Anatomy Commons^™

Relationships Among The Distribution Of Terminal Fields Of Sensory Afferent Projections To The Deep Layers Of The Superior Colliculus Within The Cat, Wayne Thomas Shaia

Theses and Dissertations

While it is well known that the different sensory modalities are primarily represented at separate locations within the central nervous system, there are numerous sites in which information from the different sensory modalities converge. Perhaps the best known structure where inputs from different sensory modalities converge is the superior colliculus. Here, not only are visual, auditory and somatosensory inputs present, but they also form organized representations of auditory and visual space as well a map of the body surface in addition, neurons that receive inputs from more than one sensory modality (i.e. multisensory) are found here in abundance. Although a …

Oculomotor Deficits In Diseases Of The Basal Ganglia: Parkinson's And Huntington's Diseases, Todd B. Baird

Theses and Dissertations

Oculomotor deficits are now recognized as being present in several neurological diseases of the basal ganglia. The present report will focus primarily on those observed in Huntington's and Parkinson's diseases. Neuronal cell loss in the pars compacta of the substantia nigra, degeneration of the nigrostriatal pathway, and consequent depletion of the neurotransmitter dopamine is the most obvious etiological abnormality in Parkinson's disease. Huntington's disease, on the other hand, involves the selective genetically-driven atrophy of the striatum (caudate and putamen). In order to attempt to understand oculomotor dysfunction, as a component of basal ganglia disease, it is necessary to first establish …

The Effects Of Concentric And Eccentric Contractions Performed At Equal Power Levels On Skeletal Muscle Fiber Hypertrophy, Thomas Philip Mayhew

Theses and Dissertations

There are no data available as to whether training with eccentric contractions are more effective than concentric contractions for producing skeletal muscle fiber hypertrophy. To better understand the effects of training with different contraction types two related studies were performed.

In the first study a device which is frequently used by clinicians for concentric and eccentric exercise, the Kin-Com^R, was tested for accuracy and reliability. The measurements obtained from the force, angle, and speed transducers of this device were found to be accurate and reliable between days.

The purpose of the second study was to determine if there …

The Analysis Of 3-Channel "Vector" Visual Evoked Potentials And Possible Neuroanatomical Correlates, Lance Mitchell Siegel

Theses and Dissertations

he use of evoked potentials to evaluate the functional integrity of neuronal pathways has become a useful and accepted practice in clinical medicine. The use of visual evoked potentials for assisting in the diagnosis of such diseases as optic neuritis and multiple sclerosis is also well recognized. However, the visual evoked potential, unlike the auditory evoked potentials, lacks a well defined electrophysiological to neuroanatomical correlation; especially that of a significant non-cortical component. Currently, visual evoked potentials rely principally on the measurement of a cortical (occipital) positive peak of activity at 100ms (P100), recorded with a single channel electrode system, to …

Immunomodulators In Senescent Mice, Kevin R. Mccormick

Theses and Dissertations

The suppression of the immune response in senescent animals, including humans, is not complete and may be ameliorated by specific interventions. Previous studies have suggested that the replacement of thymus factors lost with age may rejuvenate senescent immune function. Similarly, exogenous growth hormone has been reported to improve senescent immune function in certain mammals. Other studies with the immunomodulator PSK claim to restore tumor-induced immunosuppression even in aged mice. This project investigated the abilities of thymus supernatant, ovine growth hormone, and PSK to rejuvenate different

parameters of the senescent immune response.

In the first series of experiments, erythroid depleted bone …

Corticosteroid Effects And Senescence In Cultured Endothelium, Stephen A. Gudas

Theses and Dissertations

Cultures of human umbilical vein endothelial cells were treated with heparin-corticosteroid combinations to determine effects on cellular growth. Standard proliferation assays, colony formation assays, and cytoflourometric analysis were the methods employed. Dexamethasone (DEX) and hydrocortisone (HC) were inhibitory to growth of HUVEC when EtOH was used as a solvent and fully supplemented medium (20% serum) was employed. When DMSO was the solvent, growth enhancement sometimes occurred when (DEX) was the test steroid; growth inhibition occurred with this steroid when a reduced (1%) serum component was used. Since significant inhibition of cell colony formation in response to DEX administration was observed, …

Qualitative And Quantitative Morphology Of Lateral Rectus Motoneurons Of The Principal Abducens Nucleus, Helen Russell-Mergenthal

Theses and Dissertations

Nine lateral rectus motoneurons of the principal abducens nucleus, intracellularly stained with HRP, were morphometrically analyzed by light microscopy using a new method for determining motoneuron size. Particular emphasis was placed on devising a method of estimating total dendrite size from the proximal dendritic diameter alone.

The dendrites of these cells were divided into three types. One type, the microdendrites, had a consistent diameter of l micrometer, variable but short lengths, and added very little to the overall cell size. The majority of the dendrites on these cells (83) were standard in appearance but they could be separated into two …

Alterations In Blood-Brain Barrier Function Following Acute Hypertension: Comparison Of The Blood-To-Brain Transfer Of Horseradish Peroxidase With That Of Alpha-Aminoisobutyric Acid, Mary Draper Bennett Ellison

Theses and Dissertations

The blood-brain barrier (BBB) selectively restricts the blood-to-brain passage of many solutes owing to unique properties of cerebrovascular endothelial cell membranes. This selective blood/brain interface participates in the maintenance of brain homeostasis by controlling nutrient, gas, and fluid exchange necessary for brain function. Normal BBB function can be altered under various pathological and experimental conditions, allowing the transfer into brain parenchyma of blood-borne solutes normally excluded. To date, experimental study of the BBB has been accomplished primarily through the use of two different methodological approaches. Some investigators have focused on the barrier's morphological correlates and its morphopathological alteration under various …

Supramedullary Afferents To The Nucleus Raphe Magnus In The Rat: A Study Using Transcannula Hrp-Gel And Autoradiography Techniques, Susan Mary Carlton

Theses and Dissertations

The nucleus raphe magnus (NRM) is known to play an important role in a descending antinociceptive system through its projections to the spinal cord dorsal horn and trigeminal subnucleus caudalis. Identifying those nuclei which project to NRM is essential in determining other CNS cell groups which could influence analgesic mechanisms by virtue of their connections with NRM.

In an attempt to define NRM afferents, 19 adult Sprague-Dawley rats were stereotaxically implanted with a pellet of HRP gel within NRM and in adjacent areas. A transcannula technique was specifically developed for the subcortical placement of HRP in a gel form. Use …

Investigation Of A Factor Released By Neoplastic Cells Which Produces A Chemokinetic Response In Activated Macrophages, Richard Durelle Lane

Theses and Dissertations

The increase in rate of random migration (chemokinesis) of C. parvum activated macrophages in media conditioned by Lewis Lung (LL) carcinoma cells was attributed to a trypsin sensitive, heat stable, high molecular weight factor released from the membrane of the tumor cells.

A capillary tube assay was developed to expediently monitor the chemokinetic activity of macrophages incubated in whole and fractionated media. The capillary tube assay was found to be capable of detecting both chemokinetic and chemotactic (directional movement) factors present in the test media. Statistical analysis revealed the capillary tube assay provided reproducible data both within and between experiments. …

A Comparison Of Acrosomal Proteinase Activity In The Male And Female Reproductive Tracts Of The Guinea Pig, Thomas Joseph Morris

Theses and Dissertations

The spermatozoon has been the subject of numerous investigations because of its remarkable specialization for locomotion and fertilization. Although the spermatozoon of the guinea pig is relatively large when compared with other mammalian spermatozoa, its small size has hidden many of the details of its structure from the light microscopist. It was not until the invention of the electron microscope that a thorough study of spermatozoon structure could be accomplished. The following anatomical description is based on the works of Fawcett and Hollenberg (1963), Fawcett (1965), and Fawcett (1970). The principle parts of the guinea pig spermatozoon are the head …

The Morphologic Changes In The Muscles Of Mastication Due To Direct Intramuscular Injection Of Lidocaine, Carbocaine, Procaine And Citanest, Kurt Elliot Friedman

Theses and Dissertations

One of the most commonly experienced symptoms in dentistry and one that is of major concern to the dentist is pain. Since pain is manifested when an environmental change occurs causing injury to responsive tissues, it is often spoken of as a protective mechanism.

Pain has been described by a variety of terms: sharp, burning, aching, cramping, dull and throbbing! (Monheim, 1969). Therefore, it is a difficult term to define. Monheim (1969) describes pain as an unpleasant sensation created by a noxious stimulus that is mediated along specific nerve pathways into the central nervous system, where it is interpreted as …

Corticospinal Fibers In A Prosimian Primate, Galago, George Edward Goode

Theses and Dissertations

The function of the central nervous system cannot be understood from inspection of a single region, for each cell and fiber has discrete connections. Therefore, a study of the nervous system requires distinct approaches. One fundamental approach has been the study of comparative neuroanatomy.

In a comparative study of the evolution of the primates and subsequently man, the investigator is confronted with a variety of animal forms. Each form represents an end product of a long vertical line of evolutionary development. The problem is to try to reconstruct the vertical line (ancestral forms) from the horizontal end products (extant forms). …

An Ultrastructural Study Of Tubules, Vasculature And Interstitium In Human Renal Homografts, Marilyn Hatch

Theses and Dissertations

In recent years renal homotransplantation has become more frequently used in the treatment of terminal renal disease in man. By carefully selecting donors with the aid of tissue compatibility tests and employing immunosuppressive drugs, these transplants have become increasingly more successful. It is true, however, that even with good tissue match-up and drug treatment rejection episodes occur, frequently within the first two-postsurgical weeks. The majority of these rejection crises may be reversed by increasing drug dosages and occasionally applying x-irradiation to the area of the transplant. In other cases rejection by the recipient is responsible for cessation of function of …

The Anatomical Relationships, Ultrastructure, And Function Of The Pineal Gland In Some Common Laboratory Rodents, Joseph Chester Gregorek

Theses and Dissertations

The pineal complex of rodents is made up of a pineal organ which developmentally always originates from the area between the habenular and posterior commissure and a pineal sac which is continuous with the choroid plexus of the third ventricle. This sac appears to be identical to the choroid plexus at both light and electron microscopic levels. The pineal sac abuts the deep and superficial pineal organs of the golden hamster. In the PET mouse, gerbil, kangaroo rat and Chinese hamster, the sac is contiguous with only small areas of pinealocytes. This sac never abuts true pineal parenchyma in the …