Activities of two enzymes considered to be involved in NaCl regulation, Na+–K+ ATPase and carbonic anhydrase, were localized in gill epithelia of 14 teleost, 2 agnathan, and 1 shark species through light microscopic histochemistry. Findings were confirmed by use of appropriate inhibitors (ouabain, acetazolamide). Na+–K+ ATPase activity was detected in chloride cells of most marine teleost species (six of eight) and of marine leopard shark and hagfish, but never in freshwater fish gills. In general, this finding agrees with past biochemical assays showing gill Na+–K+ ATPase activity to be highest in marine teleosts. Staining for carbonic anhydrase took one of three patterns among species: gill pavement cells or chloride cells, or both, were stained. Interspecific distribution of these patterns bore little relation to taxonomy or to habitat salinity, although chloride cells of euryhaline teleosts seemed more likely to stain than chloride cells of stenohaline teleosts, freshwater or marine. Given the lack of a definite correlation with salinity, it is concluded that fish gill carbonic anhydrase may not function in NaCl regulation as much as in acid–base regulation; the enzyme's role in preventing systemic pH imbalance is discussed.

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Our knowledge of the precise spatial relationships of human primary palate morphogenesis remains poorly defined. This is due to intrinsic difficulties that exist in the study of the subject matter and a lack of adequate methodologies. We present a novel new method to allow precise three-dimensional (3-D) visualization of developing embryonic structures in previously sectioned embryos. In our study we focus on human primary palate development. Five normal human embryos from the Carnegie collection were used. 3-D reconstructions appear similar to scanning electron micrographs (SEM); however, unlike in SEM studies, the original specimen has been previously sectioned histologically. 3-D reconstruction from serial sections involved 1) histological preparation of specimen, 2) projection onto digitizing board, 3) digitization, 4) automated reassembly, and 5) relay to interactive optical disc recorder. Detailed observations of each reconstruction were then made. Data generated in this manner may also be used in the near future for quantitative morphometrics. Thus, 3-D reconstruction techniques presented in this paper generated precise spatial information on the development of the human primary palate.

Two enzymes implicated in branchial ion transport, Na+-K+-ATPase and carbonic anhydrase, were localized in gill ionocytes ("chloride cells") of the Pacific hagfish, Eptatretus stouti, by light microscopic histochemical techniques. In hagfish, ouabain-sensitive Na+-K+-ATPase activity was confined to apical halves of ionocytes, where most of the cytoplasmic tubular system is located. In marine teleosts, Na+-K+-ATPase was noted in chloride cells and erythrocytes. Acetazolamide and potassium cyanate sensitive carbonic anhydrase activity occurred throughout the cytoplasm and nucleus of hagfish ionocytes. Biochemical assay of hagfish gill homogenates for Na+-K+-ATPase yielded a specific activity of 3.1 μmol Pi∙mg protein−1∙h−1 at 37 °C. This resembles values we obtained for freshwater fish (Carassius auratus: 3.3 μmol Pi∙mg protein−1∙h−1; Tilapia shirana: 3.7 μmol Pi∙mg protein−1∙h−1), and is less than values we obtained for marine teleosts (Pomacentrus spp.: 13 μmol Pi∙mg protein−1∙h−1; Gillichthys mirabilis: 6.7 μmol Pi∙mg protein−1∙h−1). Hagfish resemble freshwater teleosts in many other gill features related to ion transport. The presence of carbonic anhydrase in gill ionocytes of hagfish supports the proposal that these cells function in acid–base regulation, i.e., that they exchange H+ for Na+ and [Formula: see text] for Cl−.

We describe a three-dimensional computer-generated model of the human mediastinum. Contours were manually traced from photographs of a serially sectioned, unfixed frozen cadaver block. Using software developed in-house, the contours were digitized, automatically assembled and placed in registration, and displayed on a high performance graphics workstation as surfaced images. The model thus produced has advantages over traditional representations of anatomical structures; it is realistic, accurate, efficient, and flexible. Each anatomical component of the mediastinum is stored as a separate file in the computer and can be selectively accessed, displayed, and manipulated, allowing the model to be disassembled, reassembled, dissected, and viewed in any orientation. The model can be divided into a series of transversely cut "slabs," the surfaces of which correlate with the anatomy displayed in the original cryosections and with radiological scans, thus permitting 2-D sectional anatomy to be viewed in the context of the 3-D model. Animation of the model can be accomplished by recording pre-planned scripts onto videodiscs. The videodiscs serve as image archives that can be viewed in an interactive, selfpaced manner or accessed from a computer-based multimedia system that is being developed by the Digital Anatomist Program. Anatomical reconstructions based on datasets of x-, y-, z-coordinates have potential clinical applications as models that can be displayed to match the sectional planes of radiological images. The mediastinum model we describe is part of a large image database being developed by the Digital Anatomist Program that will form the spatial component of a knowledge base in structural biology. 0 1992 Wiley-Liss, Inc.