Cholelithiasis is defined as the presence of stones within the lumen of the gallbladder or in the extrahepatic biliary tree. Cholecystitis, secondary to gallstones, is a common surgical disorder in Korea. Detailed microscopic descriptions, particularly the ultrastructural changes, of these diseases were not available. The goal of this study was to identify the ultrastructural alterations of gallbladder epithelium in cholecystitis with and without a stone, according to the degree of severity of inflammation, and the nature of the stone. The gallbladders of the control group, and cholecystitis cases without stone and with stone were fixed and examined with routine stain, special stain, immunohistochemical stain and trans-mission electron microscopy. The number and the volume density of the mucin containing secretary granules were not significantly increased in the calculous cholecystitis cases compared with those of the acalculous cholecystitis cases. Major findings were that the calculous cholecystitis cases showed a markedly reduced total lysosome area and volume density of the lysosome compared with those of the acalculous chole-cystitis cases. The differences between the mucin secretary granules and lysosomes, according to the degree of severity of cholecystitis and the natures of gallstones, were statistically not significant.
Humans

Distal foot defect is frequently encountered as an output site in high-tension electrical burn injuries, and proper treatment methods should be applied in order to achieve a properly-functioning foot. However, in distal foot defects around the metatarsal heads or metatarsophalangeal joints, conventional methods have not been ideal, replaced by such methods as secondary healing, amputation or skin graft because there was insufficient tissue in the distal foot and the general condition of the patient was unsuitable for distant or free flap surgeries. So, in order to establish convenient, promising methods for the reconstruction of distal foot defects in severe electrical burns, we classified the distal foot into four zones according to their blood supply and we defined or created ideal reverse flaps in each zone. From April 1996 to March 1999, we reconstructed 43 cases of distal foot defects in fourth-degree high voltage electrical burn wounds. In 19 cases of MP(medial plantar) zone injuries, we used reverse medial plantar island flap and in 5 cases of DP(dorsalis pedis) zone, we created a reverse dorsalis pedis island fascia flap, In 11 cases of P(peroneal) zone, we created reverse peroneal fascia flap and in 8 cases of I (intermediate) zone, we modified a reverse posterior tibial island flap, There was partial flap necrosis or grafted skin loss in five cases, but those were extremely minor problems and we successfully reconstructed distal foot defects in all 43 cases. In conclusion, proper reverse flaps according to the zone of the distal foot are ideal reconstructive methods because they provide good vascularization, sufficient tissue from the proximal parts and they require short operative time with relatively easy procedures.
Amputation ; Burns* ; Fascia ; Foot* ; Free Tissue Flaps ; Head ; Humans ; Metatarsal Bones ; Metatarsophalangeal Joint ; Necrosis ; Operative Time ; Skin ; Transplants ; Wounds and Injuries

No abstract available.
Pancreatitis*

Vimentin is an intermediate filament protein normally expressed in mesenchymal cells, but the evidence of the aberrant expression of vimentin in epithelial cancer cells suggests that the vimentin expression might be related to local invasiveness and metastatic potential. There have been a few previous studies on the vimentin expression in human cervical carcinogenesis using in vivo and in vitro models. We examined the immunohistochemical vimentin expression in various squamous epithelial neoplasms of the uterine cervix, including the cervical intraepithelial neoplasia group (n=25), the microinvasive squamous cell carcinoma group (n=15), the invasive squamous cell carcinoma group (n=15) and the metastatic squamous cell carcinoma group (n=8). Vimentin positivity was significantly higher in the invasive than in the intraepithelial group, and in the cases with lymph node metastasis than in those without metastasis, suggesting a relationship between the vimentin expression and progression of the uterine cervical epithelial tumors.
Carcinogenesis ; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell ; Cervical Intraepithelial Neoplasia ; Cervix Uteri* ; Female ; Humans ; Intermediate Filaments ; Lymph Nodes ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Neoplasms, Glandular and Epithelial* ; Vimentin*

The aims of this study were to assess the role of p53 overexpression in colorectal tumorigenesis and the association with clinicopathological features. The immunohistochemical results were semiquantitatively assessed. Expression of aberrant p53, tumor-suppressor gene product, was studied immunohistochemically using a monoclonal antibody in 11 nonneoplastic polyps, 19 tubular adenomas, 9 villous adenomas, and 48 colorectal carcinomas. Five out of 11 nonneoplastic polyps, 14 out of 19 tubular adenomas and one out of 9 villous adenomas expressed p53 protein. Seven out of 24 colorectal carcinomas without lymph node metastasis and 14 out of 24 colorectal carcinomas with lymph node metastsis expressed p53 protein. The case of more than 75% positivity of p53 in colorectal carcinoma with lymph node metastasis was seven out of 24, but that in lymph node negative group was two out of 24. In the colorectal carcinoma with lymph node metastasis group; metastatic intranodal neoplastic cells were expressed positively for p53 in 10 out of 14 cases and zero out of 10 cases in group of positive and negative expression of primary lesions, respectively. p53 protein expression was not significantly correlated with variable clinicopathologic features such as age, sex, tumor location, tumor size, differentiation and Dukes' stage. It is suggested that p53 protein overexpression could be a early event in pathogenesis of colon cancer but is not involved in progression of villous adenoma to adenocarcinoma. p53 overexpression seems to be involved in metastatic ability of colorectal carcinomas.
Adenoma ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Cell Transformation, Neoplastic

No abstract available.
Esophageal and Gastric Varices* ; Hypertension, Portal*

Death by drowning is a major cause of unnatural death worldwide. It is therefore important to conduct forensic examination of immersed bodies following drowning, in order to determine the diagnosis of drowning, because no specific methods have been established thus far. Therefore, we performed a series of rat experiments to compare autopsy findings between seawater and fresh water drowning cases, which included the presence of pleural effusion and histologic findings of the lung. The results showed that the volume of pleural effusion increased in the seawater drowning group compared to the fresh water drowning group, and the total weight of lung was affected by the type of drowning medium and postmortem interval. However, histologic findings of the lung showed no significant difference between the 2 types of drowning mediums.
Animals ; Autopsy ; Drowning ; Fresh Water ; Lung ; Pleural Effusion ; Rats ; Seawater

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to assess the clinical features, microbiologic results, and the efficacy of perineal hygienic care of pediatric vulvovaginitis. METHODS: Forty-two unselected premenarcheal patients with symptoms or signs of vulvovaginitis who were attended the outpatient pediatric and adolescent gynecology clinic at Pundang CHA General Hospital from August 1997, to September 1999 were systematically interviewed and examined using a standardized format, studied microbiologically, and followed the efficacy of perineal hygienic measures prospectively. RESULTS: The median age of the patients was 4.8 years (range 2.9 years to 10.9 years). Vaginal complaints of 42 patients were discharge(79%), genital pain or irritation(31%), odor(17%), pruritus(14%), and vaginal bleeding(7%). On physical examination, vaginal discharge and vulvar erythema were noted in 17(40%) and 22(52%) patients, respectively. Aerobic bacteria or yeast excluding vaginal normal flora were found in 24 of 42 patients(57%). Convincing evidence of specific pathogens was found in 9 of 42 patients(21%) including one case of pinworm infestation. Isolated pathogens were H. influenza(3), S. pyogenes(2), K. pneumonia(2) and N. gonorrhea(1). No patients were found to have chlamydial infection or trichomoniasis. In 14 patients, risk factors were identified such as swimming(14%), bubble bath(5%), sexual abuse(5%), genital trauma(5%) and foreign body(2%). After two weeks instructions of perineal hygienic care, 26(62%) of 42 patients revealed complete resolution of symptoms and signs of vaginitis without antibiotics. Efficacies of perineal hygienic care were 94%(17/18) in the patients with normal flora alone, 60%(9/15) in the patients with organisms suspected for nonspecific infection and 0%(0/9) in the patients with specific pathogens(p<0.05). CONCLUSION: Majority(62%) of the pediatric patients with symptoms or signs of vulvovaginitis were cured with perineal hygienic care alone. And the efficacy of hygienic measure were higher in the patients without specific pathogens(79%, 26/33). Therefore, proper physical examination, microbiologic study and appropriate instructions of perineal hygienic care were more important than empirical antibiotic treatment in initial management of pediatric vulvovaginitis.
Adolescent ; Anti-Bacterial Agents ; Bacteria, Aerobic ; Enterobius ; Erythema ; Gynecology ; Hospitals, General ; Humans ; Outpatients ; Physical Examination ; Prospective Studies ; Risk Factors ; Vaginal Discharge ; Vaginitis ; Vulvovaginitis* ; Yeasts

The etiology of spontaneous hemarthrosis of the knee joint in elderly pattents is still unknown. This report discusses seven spontaneous hernarthroses, three that were managed witla conservative measures such as aspiration, rest and knee immobilization because of poor general condition and four in which arthroscopic evaluation and treatment were performed. These patients were elderly indi.viduals without an obvious history of trauma. The roentgenograms of each involved knee demonstrated degenerative osteoarthritic changes of knee joint. Arthroscopic examination revealed denuded articular cartilage and subchondral bone exposure in four operative cases and degenerative meniscal tear in one case of four. These patients underwent mthroscopic debridement and did not experience recurrenees of the hemarthrosis. We think that the origin of the bleeding was most likely from the subchondral cancellous bone which was exposed due to degenerative change of the knee joint and the senile changes of the vessels around the knee joint with aging process may contribute the spontaneous bleeding into the knee joints.
Aged* ; Aging ; Cartilage, Articular ; Debridement ; Hemarthrosis* ; Hemorrhage ; Humans ; Immobilization ; Knee Joint ; Knee*

In children, snapping knee syndrome and joint pain with the loss of physiological hyperextension strongly suggests a diagnosis of a torn discoid meniscus. We performed arthroscopic meniscectomy to treat torn discoid lateral meniscus on 19 knees and open meniscectomy on 9 knees of 26 children(average age: 10.9 yrs) from September, 1983 to October, 1993 at Guro hospital. According to Ikeuchi's grading system', excellent results were obtained in 14, good in 11, fair in 2 knees and poor in 1 knee which was associated with osteochondritis dissecans. The knees treated by partial meniscectomy showed less Fairbank's radiologic changes than those by total meniscectomy during the average follow-up 4.2 years(minimum 1 year, maximum 7 year 11 months).
Arthralgia ; Child ; Diagnosis ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Knee ; Menisci, Tibial ; Osteochondritis Dissecans