Atlanto-occipital fusion: an osteological study with clinical implications.

BACKGROUND: Atlanto-occipital fusion may be symptomatic or asymptomatic in nature. The anomaly may be incidentally detected at autopsies or during routine cadaveric dissections. The fusion of the atlas with occipital bone may result in the compression of vertebral artery and first cervical nerve. METHODS: A total of 55 dried occipital bones in the Department of Anatomy, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) and Department of Anatomy, Universiti Malaya (UM) were included in the study. The presence of atlantooccipital fusion was closely observed and morphometric measurements were taken. RESULTS: Out of 55 dried occipital bones studied, we observed atlanto-occiptalization in two bones (3.63 %). A total of 53 occipital bones (96.37 %) did not exhibit any anomalous fusions. Out of the two anomalous atlanto-occiptal fusions, one was complete while the other had unilateral right-sided fusion of the atlas with the occipital bone. CONCLUSION: Atlanto-occipitalization may result in the compression of vertebral artery thereby influencing the blood flow to the brain. Atlanto-occipitalization may also result in compression of the first cervical nerve. The action of the postural muscles on the extensor surface may be affected as a result of this anomaly. The present article discusses the clinical implications of atlanto-occipitalization, which may be beneficial for neurosurgeons, neurologists and radiologists in day-to-day clinical practice (Fig. 3, Ref. 17).

Scanning electron microscopy of cornea re-epithelization after transplanted with bilayered corneal construct.

The present work was to determine the development and re-epithelization of bilayered corneal construct (BCC) in vitro and in vivo using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The in vitro BCC was transplanted to the rabbit's eye and after 90 days the BCC was harvested and analyzed. The corneas were processed for morphology studies. The result indicates that the BICC that was transplanted for 90 days showed good development and re-epithelization of epithelial layer similar to the normal cornea.

Ex vivo growth of rabbit bulbar, fornix and palpebral conjunctival epithelia in a serum-free and feeder layer-free culture system.

This study was conducted to explore the feasibility of culturing conjunctiva epithelial cells in serum-free and feeder layer-free culture system with regard to the cell morphology and immunocytochemistry of the rabbit bulbar, fornix and palpebral conjunctiva epithelia. The results showed that epithelium cells from all the three conjunctiva regions can be cultured in a serum-free and feeder layer-free environment. We obtained highest epithelial growth from fornix region with minimum invasion of fibroblast cells compared to other area. All cultured cells were stained positive for cytokeratin 19 and MUC5AC and negative for cytokeratin 3. These findings suggested that fornix was a better source of cells for the development of tissue engineered conjunctiva for future clinical application.