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Biomedical subjects

H Bafitis

Publications and source records attributed to H Bafitis.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

A reliable method for monitoring the microvascular patency of free jejunal transfers in reconstructing the pharynx and cervical esophagus.

Reconstruction of the pharynx and esophagus with revascularized segments of jejunum remains a time-proven entity. Most thromboses and subsequent flap failures have occurred within the first 24 hours after revascularization of the flap. What would therefore be desirable is a safe, proven monitoring system to assess the patency of the microvascular anastomoses and subsequent viability of the transferred bowel segment. This paper reports on such a monitoring system, which involves the creation of a surgical window on the anterior cervical flap. The jejunal serosa is tacked to this window, and a thin split-thickness skin graft is placed directly on the bowel. The technique is simple, safe, efficacious, and leaves no significant defect.

Esophageal Neoplasms

A circadian susceptibility/resistance rhythm for potassium cyanide in male BALB/cCr mice.

Circadian rhythms in mortality and/or survival time following a single intraperitoneal injection of a LD50 of potassium cyanide were studied. In two investigations, different but comparable subgroups of inbred male BALB/cCr mice were treated at 4-h intervals (under conditions standardized for chronobiologic study) during 24-h spans. Mice were observed for exact time-to-death during the first hour after treatment as well as overall mortality during the entire 24-h post-injection span following each KCN treatment timepoint. In both studies, mortality from KCN exhibited a 24-h rhythm. Highest mortality occurred in mice injected at 1600 (80% mortality) in Experiment 1 and 2000 (100% mortality) in Experiment II. Lowest mortality occurred at 0400 (40% mortality) in Experiment I and 0800 (30% mortality) in Experiment II. The need to consider the circadian organization of physiologic function when bioassaying toxicity is discussed.

Animals

Human physiological adaptability through the life sequence.

Changes in organ function from birth to old age were investigated from published data. In essence, the observations of Shock and colleagues on maximal breathing capacity, vital capacity, glomerular filtration rate, renal plasma flow, basal metabolic rate (BMR), ulnar nerve conduction velocity, cardiac index, and intracellular water (ICW) for the age period 30 to 85 years were extended to the time of birth. There were two principal findings. First, with the exception of BMR and ICW, these functional indices increased from a low point at birth to a maximum between 3 and 20 years of age and then after 30 years declined progressively to 85 years; BMR declined from a maximum in infancy and ICW peaked at about 30 years and then declinded. Second, the coefficient of variation increased regularly from birth to old age. Because the peak of organ function coincided with the period of minimal mortality, the curve of organ function across the life sequence was considered to represent changes in adaptive capacity. Supporting evidence from studies of physical fitness, thermoregulation, and seasonal change of mortality was considered. It was concluded that these shifts in adaptive capacity between birth and old age were fundamental baselines for investigations of the epidemiology of health.

Adaptation, Physiological