Biomedical subjects
N H Bramwell
Publications and source records attributed to N H Bramwell.
Autoerotic death. A definition.
A definition of autoerotic death is suggested that restricts the use of this term to accidental deaths that occur during individual, usually solitary, sexual activity in which a device, apparatus, or prop that was employed to enhance the sexual stimulation of the deceased in some way caused unintended death. The case of the autoerotic asphyxial death of a 48-year-old man is reported in order to demonstrate the application of this definition.
Flow cytometry and image analysis.
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The prevalence of Campylobacter pylori gastritis among asymptomatic adults.
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Mast cells are closely apposed to nerves in the human gastrointestinal mucosa.
Mast cell/nerve associations have been recorded in several publications; however, the human gastrointestinal tract has received little attention. Accordingly, mucosal samples from small bowel, appendix, and large bowel were studied. Combined histochemical/immunocytochemical techniques revealed that the proportion of mast cells apposed to nerves ranged from 47.08% +/- 6.10% to 77.66% +/- 4.26%. The highest incidence of contact was observed in the appendix; where the apparent nerve density was also greater than in the large or small bowel. Electron-microscopic studies revealed many mast cells adjacent to nerve fibers and membrane-to-membrane contact between axonlike processes and mast cells. Often, these processes were dilated, as were axons in adjacent nerve fibers. These data provide a microanatomic basis for potential communication between nerves and mast cells in the human gastrointestinal mucosa. This may be of physiologic significance in the normal individual and important in disease processes, such as inflammation and fibrosis.
Cytomegalovirus associated gastroduodenal ulceration.
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The bones in the Abbey: are they the murdered princes? A review of the evidence.
In 1674, the skeletons of two children were found in the Tower of London. They were believed to represent the remains of the "Princes in the Tower" (who had disappeared in 1483), and were reinterred as such in Westminster Abbey. Popular belief and conventional historical tradition held that the princes had been murdered by their uncle, King Richard III, to clear his path to the throne. In 1933, the bones in the Abbey were disinterred and examined, with the conclusion that they were indeed those of the princes. One skull was also thought to show evidence of death by suffocation, supporting another feature of popular legend. Later reviews of the investigation, however, revealed significant errors and omissions. This report summarizes the inconsistencies present in the scientific record and suggests that reexamination of the remains with improved techniques in both carbon dating and forensic science would provide a much more accurate analysis, thus helping to clarify the historical record.
Autoerotic death in females. An underdiagnosed syndrome?
Deaths of young women due to autoerotic asphyxia have been rarely reported. The case of a 19-year-old woman is described in which several of the characteristic death-scene features found in cases of male autoerotic asphyxial deaths were absent. An awareness that this syndrome may occur among women with a less obvious presentation than in men is essential so that death will not be incorrectly attributed to nonaccidental causes. This syndrome may be more common than the number of reported cases would suggest.
The effects of fixative type and fixation time on the quantity and quality of extractable DNA for hybridization studies on lymphoid tissue.
Encouraged by recent reports of extraction of diagnostically useful DNA from formalin-fixed tissues, we devised a study to determine which fixatives are suitable for DNA hybridization studies. Seven lymph node specimens (6 lymphomas and one reactive hyperplasia) were studied. Specimens were divided into portions, each of which was processed separately. Processing protocols followed were: 1) snap freezing; 2) immersion in formalin, ethanol, glutaraldehyde, B5 and methanol acetic acid (MAA) Michel's transport medium or phosphate buffered saline for 2, 24, 48 and 120 hrs.; 3) paraffin embedding following fixation. DNA was obtained by proteinase K digestion followed by phenolchloroform extraction. DNA was cleaved with restriction endonucleases (Eco RI and Bam HI), separated by agarose gel electrophoresis, after which Southern blot hybridization with radio-labelled probes for J-heavy and T-beta genes was performed. Fixation with formalin, glutaraldehyde and B5 resulted in poor yields of DNA. MAA produced degradation of DNA and Michel's medium and PBS gave low quantities and purity of extracted DNA. Ethanol fixation consistently permitted extraction of large amounts of high molecular weight DNA suitable for hybridization studies and compared favourably with the fresh-frozen 'gold standard'. We conclude that ethanol may be the fixative of choice when transport or storage conditions limit the availability of fresh frozen tissue for DNA hybridization studies.
Well-differentiated squamous cell carcinoma of the thymus.
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Histiocytosis X of the thymus in association with myasthenia gravis.
A patient with myasthenia gravis underwent thymectomy following the failure of medical treatment. The thymus was normal except for four nodules, which, on histologic and electron microscopic examination, were found to consist of proliferative clusters of Langerhans' cells characteristic of histiocytosis X. This patient therefore had two disease processes in which thymic abnormalities are frequently encountered, but their simultaneous occurrence in the same patient has not hitherto been documented. The case is briefly discussed in the context of current concepts of the pathogenesis of histiocytosis X and myasthenia gravis.
Fatal gastrointestinal hemorrhage caused by cytomegalovirus duodenitis and ulceration after heart transplantation.
The case of a 61-year-old man, in whom heart transplantation was complicated by fatal gastrointestinal hemorrhage from duodenal ulcers 50 days after surgery, is described. Autopsy examination revealed extensive mucosal ulceration and hemorrhage into the bowel and peritoneal hemorrhage. Microscopy showed classical cytomegalovirus inclusions in clusters of cells in necrotic foci in the duodenum, lungs, and colon. This unusual case is the first reported example of cytomegalovirus-associated fatal gastrointestinal hemorrhage after heart transplantation. It is discussed in the context of the known features of the morbidity and mortality associated with cytomegalovirus infection in transplant patients.