Resumo Objetivou-se descrever a morfologia da língua do cervo do pantanal (Blastocerus dichotomus), o maior cervídeo da fauna brasileira, pois poucas são as informações detalhadas sobre sua morfologia. Línguas e fragmentos linguais de oito cervos do pantanal, adultos, provenientes do Projeto Cervo-do-Pantanal de Porto Primavera foram analisados quanto aos seus aspectos macroscópicos e à microscopia de luz. A língua do cervo do pantanal ocupa grande parte da cavidade oral, onde a raiz e o corpo estão fixados caudalmente pelo osso hióide e, em sua porção média, pelo frênulo lingual; seu ápice, achatado e plano é livre; apresenta torus lingual pouco proeminente, não havendo delimitação da fossa lingual. Na superfície dorsal encontram-se as seguintes papilas: filiformes, cônicas, lenticulares, fungiformes e valadas. Histologicamente verificou-se que a mucosa reveste-se de epitélio estratificado pavimentoso queratinizado, a lâmina própria constitui-se de tecido conjuntivo, rico em fibras colágenas dispostas em várias direções, onde se verifica abundante vascularização, além de acúmulo de tecido linfático.

Abstract The aim was to describe the morphology of the tongue of the Marsh deer (Blastocerus dichotomus), the largest deer of the Brazilian fauna, since there is little detailed information on their morphology. Tongues of eight adult Marsh deers, belonging to Projeto cervo-do-pantanal de Porto Primavera were analyzed for their macroscopic aspects and by light microscopy. The Marsh deer tongue occupies most of the oral cavity, where the root and body are fixed caudally by the hyoid bone, and in its middle portion by the frenulum linguae; its free apex is flat and plane, has little prominent torus lingae and there is no demarcation of fossa linguae. The lateral and ventral surfaces are covered by a thin mucosa; however the dorsal surface is covered by thick mucosa, although soft. On the dorsal surface are the papillae: filiform, conical, lenticular, fungiform and vallate. Histologically was found that the mucosa has a stratified squamous epithelium, the lamina propria consists of connective tissue rich in collagen fibers arranged in several directions, where there is abundant vascularization and accumulation of lymphoid tissue.

Zygomycosis is an infection caused by opportunistic fungi of the Zygomycetes class, specifically those from the Mucorales and Entomophthorales orders. It is an uncommon disease, mainly restricted to immunocompromised patients. We report a case of a 73-year-old male patient with a history of fever (39°C) lasting for 1 day, accompanied by shivering, trembling, and intense asthenia. The patient was admitted to the intensive care unit with complex partial seizures, and submitted to orotracheal intubation and mechanical ventilation under sedation with midazolam. The electroencephalogram showed evidence of non-convulsive status epilepticus. There is no fast specific laboratory test that permits confirmation of invasive fungal disease. Unless the physician suspects this condition, the disease may progress rapidly while the patient is treated with broad-spectrum antibiotics. Differential diagnosis between fungal and bacterial infection is often difficult. The clinical presentation is sometimes atypical, and etiological investigation is not always successful. In the present case, the histopathological examination of the biopsy obtained from the right temporal lobe indicated the presence of irregular, round, thick-walled fungi forming papillae and elongated structures of irregular diameter, with no septa, indicative of zygomycete (Basidiobolus). Treatment with liposomal amphotericin B and fluconazole was initiated after diagnosis of meningoencephalitis by zygomycete, with a successful outcome.

The multidrug resistance P-glycoprotein is a transmembrane efflux pump expressed by lymphocytes and is involved in their cytolytic activity. In the present study, we investigated the age-related changes of P-glycoprotein function in normal peripheral blood lymphocytes. Blood samples from 90 normal volunteers (age range, 0 to 86 years) were analyzed. P-glycoprotein function was assessed by the flow cytometric rhodamine 123 assay. P-glycoprotein function was highest in cord blood and progressively declined with age in peripheral blood T CD4+ and CD8+ cells. In contrast, P-glycoprotein function did not vary with age in CD19+ B or CD16+CD56+ natural killer cells. These data suggest that the decline in P-glycoprotein function in T CD4+ and CD8+ lymphocytes as a function of age may contribute to the decrease in T cell cytolytic activity with aging.