Revisiting the anatomy of the cephalic vein, its origin, course and possible clinical correlations in relation to the anatomical snuffbox among Jordanian

Background: The cephalic vein is one of the most distinguished superficial veins of the upper limb. Its clinical value lies in venous access. There is little known about the variation of its formation in relation to the anatomical snuffbox. Hence, anatomical variants in the origin of the cephalic vein are important in clinical practice. Subsequently, this study was designed to examine the variation of the cephalic vein formation in relation to the anatomical snuffbox. Materials and methods: A cross-sectional study of 438 subjects (722 hands), was prepared to study the cephalic vein among Jordanian students and staff of one of the major governmental Medical College in Jordan, by using infrared illumination system. The obtained data was analysed according to; gender, sidedness, and handedness. Results: Four sites for the formation of the cephalic vein in relation to the anatomical snuffbox were found. There was a significant relation between gender and sidedness, and the sites of formation of the cephalic vein (p < 0.0001 and p = 0.048, respectively). Conclusions: For the first time this study identified different sites for the formation of the cephalic vein in relation to the anatomical snuffbox. However, regardless of its sites of formation, the cephalic vein was running in 98% of the examined hands in the anatomical snuffbox

Raised tone reveals ATP as a sympathetic neurotransmitter in the porcine mesenteric arterial bed

The relative importance of ATP as a functional sympathetic neurotransmitter in blood vessels has been shown to be increased when the level of preexisting vascular tone or pressure is increased, in studies carried out in rat mesenteric arteries. The aim of the present study was to determine whether tone influences the involvement of ATP as a sympathetic cotransmitter with noradrenaline in another species. We used the porcine perfused mesenteric arterial bed and porcine mesenteric large, medium and small arteries mounted for isometric tension recording, because purinergic cotransmission can vary depending on the size of the blood vessel. In the perfused mesenteric bed at basal tone, sympathetic neurogenic vasocontractile responses were abolished by prazosin, an α1- adrenoceptor antagonist, but there was no significant effect of α,β-methylene ATP, a P2X receptor-desensitizing agent. Submaximal precontraction of the mesenteric arterial bed with U46619, a thromboxane A2 mimetic, augmented the sympathetic neurogenic vasocontractile responses; under these conditions, both α,β-methylene ATP and prazosin attenuated the neurogenic responses. In the mesenteric large, medium and small arteries, prazosin attenuated the sympathetic neurogenic contractile responses under conditions of both basal and U46619-raised tone. α,β-Methylene ATP was effective in all of these arteries only under conditions of U46619- induced tone, causing a similar inhibition in all arteries, but had no significant effect on sympathetic neurogenic contractions at basal tone. These data show thatATP is a cotransmitter with noradrenaline in porcine mesenteric arteries; the purinergic component was revealed under conditions of partial precontraction, which is more relevant to physiological conditions

The effects of irisin on the rat thoracic aorta: histological study

Irisin, a polypeptide hormone that is released from skeletal muscle in response to exercise found to improve endothelial functions, protect against endothelial injuries and change blood pressure which also affected blood vessels. The aim of this study is to study the histological changes of the rat thoracic aorta in response to irisin injection. Thirty rats were used. Then divided into two groups; the control group without irisin injection, and the irisin injected group was subdivided into four subgroups with different irisin concentrations (20, 40 and 160 nM, respectively) twice a week for four weeks, the control group and each subgroup consisted of 6 rats each. After 4 weeks all rats were sacrificed, and the descending thoracic aorta was treated for histological evaluation. Sections were stained with Hematoxylin and Eosin (H and E) and orcein stains. Morphometric measurement included: intima-media thickness (IMT), number of elastic lamellae and number of smooth muscle cells nuclei. Histological study has shown that intraperitoneal injection of different concentrations of irisin (20, 40 and 160 nM) in rats has increased intima-media thickness, number of smooth muscle cell’s nuclei, and increase the number of elastic lamellae in media layer of the thoracic aorta in a dose dependent manner. Irisin has significantly affected the morphology of the wall of the rat thoracic aorta indicating a role for irisin in influencing the growth factors of the thoracic aorta walls and activate smooth muscle cells in the thoracic aorta layers

Spasmolytic and Antimicrobial Activities of Crude Extract of Bongardia chrysogonum L. Tubers

Background and Objective: Although Bongardia chrysogonum L. (family Berberidaceae) has been used in many countries in traditional medicine to treat gastrointestinal tract disorders, scientific evidence for this treatment is lacking. The present study was carried out to assess the antimicrobial activity and to evaluate the antispasmodic potential of B. chrysogonum tuber extract. Materials and Methods: Extracts were also evaluated for antimicrobial potential against Bacillus subtilis, Staphylococcus aureus, S. epidermidis, Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa using the agar well diffusion method. Minimum inhibitory concentration and minimum bactericidal concentration were determined by using the micro dilution method. To evaluate the antispasmodic activity of B. chrysogonum extract on contractions induced by the spasmogens acetylcholine, BaCl2 and KCl, contractions of rat duodenum were recorded using an isolated tissue bath chamber with an isotonic transducer and oscillographic device. Results were compared by one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) followed by Dunnett’s post test. Results: Preliminary phytochemical screening of the tuber extract revealed the presence of alkaloids, saponins, tannins and carbohydrates, including monosaccharides. No antimicrobial activity was observed against gram-positive or gram-negative bacteria; however, ethanolic B. chrysogonum tuber extract attenuated the basal contractile activity of rat duodenum smooth muscle and decreased contractions induced by acetylcholine, KCl and BaCl2, suggesting an antimuscarinic effect and/or interference of calcium influx. Alkaloids and saponins present in the extract may account for this antispasmodic effect, suggesting multiple mechanisms that can be explored in future studies. Conclusion: Taken together, results demonstrate that B. chrysogonum tuber extract possesses antispasmodic activity but not antimicrobial activity and supports its traditional use to alleviate gastrointestinal spasms