Since the first introduction of nerve graft in 1870. it had been applied to various nerve defects. Recently. the vascularized nerve graft has been used in the scarred recipient bed or thick or wide nerve defect.

This study was designed to see the difference in duration of early ischemic period and in light and electron microscopic findings between non-vascularized and vascularized nerve graft.

We had 8 groups of mixed bleed rabbits, consisting 3 in each group of control. POD# 1, 2 & 7-day and 2, 4, 8 and l2wecks respectively. In each animal, one femoral nerve was grafted with femorl artery maintaining vasa nervorum in its own site as vascularized nerve graft. and only the femorl nerve was grafted in opposite side for non-vascularized nerve graft. To compare the early vascularity in POD# 1. 2. 7-day groups. India ink was perfused after saline solution perfusion through left ventricle. To observe the histologic findings of control. postoperative 2, 4, 8 & 12th-week group. 3% paraformaldehyde and 3% glutaraldehyde were perfused systemically through left ventricle and postfixed with 1% osmium tetroxide.

The results was as follows ;

1) Vascularized nerve graft of POD 1, 2 & 7-day groups and non-vascularized nerve graft of POD 7-day showed India ink filling in capillaries grossly and microscopically.

2) The numbers of myelinated axons and diameter of axon did not show statisically significant difference between non-vascularized & vascularized graft at 2, 4 and 8-week after the operation.

3) Only the group of 12-week postoperation showed significant difference in number of myelinated axons between two groups(p<O.05).

I concluded vascularized nerve graft gave more rapid repair than non-vascularized nerve graft and recommended vascularized nerve graft for thick or wide defect.

A series of experiments were carried out to obtain some informations on host resistance in mice infected with Toxocara canis. Approximately 210 male BLAB/c mice were used and given various doses of infective eggs. For the purpose. the mean percentages of eosinophils were counted. and recovery rates of larvae from the liver, lung, brain, carcass and other tissues were examined separately at various intervals according to the experimental schedules.

Experiment I: Mice in groups I-1 and I-2 were given a single dose of 30 eggs and 100 eggs, respectively. Eosinophils and larvae were examined daily for 6 days and weekly for 21 weeks. Experiment II : Mice in groups II-1 and II-2 were given 100 eggs weekly for 2 weeks and 50 eggs for 4 weeks from 1 week after an initial administration of 30 eggs. Eosinophils were counted weekly and larvae were examined at 3 weeks after the final administration, respectively. Experiment III : Mice in 6 groups from III-1 to III-6 were given a challenge dose of 100 eggs at 1. 2. 3. 5. 7, and 9 weeks after an initial administration of 30 eggs. Eosinophils were counted weekly for 3 weeks and larvae were examined at the 3rd week after the challenge infection, respectively.

The means of eosinophils in groups I-1 nd I-2 respectively were 6.4% and 8.2% at 6 hr. and reached a maximum peak of 16.8% and 21.6% at 2 weeks, and the means decreased rapidly for the next 6 weeks. then fell gradually. The superinfection and the challenge infection in Experments II and III caused quicker and more intense rises of the eosinophils.

The recovery rates of larvae in groups I-1 and I-2 respectively showed 3 peaks at 48 hr. 1 week and 3 weeks, then decreased gradually. At 48 hr. 88.2% and 93.5% of the larvae recovered and 38.0% and 40.8% of the total larvae given were found in the liver, then decreased gradually until none was found at the end of the experiment. On the contrary. in the brain and carcass, the larvae accuulated repidly through the 1st week and the rates persisted up to the 8th week without remarkable variation. The recovery rates of larvae in total, and from the brain and carcass in groups of Experiments II and III decreased remarkably, whereas those from the liver increased significantly compared with groups I-1 and I-2 at the corresponding weeks of examination.

Transition patterns of the means of eosinophils in groups of Experiments I and II and those of total recovery rates of larvae in groups of Experiment I were essentially similar each other in rise and fall throughout the experiments.

From the overall results, it is strongly suggested that eosinophils do affect the development of resistance to invading Toxocara larvae, and the higher recovery rates of larvae in the liver indicates that the liver is the organ which may play a role of protection against infection with T. canis larvae by means of immunomechanism in mice.

Since its first introduction by Popovich in 1976. Continuous Ambulatory Peritoneal Dialysis(CAPD) has estabilished itself as an effective method maintaining the patients with end stage renal disease. But recurrent peritonitis remains the most frequent cause of the CAPD failure. So clinical studies were carried on the 15 patients on CAPD who had been treated from June 1989 to march 1991.

The following results were obtained.

1) The incidence of peritonitis was 1.73 episode/patient/year.

2) Peritonitis incidence according to the sex showed 1.93 episode/patient/year with female patients and l.46 episode/patient/year with male patients.

3) Peritonitis incidence according to the underlying disease showed 1.94 episode/patient/year with diabetic patients and 1.45 episode/patient/year with non-diabetic patients.

4) The subjective symptom and sign were as follows; abdominal pain(95%). cloudy dialysate(95%). nausea(55%), abdominal tenderness(95%). decreased dialysate drainage (59%), fever(50%), and peripheral leukocytosis(18%).

5) The positive rate in Gram stain of dialysate drainage fluid was 13.6% and the positive rate in culture was 31.8%. of which staphylococcus was 42.9%.

6) The rate of catheter removal due to peritonitis was 22.7%. The most common cause was persistent peritonitis, which accounted for 60% of cases. And all cases of catheter removal were developed in female patients.

7) The complications related to catheter were as follows ; catheter exit site infection(20%), external cuff extrusion(20%), leakage of dialysate fluid(6.7%) and crack on Tenckhoff catheter(6.7%)

Minnesota Multiphatic Personality Inventory responses were analysed from patients with conversion disorder(N=65) and somatization disorder(N=23) who were admitted to Ewha Womans University Hospital and were confirmed with clinical final diagnose as conversion and somatization disorder by DSM-III diagnostic criteria from 1981 to 1987. The results were as follows :

1) Generally, the MMPI pofile of conversion disorder patients was 1-3 pattern and somatization disorder patients was 1-3-2-7-8 pattern.

2) According to analysis of varience fo T scores of each MMPI scales between conversion and somatization disorder patients. somatization disorder patients showed higher scores than conversions on D and Pt scales.

3) As a result of ANOVA and Duncan's posterior comparison test among four groups(conversion-females N=50, conversion-males N=15. somatization-females N= 12, somatization-males N=11), somatization-female patients gave higher scores on D and Hy scale than the other three groups.

4) By discriminant function analysis of four groups, it was found that the discriminant ability of somatization-female patients was most potent so that MMPI could be used to discriminate the somatization-female group most effectively.

5) Three subgroups were formed as a reslt of multivariate cluster analysis of T scores of each MMPI scales from the conversion-female group. The first sub-group(N=8) gave a normal profile while the second group (N=35) showed a conversion profile(1-3-8 pattern). The third subgroup(N=7) was found to suggest borderline. personality or severe anxiety state. Statistically significant differences were confirmed between the three subgroups on all MMPI scales exept L, Mf.

Chemotherapeutic agents may alter the radiation response in the gastrointestinal epithelium by enhancing cell killing. Cis-dichlorodiammineplatinum(II)(Cis-DDP) has been known to interact with radiation, resulting in an apparent potentiation of radiation damage.

This experiment was designed to evaluate the enhancing potential of Cis-DDP for radiation effect in rat stomach.

Cis-DDP. 2.5mg/kg alone did not show significant changes in rat stomach. A single fraction of 6 and 8 Gy of radiation produced the slight submucosal edema only and 10 Gy of radiation produced the epithelial proliferation with atypical gland formation. There was no significant difference in findings of gastric mucosa according to the timing of Cis-DDP 2.5mg/kg administration before or after the radiation.

A 36-year-old male farmer was admitted due to exertional dyspnea for 15 years. Cardiac examination revealed mitral valvular stenosis. aortic valvular stenosis and regurgitation. Single pulmonary nodule was found in the left lower lung field in chest X-ray.

Concomitant double valve replacement and resection of pulmonary nodule were performed using mid-sternotomy simultaneously.

Postoperative course was uneventful and pathological diagnosis of pulmonary nodule was hamartoma.

The patient was 30 year old male having longstanding otitis media on left ear since childhood. Although he had taken radical mastoidectomy(Lt.), brain abscess was developed 14 days after operation. So, emergency craniotomy with total resection of brain abscess was performed in neurosurgery department and abscess was healed well. Postoperative course was relatively good and he was discharged on 63th postoperative day.

Castleman's disease(Giant lymph node hyperplasia) is a disorder characterized by massive enlargement of lymph node in the mediastinum and occurs rarely in the neck, axillary area and abdomen. Giant lymph node hyperplasia was first described by Castleman in 1954. The Castleman's disease in the retropertoneum is the extremely rare disease according to the literatures.

The authors experienced a Castleman's disease in the retroperitoneum of 40 year old male patient who had been suffered from intermittent abdominal discomfort and indigestion. and so reported the case with thereview of the literatures.

Benign urethral neoplasm, especially leiornyoma of the female urethra, is a very rare entity, with relatively few cases reported.

Recently we experienced 3 cases of leiomyoma in the female urethra and so reported with review of the literatures.