Freie Vorträge, Kreislauforgane

The aortas of feti in the last gestational months, and of newborn babies up to one year of age, were investigated and special attention was paid to mucopolysaccharides of the ground substance. The cases were devided into three groups: normal subjects, cases with congenital malformations of the cardiovascular and other systems, and subjects with infectious diseases.—During the last months of fetal life the aortic wall undergoes continuous changes consisting of increase of the ground substance and of progressive separation of the elastic layers with alterations of their regular parallel disposition. — Maturative processes may be disturbed by infectious diseases which are able to induce changes directly or by means of the endocrine system (adrenal glands) in the ground substance such as focal accumulations of chromo-trope substance in the intima and in the media, destruction of elastic systems and increase of collagen fibers. — The first change in fetal aortic walls due to pathological factors is represented by an alteration in the composition of the ground substance, which appears stained deeper by Alcian-blue on account of an increase of the degree of polymerisation of mucopolysaccharides. — Special importance is attributed to this kind of changes in the aortic wall, before or after birth within the first year of age, and to their possible significance in view of later alterations to which the vessel may undergo in adult life.