BACKGROUND The sinus node is known to be duplicated in hearts with bilateral right appendages, but its site is uncertain when both appendages are of morphologically left pattern. OBJECTIVE To determine the earliest site of activation of the atria, and to assess this site of activation relative to the anticipated location of the sinus node in patients with isomeric atrial appendages. STUDY D...

Early repair of skin injury and maximal restoration of the function and appearance have become important targets of clinical treatment. In the present study, we observed the healing process of skin defects in nude mice and structural characteristics of the new skin after transplantation of isolated and cultured adipose derived mesenchymal stem cells (ADMSCs) onto the human acellular amniotic me...

1.1 Skin The evolution of life in the terrestrial environment required the development of a waterproof integument: the skin (Loden and Maibach, 2006). Skin is an extensive organ covering the entire exterior of the body (Stevens and Lowe, 2005). It provides the primary barrier against chemical and biological external agents and water loss (Hadgraft, 2001). The skin also plays an important role i...

Current awareness of gene expression patterns and developmental mechanisms involved in the outgrowth and patterning of animal appendages contributes to our understanding of the origin and evolution of these body parts. Nevertheless, this vision needs to be complemented by a new adequate comparative framework, in the context of a factorial notion of homology. It may even be profitable to categor...

Fibronectin, collagen type III, laminin, and cytokeratin 5 were visualized in normal skin and in skin showing early or advanced signs of autolytic decomposition to prove whether the immunohistochemical analysis of these antigens can provide useful information for an age-estimation of skin wounds obtained from putrified corpses. In cases with early signs of decomposition (visible course of veins...

Introduction Keratins are the most abundant proteins in epithelial cells of vertebrates and represent the major constituents of skin and its appendages such as nail, hair, feather, and wool1. Keratins are fibrous and insoluble structural proteins extensively cross-linked with disulphide, hydrophobic, and hydrogen bonds2-3. Their high degree of cross-linking by disulfide bonds, hydrophobic inter...

One of the major objectives of tissue engineering is to reconstitute skin from stem cells. This requires multipotent skin stem cells and the ability to guide these cells to form a piece of skin with proper architecture and skin appendages. Based on previous progress, we develop a simplified procedure that can be useful for large-scale screening of factors that can modulate the hair formation ab...