Topographic and anatomical characteristics of the bladder neck in early fetuses

Aim. To determine macro-and microscopic anatomical characteristics and the dynamics in topographic and anatomical interactions of the bladder neck with adjacent organs and structures at the beginning of the fetal period. Material and methods. The study was carried out on 70 fetal specimens. The age of subjects included in the study was determined according to the tables of B.M. Patten, B.P. Khvatova, Yu.N. Shapovalov based on measurements of the parietal-calcaneal length (PCL), taking into account the Instructions for determining the perinatal period, live birth, and stillbirth criteria, approved by Order of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine No. 179 dated March 29, 2006. To achieve this goal, the following methods of anatomical research were used: anthropometry - to determine the age of the studied subjects; injection of arterial vessels with subsequent dissection under the control of a microscope – to study the peculiarities of the blood supply to the vesicoureteral segment; radiography - to determine the skeletotopy of the vesicoureteral segment; macro-microscopy – to explore the anatomical relationships of the components of the vesicoureteral segment, their structure, shape, position; histological – to study the structure of the wall of the vesicoureteral segment; morphometry – to determine the morphometric parameters of the vesicoureteral segment; 3-D reconstruction method – to study the spatial structure of the vesicoureteral segment; statistical – to analyze and establish the reliability of differences in organometric parameters.Results. Skeletopically, the projection of the vesicoureteral junction of early fetuses is located at the level of the upper third of the pubic symphysis. At the beginning of the perinatal period in female fetuses, the bladder neck (6.9 ± 2.6 mm) is longer than in male fetuses (6.4 ± 2.4 mm). Based on the analysis and generalization of the research results, it is substantiated that at the beginning of the fetal period, the internal urethral sphincter can be formed: a) by two loops of the outer longitudinal layer; b) the ring of the circular layer and the front bundles of the outer longitudinal layer; c) anterior bundles of the outer longitudinal layer and transverse bundles of the inner longitudinal layer within the trigone of urinary bladder; d) a ring of the circular layer, thickened in the anterolateral sections.Conclusions. Considering the topographic and anatomical characteristics of the angio- and myoarchitectonics of the vesicoureteral segment, we believe that its role as a physiological sphincter of the lower urinary tract is provided by the interaction of the vascular and muscle components. The vascular component of the sphincter apparatus of the vesicoureteral segment is provided by veins located in three layers: 1) cavernous-like veins of the submucosa; 2) veins of the muscular membrane; 3) veins of tunica adventitia. The second anatomical component of the sphincter function of the vesicoureteral segment is the muscular one, represented by the internal urethral sphincter.

Ideal Cardiovascular Health Metrics Modify the Association Between Exposure to Chinese Famine in Fetal and Cardiovascular Disease: A Prospective Cohort Study

Background: No study has explored the modification effect of ideal cardiovascular health metrics (ICVHMs) on the association between famine exposure and risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) so far. We aim to examine the effect of ICVHMs on the association between exposure to famine early in life and the risk of CVD in adulthood.Methods: A total of 61,527 participants free of CVD were included in this study from the Kailuan Study. All participants were divided into three groups, included nonexposed, fetal-exposed, and childhood-exposed groups. Cox regression was used to estimate the effect of famine exposure and ICVHMs on CVD risk.Results: After a median of 13.0 (12.7–13.2) years follow-up, 4,814 incident CVD cases were identified. Compared with nonexposed participants, the CVD risk increased in participants with fetal famine exposure (hazard ratio [HR]: 1.21; 95% CI: 1.07–1.37), but not in childhood famine-exposed participants. After stratifying by the number of ICVHMs, the increased CVD risk associated with fetal famine exposure was only observed in participants with less ICVHMs ( ≤ 2) (HR: 1.30; 95% CI: 1.11–1.52, P for interaction=0.008), but disappeared in those with three or more ICVHMs. The modified effect of ICVHMs was sex specific (P for sex interaction = 0.031).Conclusions: Exposing to famine in the fetal period could increase the risk of CVD in late life; however, ICVHMs might modify the effect of famine exposure on CVD risk, especially in men.

Development of the Arterial Supply of the Spinal Cord Tissue Based on Radioanatomical and Histological Studies in Cattle

Purpose Angiographic techniques have gained increasing importance in suspected vascular disease of the spinal cord. This demands an advanced understanding of spinal cord blood vessel anatomy and its embryologically founded broad spectrum of variations. The aim of this study was to improve knowledge on contentious issues concerning the development of spinal cord arterial supply in higher mammals and to offer visual information of high didactic value. Methods The prenatal development was examined in cattle, using multiplanar high-resolution microangiography of injected specimens and microscopic sections. The gestational ages of the 15 specimens were between the late embryonic and the early fetal period (5–11 weeks). Microangiography of the human spinal cord from an earlier published study were used to envisage an adult arterial vascularization pattern in higher mammals. Results Establishment of the unpaired anterior spinal artery (ASA) goes through two procedures of reconfiguration until achieving its final design. Regression of the primarily established anteromedian tract is observed in cattle fetuses of 9–10 weeks. Return to the ontogenetic disposition of bilateral symmetry and a burst of vascularization from all parts of the spinal meninges follow and include the anterior median fissure as a preferred vascular pathway. Large sulcal/central arteries longitudinally anastomosing between each other emerge on both sides of the midline. The embryological pattern of exclusive peripheral medullary supply must have been converted into a combined system of predominant central (centrifugal) supply of the enlargements before a final unpaired ASA can be reconstructed. Conclusion Previous investigators focused on the early embryonic development of spinal cord arteries and missed the profound remodeling of the vascular architecture in the early fetal period.

On the Issue of Eyeball Topography Development in the Intermediate Fetal Period of Human Ontogenesis

The article considers the microtopography of the eyeball during the intermediate fetal period of human ontogenesis.Objective – to identify the features of qualitative and quantitative topography characteristics development of the eyeball with the orbit and its contents in the intermediate fetal period of human ontogenesisMaterial and methods. The study was conducted on 50 fetuses of both genders (25 male, 25 female) aged from the 14th to the 27th week of gestation, which make up the collection of Human Anatomy Department of the Federal State Budget Educational Institution of Higher Education Orenburg State Medical University of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation. All the material was divided into three age groups: group I (14–18 weeks) contained 18 fetuses, group II (19–23 weeks) contained 19 fetuses, group III (24–27 weeks) contained 13 fetuses. The work was performed by methods of macromicroscopic preparation, by modified N. I. Pirogov's oversplitting method, and by histotopographic method.Results. At an earlier stage, the eyeball occupies a central position in the orbit. By the end of the intermediate fetal period of human ontogenesis, the eyeball shifts closer to the medial wall of the orbit. In the intermediate fetal period of human ontogenesis, the entrance to the orbit has the shape of an ellipse with a height and width equal to 15.01±3.98 mm and 13.91±3.25 mm, respectively. The thickness of the medial, lateral, upper and lower walls of the orbit in the intermediate fetal period is 0.46±0.12 mm, 1.98±0.41 mm, 0.45±0.12 mm and 2.11±0.62 mm, respectively. The predominance of length and thickness of the medial rectus muscle of eye over the lateral rectus muscle of eye was noted in all observation groups.Conclusions. The eyeball topography in the intermediate fetal period of human ontogenesis is similar to the topography in the childhood and adult periods, but it has its own fetal features: the shape of the eyeball, the position in the orbit, the relation to the auxiliary apparatus. The most complex topographic and anatomical relationships are noted at the posterior pole of the eyeball in the area of the visual canal.

Morphometric Characteristics of the Thigh Bone in Human Fetuses

Defining quantitative growth parameters of individual skeletal bones, namely the right and left femurs, is practically important for determining the age of the fetus. Lack of data on changes in the length of the femur in 4-10 months’ fetuses, as well as the dependence of its morphometric parameters on the length of the lower limb and the age of the fetus, prompted us to conduct this study. The purpose of the study was to determine the morphometric parameters of the length of the right and left femurs during the fetal period of human ontogenesis, which could form the base of normal indicators. Materials and methods. Morphometric study was performed on the lower extremities specimens of 40 human fetuses of an 81.0-375.0 mm parietal-coccygeal length. Results and discussion. As a result of the study, the dynamics of changes in the length of the right and left femurs and lower extremities in 4-10 months’ human fetuses was established. Direct correlations were found in the studied fetal groups, and only in 5-month-old fetuses a direct medium-strength reliable correlation between the lengths of the right and left femurs was found. A weak correlation between the length of the left lower limb and the length of the left femur was found in 7-month-old fetuses. In other cases, direct significant strong correlations were found between the analyzed indicators. The results obtained regarding the change in the length of the right and left femurs, as well as the Pearson correlation coefficient between the morphometric parameters of the length of the right and left femurs and the length of the lower extremities and parietal-coccygeal length of human fetuses 4-10 months are important both theoretically and practically for fetal anatomy. Conclusion. During the fetal period of human ontogenesis, where there is a relatively uniform increase in the length of the right and left femurs, no significant differences in their length were detected. Between the 4th and the 10th month of fetal development, the length of the right femur increases by 5.59 times (from 13.18 ± 2.56 mm to 73.66 ± 2.19 mm), and the length of the left femur increases by 5.44 times: from 13.54 ± 2.35 mm to 73.73 ± 2.12 mm, respectively. In the fetal period the right and left lower extremities also grow equally, no significant differences in their length have been established

Response to Therapeutic Abortion in Lactating Dairy Cows Carrying Dead Twins during the Late Embryo/Early Fetal Period

This study examined the dose–response effect of prostaglandin F2α (PGF2α) when used to induce abortion in cows with two dead twins at pregnancy diagnosis 28–34 days post-AI (late embryonic period: LE) or at pregnancy confirmation 49–55 days post-AI (early fetal period: EF). The study population consisted of 415 cows receiving a single PGF2α dose (PG1 group: 254 LE and 161 EF cows) and 200 receiving a 1.5 × PGF2α dose (PG1.5 group: 121 LE and 79 EF cows). The induced abortion rate was significantly lower (chi-square test; p < 0.0001) in the EF (34.6%) than LE cows (88%), and was also reduced (p = 0.001) in the EF PG1 group (28%) compared with the EF PG1.5 group (48.1%). High milk production (≥45 kg) was the only factor influencing the induced abortion rate in LE cows (odds ratio 0.2; p < 0.0001), whereas the odds ratio for induced abortion of PG1.5 cows was 2.3 (p = 0.005) in EF cows. In conclusion, an increased PGF2α dose had no effect on abortion induction during the late embryonic period and its rate was inversely associated with milk production. This higher PGF2α dose did, however, offer benefits during the early fetal period.

Changes in the level of fetoplacental complex hormones in pregnant women with miscarriage

The purpose of the study was TO analyze the fetoplacental complex hormone levels and changes in their dynamics in pregnant women with miscarriage and the impact of these features on the subsequent course of pregnancy. Hormone levels were determined at different stages of gestation in 50 healthy women with a physiological course of pregnancy (control group) and 50 pregnant women with a history of miscarriage (main group). The women of the main group had a significantly slower rate of increase in hormones and a lag in quantitative indicators than the control group. The estradiol level indicators were 4.1 times (76.0%) and 2.89 times (65.5%) lower in women with miscarriage in the embryonic and late fetal period, respectively, compared to healthy women. Indicators of the level of placental lactogen and chorionic gonadotropin in the embryonic period in women with miscarriage were lower by 39.1% and 50.9%, respectively, compared to healthy women. In the late fetal period, the level of these hormones was lower by 72.9% and 35.4%, respectively. In the embryonic and late fetal periods, progesterone levels were lower by 67.4% and 68.4%, respectively, compared to the control group. The data obtained are evidence of a pronounced hormonal abnormality of the placenta, and hence a marker of fetoplacental dysfunction, which on the background of miscarriage develops at the early stages and continues to progress with the course of pregnancy.

Development of the cartilaginous connecting apparatuses in the fetal sphenoid, with a focus on the alar process

The human fetal sphenoid is reported to have a cartilaginous connecting apparatus known as the alar process (AP), which connects the ala temporalis (AT) (angle of the greater wing of the sphenoid) to the basisphenoid (anlage of the sphenoid body). However, how the AP develops in humans is unclear. In addition, although the AP is a common structure of the mammalian chondrocranium, little is known about whether it is really a fundamental feature in mammals. This study examined the histological sections of 20 human embryos and fetuses from 6 to 14 weeks of development, of 20 mouse embryos from embryonic days 12–18, and of 4 rats embryos form embryonic days 17 and 20. In addition, we reconsidered the definition of the AP by comparing humans and rats with mice. In humans, the AP was continuous with the basisphenoid but was separated from the AT by a thick perichondrium. Then, the AP–AT connection had a key-and-keyhole structure. Unlike a joint, no cavitation developed in this connection. In mice, there was no boundary between the AT and the basisphenoid, indicating the absence of the AP in the mouse chondrocranium. In rats, the AP was, however, separated from the AT by a thick perichondrium. Therefore, the AP can be defined as follows: the AP is temporally separated from the AT by a thick perichondrium or a key-and-keyhole structure during the fetal period. This is the first study that confirms the absence of the alar process in the mice skull, and its presence in other mammals skull should be further investigated.