma is an extremely rare aggressive subtype of thymic carcinoma. With a review of literatures, only nine cases have been reported up to present. A 36-year-old woman was admitted for further evaluation and treatment of a mediastinal mass. The patient had no medical history of cancer. The clinicoradiological examination disclosed no tumor elsewhere. After the surgical excision of mediastinal mass, it was grossly a round semi-solid mass with mucin-filled cystic areas. Microscopically solid areas showed cords, small nests and dilated glands infiltrating the fibrotic parenchyma, while the cystic areas were lined by mucinous epithelium with tumor cells floating in extracellular-mucin pools. Some cystic walls underwent malignant transformation of the benign thymic epithelium. Immunohistochemically, the tumor cells were positive for cytokeratin (CK) 7, CK20, CD5, and CDX-2, and negative for thyroid transcription factor-1. In conclusion, the mucinous thymic adenocarcinoma should be recognized as a separate histopathological entity and considered in the differential diagnosis of mediastinal carcinomas.
Adenocarcinoma ; Adenocarcinoma, Mucinous ; Adult ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Epithelium ; Female ; Humans ; Immunohistochemistry ; Keratins ; Mediastinal Cyst ; Mucins ; Thymoma ; Thymus Gland ; Thyroid Gland