Abstract
There are three types of histological change in the carotid bodies which appear to have physiological and clinical associations. A prominence of the dark variant of chief cells with their contents of met-enkephalin and other peptides appears to be associated with acute exposure to hypoxia. Proliferation of sustentacular cells around the clusters of chief cells appears to be related to ageing and also to systemic hypertension. Recently we have described a new condition of chronic carotid glomitis which is characterized by follicles of lymphocytes and may have a basis in auto-immunity. In the present review we report for the first time plasma cell activity in the carotid bodies of an elderly man, especially around nerve fibrils and unmyelinated axons ensheathed in sustentacular cells. Such appearances are consistent with the view that ageing nerve fibrils may be the antigenic stimulus for the development of chronic carotid glomitis.
Full text
PDF
Images in this article
Selected References
These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.
- Heath D., Smith P., Fitch R., Harris P. Comparative pathology of the enlarged carotid body. J Comp Pathol. 1985 Apr;95(2):259–271. doi: 10.1016/0021-9975(85)90012-x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Heath D., Smith P., Hurst G. The carotid bodies in coarctation of the aorta. Br J Dis Chest. 1986 Apr;80(2):122–130. doi: 10.1016/0007-0971(86)90032-x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Hurst G., Heath D., Smith P. Histological changes associated with ageing of the human carotid body. J Pathol. 1985 Nov;147(3):181–187. doi: 10.1002/path.1711470306. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Jago R., Smith P., Heath D. Electron microscopy of carotid body hyperplasia. Arch Pathol Lab Med. 1984 Sep;108(9):717–722. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Khan Q., Heath D., Smith P., Norboo T. The histology of the carotid bodies in highlanders from Ladakh. Int J Biometeorol. 1988 Nov;32(4):254–259. doi: 10.1007/BF01080024. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Mitchell J. D., Kirkham N., Machin D. Focal lymphocytic thyroiditis in Southampton. J Pathol. 1984 Dec;144(4):269–273. doi: 10.1002/path.1711440408. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Scott J. The incidence of focal chronic inflammatory changes in human submandibular salivary glands. J Oral Pathol. 1976 Nov;5(6):334–346. doi: 10.1111/j.1600-0714.1976.tb01785.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Severinghaus J. W., Bainton C. R., Carcelen A. Respiratory insensitivity to hypoxia in chronically hypoxic man. Respir Physiol. 1966;1(3):308–334. doi: 10.1016/0034-5687(66)90049-1. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Smith P., Hurst G., Heath D., Drewe R. The carotid bodies in a case of ventricular septal defect. Histopathology. 1986 Aug;10(8):831–840. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2559.1986.tb02581.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Smith P., Jago R., Heath D. Anatomical variation and quantitative histology of the normal and enlarged carotid body. J Pathol. 1982 Aug;137(4):287–304. doi: 10.1002/path.1711370404. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Sorensen S. C., Severinghaus J. W. Irreversible respiratory insensitivity to acute hypoxia in man born at high altitude. J Appl Physiol. 1968 Sep;25(3):217–220. doi: 10.1152/jappl.1968.25.3.217. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Trzebski A., Tafil M., Zoltowski M., Przybylski J. Increased sensitivity of the arterial chemoreceptor drive in young men with mild hypertension. Cardiovasc Res. 1982 Mar;16(3):163–172. doi: 10.1093/cvr/16.3.163. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]