HISTOPATHOLOGIC STUDY OF ESOPHAGEAL ATRESIA AND TRACHEOESOPHAGEAL FISTULA IN AN ANIMAL-MODEL

A histopathologic study of tracheoesophageal anomalies was conducted o n an Adriamycin-treated animal model to determine how closely it resem bles the human pattern. Adriamycin was administered (2 mg/kg body weig ht) to timed-pregnant rats on days 6 through 9 of gestation. The fetus es were recovered at term, dissected and prepared for histological stu dies. Dissection showed a similar range of variants of tracheoesophage al anomalies as seen in humans. Esophageal atresia with distal tracheo esophageal fistula was by far the most common type. Other varieties we re seen such as esophageal atresia without a fistula, tracheal atresia and hypoplastic esophagus with atrophic mucosa, and muscle coat. Seri al sectioning of the distal segment showed tracheobronchial elements e xtending to a variable distance from the origin of the fistula. Copyri ght (C) 1997 by W.B. Saunders Company