The author has performed a quantitative analysis of the amount and distribution pattern of bony trabeculae so as to elucidate the dynamic motional charactor of the medial tibial condyle in the normal knee joint.
The undecalcified bony tissue of the tibial bone beneath the condyle joint was embedded in what one wonders. A contact microradiogram of the specimen was made and a computer-assisted image analysis was performed.
The results disclosed that the highest bone density and the maximum vertical trabeculae were visualized in the anterior region of the mid-medial condyle.
The bone density and amount of the bony trabeculae became lower in these areas : the mid-medial condyle, the denuded cartilage and the region covered by the medial meniscus.
A similar trend was also noted in the compressive strength test. Based on these observations, the appropriate functional adaptation to the load-bearing was substantiated in the bony structure of the tibial medial condyle, beneath the cartilage of any variation of bone density, the including trabeculae pattern as well as the compressive strength.

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The nephritogenicity of the anti-Type IV collagen sheep serum was investigated by administering it intravenously to BALB/c, C3H and ddY strain male mice which had previously been treated with sheep IgG and FCA. The animals were sacrified chronologically at 3 days and 1 week up to 10 months. At each interval 2 to 4 mice were sacrified. A control group without any treatment was similarly studied.
An immunofluorescent microscopic study revealed that the sheep IgG was specifically localized in the mesangial region. A similar distribution pattern of the mouse IgG and C3 was also confirmed. However, morphological features were seen to be preserved. At 3-4 months, accumulation of the mouse IgA was noted in the mesangial region. This feature is particularly prominent in the ddY mice strain. The amount of IgA deposition was well correlated with the immunochemical determinative amount of IgA in the serum and with the alteration of morphological features.
However, serum IgA antibody activity against sheep IgG in vitro by ELISA showed no close interrelation with the amount of mesangial IgA deposition. Moreover, the renal eluated IgA from the ddY mice, which disclosed the IgA deposition in the mesangium, showed essentially no antibody activity to the sheep IgG. However, the antibody activity was well maintained in the eluted IgG.
Based on these observations, it is justifiable to assume that the mouse IgA was non-immunologically trapped in the functionally disturbed mesangium by the locally formed IgG immune complex which is produced by the treatment of anti-Type IV collagen sheep serum to mice. This observation may be useful in clarifying the causative process of human IgA nephropathy.

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A comparative study of radionuclide image (RN) using ^99mTc-HSA or ^99mTc-RBC, computed tomogram (CT) and angiogram was performed in the aneurysms of the aorta and great arteries.
In 80 cases of these disorders, certain findings including localization, shape, size, involvement of aortic branches, influence on the adjacent organs and presence of thrombi were observed.
In the cases of aneurysms without dissection, localization, shape and size were approximately well demonstrated in the studies of both RN and CT. But CT was superior to RN in observing the thrombus formation and the influence on the adjacent organs. In 96% of all cases, aneurysm was demonstrated as a dilatation of the vessels having increased RN activity.
In 33 cases of dissecting aneurysms, RN was superior to CT for demonstrating the hemodynamics of peripheral vessels and involvement of major aortic branches, but it was inferior for the evaluation of the true lumen or thrombus formation. The specific appearance of RN angiograms in these disturbances were tapered visualization of the true channel in the early phase, followed by delayed filling and stasis of radioactivity of the false channel. The imaging of both modalities should, there-fore, be carefully analysed in the case of thrombus formation. In 70% of the dissecting aneurysms, the correlation of the dissecting area and DeBakey's classification was correctly demonstrated.
RN was often superior to contrast angiography for getting the further information of hemodynamic changes by analyzing the time activity curve.
RN has, consequently, been proved useful in the diagnosis and extremely follow up study of the aneurysms.

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In the analysis of cell characteristics in leukemia and lymphoma, their immunological properties have been utilized in addition to their morphological and cytochemical features.
An indirect monoclonal antibody rosette technique was used for the enumeration and mor-phological identification of monoclonal antibody-defined cells in one case with infectious mononu-cleosis and four cases with acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL).
Case 1. Infectious mononucleosis. The peripheral mononuclear cells (PMNC) consisted of two morphologically different cell populations (lymphocytes and atypical lymphocytes). The percentages of αLeu 2a, αLeu 3a, αLeu 4, B1 and J-5 positive cells of PMNC were 84.0%, 11.5%, 75.5%, 81.5%, 4.5% and 2.0%, respectively. From cytocentrifuge slides of the rosette preparations with May-Grunwald Giemsa (MGG) staining, the rosette-forming cells with αLeu 2a, αLeu 4 or I2 were readily identified as both lymphocytes and atypical lymphocytes.
Case 2. ALL (L2 in FAB classification). Leukemic blasts expressed the phenotype of common ALL (J-5⁺, I2⁺) and showed positivity for α-naphtyl butyrate esterase (ANBE) stain. The cell preparation containing J-5 rosette-forming cells stained with ANBE provided direct evidence that J-5 positive cells had localized positive granules in the abundant cytoplasm.
Case 3. ALL (L1, common ALL). CSF pleocytosis was discovered by periodical CSF examination, but the diagnosis of CNS leukemia by morphology alone was impossible. In spite of the small number of cells in the CNS sample showed the rosette technique that J-5 and αLeu 1 reacted with 75% and 10% of cells. These results were in agreement with the morphological features and supported the diagnosis established by morphology.
Case 4. ALL (hypoplastic marrow). The marker expression referring to morphological-defined leukemic blasts in bone marrow could not be accurately determined by the usual surface marker analysis due to the presence of many morphologically different cells. Direct morphological identification of rosetting cells in the preparations with MGG staining revealed that most of the I2 positive cells were leukemic blasts and their surface markers were I2⁺, Bl^-, B4^-, J-5^-. This technique has greatly contributed toward a better understanding of the marker expression of a minor cell population.
Case 5. ALL (L2, CD11⁺ T-ALL). The morphological features and immunological characterization of leukemic blasts from bone marrow disclosed the presence of two cell populations : large-sized cells with the phenotype of αLeu 5⁺, I2⁺, MY9⁺ and small-sized cells with that of αLeu 5⁺, I2^-, MY9^-. The accurate enumeration of positive cells for monoclonal antibodies was not determined by the rosette technique because large-sized cells phagocytozed indicator cells. In this case both the immunofluorescence technique and flow cytometric analysis were helpful in the identification of surface markers.
The present study demonstrates that this rosette technique is suitable for the simultaneous analysis of cytological features and monoclonal antibody-defined surface markers. This technique can therefore be said to be of great value in the analysis of cell characteristics in clinical cases.

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The prognostic significance of a battery of clinical, laboratory, histological and perioneoscopic indicators was assessed in relation to the 10-year survival rate in 190 patients with liver cirrhosis. The diagnosis was confirmed morphologically by peritoneoscopy and liver biopsy between January 1971 and March 1983. All patients were followed up until death or until the end of the study in March 1984.
Three clinical, six laboratory, five histological and ten peritoneoscopic variables at diagnosis were analysed. The subjects were separated into two or three subgroups based upon data in these variables.
The cumulative survival rate was calculated in each subgroup by the life table method. The statistical significance of the difference in survival rates was compared by the Greenwood method.
The results are summarized as follows;
1) The 5-year and 10-year survival rates in 190 patients with cirrhosis were 56.7±4.4% and 27.4±7.1%, respectively.
2) Ascites and moderate to large esophageal varices indicated a smaller number of survivals.
3) Among the laboratory tests, low serum albumin (<3.4/dl), low cholinesterase (<2.8μMSH), and high ICG retention rate (29%≤) indicated a smaller number of survivals.
4) The survival rates decreased in patients with right liver lobe atrophy, spherical nodules or marked intra-abdominal collaterales on peritoneoscopy.
In conclusion, a prognosis of liver cirrhosis can be predicted based upon some of the clinical and laboratory variables mentioned above. It is also suggested that peritoneoscopy can offer prognostic information in addition to its diagnostic significance.

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The effects of bromhexine (Brh) on tears and saliva were studied in anaesthetized rabbits and the patients with Sjogren's syndrome (SjS).
Brh (4mg and 8mg/kg-body weight) increased the lysozyme level in tears of rabbits 40 and 50 min after injection, without influencing the tear secretion volume.
Next, 40 Sicca-with-rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients and 18 Sicca-alone patients were each divided into two groups. Both groups were administered 24mg and 48mg per day of Brh for six months, respectively. The effects of Brh were evaluated six weeks and six months after starting the administration. In the SjS patients, the lysozyme level in the tears was low, especially in the Sicca-with-RA patients, as compared with the normal value, while the salivary lysozyme level and immunoglobulin (Ig) concentration were high, as compared with their normal values. The keratoconjunctivitis and xerostomia were improved and the lysozyme level in tears was significantly increased in a dose dependent manner. But the secretion volumes of tear and saliva were almost unchanged before, during and after Brh administration.
Brh was effective against the sicca symptoms, especially the ocular symptoms. The effectiveness was explained as a result of normalization of the chemical compositions such as lysozyme level in tears and saliva, rather than due to an increase in the secretion volume of tears and saliva. The therapeutic effect of Brh was greater in Sicca-with-RA patients than in Sicca-alone patients. This was presumably due to the presence of more healthy secretory cells in the former than in the latter.

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The author noted the defibrinogenation of batroxobin which inhibits the lung metastasis of the B16-F10 melanoma cells in the C57BL/6 mice, and suspected that, this effect might be closely related with the activity of the NK cells.
When the mice were treated with batroxobin, the number of metastatic foci which were identified after inoculation of the B16-F10 cells from the tail vein of the mice was significantly decreased. The NK cell activity was increased by the administration of polyinocinic-polycytidylic acid (Polyl: C). In this circumstance, the number of metastatic foci was also markedly decreased, and more strikingly decreased by the simultaneous administration of batroxobin.
On the contrary, the depression of the NK cell activity by the administration of the anti-asialo GM1 antibody showed a significant increase in lung metastatic foci in comparison with the control group. Moreover, no significant effect was observed by further administration of batroxobin.
The single administration of batroxobin also failed to show the activation of the spleen NK cell.
The administration of batroxobin caused the defibrinogenation, and this manupilation eventually inhibited the lung metastasis of the tumor, which augmented by adding the NK cell functional activation.

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The posterior gastric vein was detected angiographically in 94 of 110 patients with portal hypertension (85.5%). The surgical importance of the posterior gastric vein derives from its relatively high incidence, from its being another source of reverse blood flow to the varices, from its having an almost hidden origin from the posterior gastric wall and from the lack of attention to the vessel. The clinical significance of the posterior gastric vein in portal hypertension is emphasized in this article.

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