Experimental cryosurgery investigations in vivo.

Cryosurgery is the use of freezing temperatures to elicit an ablative response in a targeted tissue. This review provides a global overview of experimentation in vivo which has been the basis of advancement of this widely applied therapeutic option. The cellular and tissue-related events that underlie the mechanisms of destruction, including direct cell injury (cryolysis), vascular stasis, apoptosis and necrosis, are described and are related to the optimal methods of technique of freezing to achieve efficacious therapy. In vivo experiments with major organs, including wound healing, the putative immunological response following thawing, and the use of cryoadjunctive strategies to enhance cancer cell sensitivity to freezing, are described.