Alessandro Riva

Università degli studi di Cagliari | UNICA · Dipartimento di Scienze Biomediche Sez Citomorfologia

This illustrated book consists of seven chapters. The first 3,ranging from proto-history to the present day, address most ofhistorical moments of the evolution ofknowledge and teaching in Human Anatomy and related Sciences produced in South Sardinia, the City of Cagliari,its University and Anatomical Institutions. Chapter 4 is entirely devoted to t...

Biography of Clemente Michelangelo Susini (1754.1814). The wax modeler author of the La Specola anatomical waxes

Purpose: The aim of our study was to investigate the presence of corneal stromal striae in an ovine animal model (Ovis aries) and to assess the correlation between this OCT sign and the histological appearance. Design: Experimental study Methods: Forty-six eyes from female adult sheep (older than 2 years), sacrificed at a local slaughterhouse, we...

Updated edition (2018) of my lessons notes on history of western medicine seen from Sardinia from the origins to 2018

The description of capillaries, that completed Harvey's discovery, is linked with that of lung and tissue respiration. It is the work of a physician: Marcello Malpighi (1628-1694), a barber surgeon: William Cowper (1666-1723), a naturalist: Lazzaro Spallanzani (1729-1799). Malpighi discovered the blood red corpuscles in man, the capillaries and the...

The article describes the wax anatomical model made by the artist Clemente Susini in cooperation with the Anatomist Francesco Antonio Boi on 1803-1805 at La Specola Museum in Florence. The models, which belong to the University of Cagliari, were ordered by the Viceroy of Sardinia to the Florentine Museum , At present they are exhibited at The Museu...

This paper deals with a recent revision of the terminology of the Sections Central Nervous System (CNS; Systema nervosum centrale) and Peripheral Nervous System (PNS; Systema nervosum periphericum) of the Terminologia Anatomica (TA, 1998) and the Terminologia Histologica (TH, 2008). These sections were extensively updated by the Federative Internat...

Around 1550 Bartolomaeus Eustachius (1510?-1574), the great rival of Vesalius, joined the medical faculty of the University La Sapienza in Rome, and there are records that in the years 1555-1566 he held there the chair of Practical Medicine, where he had his pupil Pier Matteo Pini as first sector. During his lifetime Eustachius published only the O...

We have extensively studied the ultrastructural picture of the liver by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) but these studies were not used, up to now, in clinical practice because they were considered to be mainly a means of research in the 3D structure of liver specimens. Our new technique allows us to introduce ourselves to the 3D structure of in...

The atypical antipsychotic drug clozapine, used in the treatment of schizophrenia, induces sialorrhea, that is reported to be abolished by amisulpride (1), a dopamine and serotonin antagonist. Preclinical studies show, however, amisulpride to be without inhibitory effect on the clozapine-evoked salivary flow in rats. Unexpectedly, amisulpride, with...

Although the valves of veins were reported by some anatomists years before Fabricius ab Aquapendente (1533-1619) held his public demonstration in 1579, the first detailed description of these structures is ascribed to him, who in 1602 published the “De Venarum Ostiolis” (1). Fabricius held the chair of Anatomy in Padua for over 50 years and in the...

Amisulpride is reported to inhibit clozapine-induced sialorrhea. Preclinically, clozapine evokes muscarinic-M1-type-mediated secretion that, however, amisulpride does not reduce. Instead, amisulpride, without causing any overt secretion per se, enhances both nerve and autonomimetic-evoked salivation by unknown mechanism(s). Hypothesizing that amisu...

Objective: The parasympathetic transmitter vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) increases salivary gland blood flow and evokes protein secretion and, in some species, such as rats, a small fluid secretion. It interacts synergistically with muscarinics for protein and fluid output. Human salivary acini are supplied with VIP-containing nerves. We hyp...

Luigi Castaldi a pupil of Giulio Chiarugi and promoter, in 1929, with Nello Beccari and Emerico Luna, of the Società Italiana di Anatomia was, from 1927 to 1943, Director of the Anatomy Institute of the University of Cagliari. His publications, encompassing various fields of anatomy, neuroanatomy, auxology, applied anatomy, biology, and experimenta...

We compared changes in the morphology of mitochondrial cristae with those in the blood and adrenal content of steroid hormones after the stimulation or inhibition of steroidogenesis. Rats were treated with adrenocorticotrophic hormone or angiotensin II to elicit steroidogenesis and with dexamethasone to inhibit it. Blood and adrenal glands were col...

Objective: Olanzapine, introduced as an alternative to clozapine in schizophrenia therapy, is thought to display a receptor affinity similar to that of clozapine. Antipsychotics are well-known xerogenic drugs. However, clozapine exerts both antagonistic and agonistic salivary effects ('clozapine-induced sialorrhea'), the latter probably via muscar...

Salivary secretion is principally regulated by autonomic nerves. However, recent evidence from in vivo animal experiments suggests that gastrointestinal peptide hormones can also influence saliva production. The aim of the present study was to define the secretagogue activity of the gastrin-analogue pentagastrin in human salivary glands. For this p...

Objective: Amisulpride is suggested for treatment of clozapine-induced sialorrhea. However, objective measurements of its effectiveness are lacking and, preclinically, amisulpride has no effect. We currently hypothesise that amisulpride acts by reducing the nervous- rather than the clozapine-driven salivary secretion. Material and methods: Effec...

Godoy T, Riva A, Ekström J. Clozapine-induced salivation: interaction with N-desmethylclozapine and amisulpride in an experimental rat model. Eur J Oral Sci 2011; 119: 275–281. © 2011 Eur J Oral Sci Many drugs (e.g. amisulpride) have been used to treat troublesome clozapine-induced salivation; however, varying success has been achieved in this resp...

We attempted to determine whether acute treatment with adrenocorticotropin hormone (ACTH) and corticotropin releasing hormone (CRH) affects mitochondrial morphology, as evaluated by the HRSEM and osmium maceration methods. We quantified CRH and ACTH effects on HRSEM images in rat glomerulosa and fasciculata. After ACTH or CRH treatment, mitochondri...

It is generally believed that salivary secretion is exclusively under nervous control. However, at variance with this prevailing view, our recent studies have shown some hormones to influence saliva composition. In rat parotid gland, melatonin, and gastrin-analogue pentagastrin, cause, by direct action, in vivo secretion of protein. In mammals, mel...

In this study we used a modified osmium maceration method for high-resolution scanning electron microscopy to study some ultrastructural details fitting the schema of piecemeal degranulation in chromaffin cells. Piecemeal degranulation refers to a particulate pattern of cell secretion that is accomplished by vesicle-mediated extracellular transport...

Individuals receiving clozapine treatment for schizophrenia complain of drooling. Reports on salivary flow measurements are contradictory in humans and lacking in animals. Clozapine has affinity for several different receptor types and may, hypothetically, both stimulate and inhibit salivary secretion. In rats, intravenous clozapine evoked a long-l...

Ekström J, Godoy T, Riva A. N-Desmethylclozapine exerts dual and opposite effects on salivary secretion in the rat. Eur J Oral Sci 2010; 118: 1–8. © 2010 The Authors. Journal compilation © 2010 Eur J Oral Sci N-Desmethylclozapine is a major metabolite of the atypical antipsychotic drug clozapine, used in the treatment of therapy-resistant schizophr...

The three-dimensional ultrastructure of over 1000 mitochondria in human Leydig cells (from twelve sexually mature patients) was examined by high resolution scanning electron microscopy (HRSEM) of osmium-macerated specimens, as well as by transmission electron microscopy of conventional ultrathin sections. The stereo-pair imaging of the osmium-macer...

Although the contribution to anatomical illustration by Vesalius and his followers has received much attention, less credit has been given to Veslingius and particularly Fabricius. By 1600, Fabricius had amassed more than 300 paintings that together made the Tabulae Pictae, a great atlas of anatomy that was highly admired by his contemporaries. Man...

Since the introduction of Total Mesorectal Excision (TME), the term mesorectum has been largely used by surgeons to indicate the perirectal adipose tissue contained within the rectal fascia [3]. From a scientiWcally correct anatomical point of view the use of the term mesorectum should be discouraged. It is a misnomer which has caused lack of clari...

The seminal vesicles originate in embryos of about 58 mm crown-rump-length from the Wolffian duct under the influence of testosterone. Along with the ampulla of the vas deferens and the ejaculatory duct, they form a functional unit that develops slowly until the onset of puberty. Developmental malformations occur as uni- or bilateral agenesis, apla...

The fine structure of Candida albicans has been repeatedly described by transmission electron microscopy, whereas studies by high-resolution scanning electron microscopy (HRSEM) are rare and devoted solely to the study of its external morphology. This report describes the results of an HRSEM study on C. albicans carried out by an osmium maceration...

Heart mitochondria, which, depending on their location within cardiomyofibers, are classified as either subsarcolemmal or interfibrillar, are the major sources of the high energy compound, adenosine triphosphate. Physiological differences between these two populations are reflected by differences in the morphology of their cristae, with those of su...

Antipsychotics are usually associated with hyposalivation. Clozapine is an atypical antipsychotic drug for schizophrenia-treatment. Surprisingly, many clozapine-treated patients complain of drooling and hypersalivation particularly during night. The medication may be discontinued or anticholinergics may be used to reduce the secretion. Objective se...

Thymosin beta(4), its sulfoxide, and thymosin beta(10) were detected in whole saliva of human pre-term newborns by reversed-phase high performance chromatography coupled to electrospray ion-trap mass spectrometry. Despite high inter-individual variability, concentration of beta-thymosins increases with an inversely proportional trend to postmenstru...

Cerebral convolutions were unknown until the 17th century. A constant sulcus was not recognized until the mid-1600s; it was named "the fissure of Sylvius," after the person who had always been considered as the one who discovered it. It is commonly asserted that the first description of the lateral scissure was made by Caspar Bartholin, who attribu...

To investigate protein content of saliva produced in vitro by samples of human submandibular gland following stimulation with the muscarinic agent carbachol. Tissue samples, obtained at surgery from seven patients and showing normal morphological appearance, were tested for 30 min: in absence of carbachol and atropine; in presence of carbachol (10...

In order to increase current knowledge regarding statherin secretion into the oral cavity, ultrastructural localization of this peptide was investigated in human salivary glands by using a post-embedding immunogold staining technique. Statherin reactivity was found inside the granules of serous cells of parotid and submandibular glands. In parotid...

Despite the numerous studies performed in an attempt to clarify the issue, the mechanism of action of salivary histatins remains unclear. The aim of the present study was to correlate histatin-induced morphological changes in Candida albicans by fluorescence microscopy (FM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and high resolution scanning elect...

We present here findings obtained on a large number of human tissues over a period of more than ten years, by our modification of the Osmium maceration method for high resolution scanning electron microscopy (HRSEM). Data are documented by original pictures which illustrate both some 3-D intracellular features not previously shown in human tissues,...

Interfibrillar mitochondria (IFM) of the heart in aged Fischer 344 rats show a biochemical defect which might be reflected in their morphology. We examined by high resolution scanning electron microscopy over 5500 mitochondria to determine if a concomitant structural alteration existed. This methodology provides a means of examining mitochondrial c...

Using specimens of human submandibular glands, we have investigated in vitro the morphological modifications induced by clozapine, a dibenzodiazepine derivative that is used in psychotic patients and that provokes hypersalivation, a side-effect of therapy. The effects of the drug, used alone or in combination with carbachol, have been compared with...

To determine whether there are structural differences in two topologically separated, biochemically defined mitochondrial populations in rat heart myocytes, the interior of these organelles was examined by high-resolution scanning electron microscopy. On the basis of a count of 159 in situ subsarcolemmal mitochondria (SSM, i.e., those that directly...

Cytochalasin D (CD) is a fungal toxin which binds to the faster growing end of actin microfilament and inhibits actin polymerization. By an in vitro incubation system of slices of human submandibular glands obtained at surgery, we investigated by light microscope (LM), transmission electron microscope (TEM), and high resolution scanning electron mi...

1603–2003: Four Centuries of Valves A. Caggiati,1* M. Rippa Bonati,2 A. Pieri3 and A. Riva4 1 Department of Anatomy, University ‘La Sapienza’, Rome, 2 Institute of History of Medicine, University of Padua, Padua, 3 Angiology Section, 3rd Cardiology Unit—A. O. Careggi, Florence, and 4 Department of Citomorphology, University of Cagliari, Cagliari, I...

The present study correlates the ultrastructural morphology of junctional complexes as revealed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) with that observed by high-resolution scanning electron microscopy (HRSEM), thanks to a new modification of the osmium tetroxide maceration technique. The removal of all cytoplasmic organelles by this technique a...

By taking advantage of a modified osmium maceration technique, we have been able to examine by high resolution scanning electron microscopy (HRSEM) the interior of human adrenocortical mitochondria from which all soluble material has been extracted. The so-called vesicles apparent in thin sections examined by transmission electron microscopy actual...

We have investigated by LM, TEM, and HRSEM the effects of D,L-isoproterenol (beta-adrenergic agent), carbachol (muscarinic agent) and clozapine on biopsy specimens of human submandibular gland stimulated in vitro in an inorganic oxygenated medium. Clozapine is a dibenzodiazepine derivative used in psychotic patients that provokes hypersalivation, a...

Intercellular canaliculi (IC) form a primary mixing reservoir for transcellularly and paracellularly secreted saliva whose composition depends on the degree of elevation of cytosolic Ca2+ and of cytosolic cyclic AMP concentrations caused by the secretagogues employed. In perfused rat submandibular gland (SMG), appearance of exocytosis on IC reflect...

Leptin, a 16-kDa hormone, plays an important role in the control of food intake and in energy homeostasis both in rodents and in man. Leptin is mainly produced and secreted by adipocytes, but other tissues and gastric glands have also recently been shown to produce it in a dual (endocrine and exocrine) mode. In addition, a leptin receptor has been...

Transport of electrolytes/water and exocytosis are activated by elevation of the cytosolic Ca(2+) concentration and are potentiated by elevation of cytosolic cyclic AMP. To correlate mucin and fluid secretion with morphological changes, rat submandibular glands were vascularly perfused and the fluid secretion and N-acetylgalactosamine in the saliva...

In this study, the first experimental investigation carried out at the ultrastructural level on mucous cells of human salivary glands, we have examined by light microscopy (LM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), high resolution scanning electron microscopy (HRSEM), the secretory response of labial glands stimulated in vitro by the beta-adrene...

The developmental effects of lead acetate were studied in the chick embryo metanephros, the third renal rudiment that acquires morphological characteristics of functioning kidney already during the prenatal life. Lead exposure was obtained by applying a lead acetate solution on the chick embryo chorioallantoic membrane at the days 9, 10 and 11 of i...

By SEM we have investigated the human minor salivary glands using the NaOH method for the visualization of endpieces and myoepithelial cells, and the osmium maceration technique that reveals membranous intracellular structures. With the former method all minor glands, including the posterior deep (Ebner's) lingual glands, consist of tubules sometim...

We treated surgical specimens of human parotid and submandibular glands in vitro to manipulate the receptor-signaling cascade pharmacologically and analyzed cellular responses by light microscopy on epoxy embedded sections. Treatment of specimens with the b-agonist, isoproterenol, and with the second messenger analog, dibutyryl cyclic AMP, stimulat...

Whole gland perfusion technique was applied to rat parotid glands to assess whether amylase affects fluid secretion. Control perfusion without any secretagogue evoked no spontaneous secretion. Carbachol (CCh 1 microM) induced both amylase and fluid secretion with distinctive kinetics. Fluid secretion occurred constantly at 40-120 microliter/g-min (...

Whole gland perfusion technique was applied to rat parotid glands to assess whether amylase affects fluid secretion. Control perfusion without any secretagogue evoked no spontaneous secretion. Carbachol (CCh 1 microM) induced both amylase and fluid secretion with distinctive kinetics. Fluid secretion occurred constantly around 60 microL/g-min, wher...

Four cases of Hürthle cell tumor were examined by scanning electron microscopy after being macerated to remove all soluble components. By all morphological criteria, Hürthle cells are oncocytes with their usual augmented complement of mitochondria. The Hürthle cell mitochondria either are ovate with central stacks of cristae or elliptical or rod-li...

Oncocytes occurring in otherwise normal human salivary glands were examined by scanning electron microscopy after being subjected to a maceration technique that removes all soluble cytoplasmic components and leaves only membranes in place. The three-dimensional images resulting from this procedure confirm that the majority of oncocyte mitochondria...

Noise represents an environmental stress factor affecting several organs and apparatuses, including the cardiovascular system. In experimental animals undergoing noise exposure, subcellular myocardial changes have been reported, especially at the mitochondrial level. In previous studies we found that diazepam, acting at both central and peripheral...

All human minor salivary glands, apart from the posterior deep lingual (von Ebner's) glands which were serous, contained a minor population of seromucous cells that increased from palatine and posterior superficial lingual (Weber's) to labial, anterior lingual (Blandin and Nuhn's) and buccal glands, in that order. Unlike the predominant mucous cell...

All human minor salivary glands, apart from the posterior deep lingual (von Ebner's) glands which were serous, contained a minor population of seromucous cells that increased from palatine and posterior superficial lingual (Weber's) to labial, anterior lingual (Blandin and Nuhn's) and buccal glands, in that order. Unlike the predominant mucous cell...

The coagulating gland of the rat synthesizes two prevalent secretory proteins (transglutaminase and 115 K) that are discharched in a different manner, one being secreted in an apocrine fashion (transglutaminase) and the other one in a merocrine way (115 K). Differences in the intra- cellular pathway and the release of either protein were studied us...

The tragic life and scientific achievements of Giuseppe Oronzo Giannuzzi are briefly outlined. Particular attention is focused on the discovery, made in Karl Ludwig's laboratory, of the serous demilunes and of the intercellular canaliculi of salivary glands.

By removing all or most organelles, we have exposed the cytoplasmic side of the plasmalemma and its specializations in serous cells and in cells of striated and excretory ducts of human major salivary glands. The areas of plasmalemma located beneath the lumen and those bordering the intercellular canaliculi are covered by evenly distributed particl...

To study the cell regulation mechanisms of human salivary secretion, surgical specimens of human parotid and submandibular glands were treated in vitro with isoproterenol (beta-agonist), carbachol (muscarinic agonist), and cytochalasin D (microfilament disruptive agent), and morphological changes occurring in serous acinar cells were observed. Cont...

The luminal membrane of salivary acinar cells creates a specialized cell surface area that accepts exocytosis and undergoes dynamic changes during secretion. These changes were visualized three-dimensionally from both the inside and outside of the cell in human parotid and submandibular glands, by application of in vitro secretory stimulation and t...