A rare variation of the incomplete coeliac trunk.

During the routine dissection course, we found a rare variation of the incomplete coeliac trunk in an 87-year-old Korean male cadaver. The left gastric artery, the splenic artery and the hepatomesenteric trunk arose independently from the abdominal aorta. The detailed branching pattern of this case could not be classified by classic classification systems, but belongs to type III' of Morita's classification. The accurate embryological knowledge on the arterial variations is important both to anatomists and to clinicians.

A cephalic vein drained into one of the double axillary veins through the pectoralis major muscle.

Although the cephalic vein follows a fairly consistent course, numerous variants have been reported. We found a rare anatomical presentation of the cephalic vein in a 43-year-old Korean male cadaver. The cephalic vein had anastomosed with the basilic vein and brachial vein at the level of the elbow, perforated the pectoralis major muscle between the clavicular and sternal heads, and then entered into one of the double axillary veins. Knowledge of the variations on the cephalic vein is important for clinicians as well as anatomists since the approach through the axillary base is favoured in many invasive procedures.

A combined variation of the right urogenital veins and bilaterally renal arteries.

Variation in urogenital vessels is of interest to clinicians as well as anatomists since it has complex steps of urogenital development. We found 2 right and 3 left renal arteries, double right renal veins, the right testicular artery arisen from the right main renal artery, and the right testicular vein as a tributary of an additional right renal vein in a 57-year-old Korean male cadaver, whose cause of death was 'unknown'. The multiple vascular variations near the renal hilum are detectable in seemingly normal individuals and a deeper understanding of the complicated urogenital vasculature might be very important with its embryogenesis.

A combined variation of the musculocutaneous nerve associated with a supernumerary head of the biceps brachii muscle.

Single anatomical variation in the upper limb is common, but the coexistence of neuromuscular anomalies is still rare. We found a combined neuromuscular variation in the upper limb in a 61-year-old Korean male cadaver, whose cause of death was laryngeal carcinoma, during a routine dissection course for medical students. In his left arm, a supernumerary head of the biceps brachii muscle attached to the anteromedial surface of mid-humerus and united distally with the long and short heads of the biceps brachii muscle (BBM). The musculocutaneous nerve, which did not pierce the coracobrachialis muscle but gave 2 muscular branches, had a communicating branch to the median nerve. Since the presence of the supernumerary head of the BBM might affect the course and branching of the musculocutaneous nerve, knowing different patterns of the musculocutaneous variation associated with the BBM variations is essential for anatomists and clinicians.

Bilateral asymmetrical multiple renal arteries associated with the left testicular artery.

We found 3 right and 2 left renal arteries with asymmetrical origins in a 61-year-old Korean male cadaver, whose cause of death was 'laryngeal carcinoma'. According to a previous classification, the first and second right renal arteries correspond to the early division and other renal arteries - to the extra renal arteries, except the first left renal artery as a typical renal artery. The third right renal artery ran anterior to the inferior vena cava to the inferior pole of the kidney. The first and second left renal arteries were associated with the inferior suprarenal artery and the testicular artery, respectively. The bilateral asymmetry in the number of renal arteries can be explained by the embryological development, degeneration and persistence of the renal artery in the process of ascending of kidneys.

Bilateral inferior renal polar arteries with a high origin from the abdominal aorta.

Bilateral multiple renal arteries are not-so-rare variations. However, inferior renal polar arteries with a high origin from the abdominal aorta have rarely been reported. We found bilateral inferior renal polar arteries with a high origin from the abdominal aorta in an 84-year-old Korean female cadaver. Two right and three left renal arteries were seen with the lowest as the main renal artery bilaterally. The highest artery crossed the main renal artery and penetrated into the inferior pole of the kidney, respectively. After dissection, each inferior polar artery could be classified as the inferior segmental branch. A further understanding on its embryogenesis might be important since variations in renal arteries are of particular interest to clinicians as well as anatomists.

Two different variants of the jugulocephalic vein with supraclavicular course.

The jugulocephalic anastomosis is a rare anatomical variant which normally undergoes atrophy during embryonic development. We found 2 cases of the jugulocephalic vein variant with supraclavicular course in Korean male cadavers. In a 50-year-old cadaver, the right cephalic vein ascended anterior to the clavicle, and terminated into the external jugular vein as well as to the axillary vein through a classic branch. In a 76-year-old cadaver, the left cephalic vein ascended supraclavicular course without any branch to the axillary vein, and terminated to the external jugular vein. We discussed the embryological explanation as well as its frequency since this jugulocephalic vein variant could cause unpredicted danger during clinical procedures.

Coexistence of a pectoralis quartus muscle, a supernumerary head of biceps brachii muscle and an accessory head of flexor digitorum profundus muscle.

Although anatomical variations in the upper limb are frequent, coexistence of multiple combined variations is rare. During a routine educational dissection at Jeju National University Medical School, three muscular variations were found in a 75-year-old Korean male cadaver, in which a supraclavicular cephalic vein was also found in ipsilateral upper extremity during skinning. Here we describe cha- racteristics of the pectoralis quartus muscle, the supernumerary head of biceps brachii muscle and an accessory head of flexor digitorum profundus muscle, and discuss their coexistence from morphological and embryological points of view.

Variations of clonal marrow stem cell lines established from human bone marrow in surface epitopes, differentiation potential, gene expression, and cytokine secretion.

Bone marrow has been considered to contain many different types of progenitor or stem cells. This study aims to establish a new strategy that provides for the rapid establishment of human clonal marrow stem cell (hcMSC) lines with a relatively small amount of bone marrow aspirate and to characterize newly generated hcMSC lines for their cell phenotype, differentiation potential, lineage-specific gene expression, and cytokine secretion. Human cMSC lines were generated with human bone marrow aspirates using a new protocol, called the subfractionation culturing method. The newly established hcMSC lines were analyzed for their cell surface epitopes by fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS), differentiation potential by in vitro differentiation assays, lineage-specific gene expression by RT-PCR, and cytokine secretion by enzyme-linked immunoassay (ELISA). The overall profile of the cell-surface epitopes of the newly established hcMSC lines was similar to those of the known MSCs. These hcMSC lines were capable of differentiating into multilineages with some differences in differentiation capability. In addition, these hcMSC lines secrete high levels of transforming growth factor-beta1 (TGF-beta1), leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF), TGF-alpha, and interleukein-10 (IL-10), again with some variation in each cell line. The newly designed protocol may be an efficient method to establish hcMSC lines rapidly with a relatively small amount of bone marrow sample, and these newly established hcMSC lines possess stem cell characteristics and exhibit some differences in cell-surface epitopes, differentiation potential, lineage-specific gene expression, and cytokine secretion.

Postnatal development of parvalbumin and calbindin D-28k immunoreactivities in the canine hippocampus.

The calcium-binding proteins, parvalbumin and calbindin D-28k, are markers of different classes of GABAergic interneurons and display different functions. The present study was attempted to determine immunoreactivities and colocalization of the parvalbumin and calbindin D-28k in the developing canine hippocampus by immunohistochemistry. The calcium-binding protein-containing neurons showed different developmental patterns. The first appearance of parvalbumin immunoreactive nonpyramidal cells was observed at P7. Parvalbumin immunoreactivity was elicited by the sequence from CA3 to CA1 to reach an adult-like distribution pattern, which was reached at P60, while calbindin D-28k immunoreactivity appeared from P0, including pyramidal and nonpyramidal cells. The characteristic distribution of calbindin D-28k immunoreactive pyramidal cells was clarified by P28, and an adult-like distribution pattern was reached by the end of the second postnatal month. Double-labeled nonpyramidal cells were frequently seen in the subareas, CA3 of P14/CA1-CA2 of P28, where parvalbumin immunoreactive nonpyramidal cells were emerging. These data suggest that the colocalization of the two calcium-binding proteins during development is related closely to the area-specific maturation of parvalbumin expression, although either prenatal expression of calbindin D-28k or parvalbumin was not determined.

Calbindin D-28k, parvalbumin and calcitonin gene-related peptide immunoreactivity in the canine spinal cord.

This study was conducted as a comparative analysis of the immunohistochemical localization of calbindin D-28k, parvalbumin and the calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) in the cervical through the sacral spinal cord of mongrel dogs, to reveal any distinct patterns of distribution and possible involvement in spinal processing. In laminae I and II of the substantia gelatinosa, both calbindin D-28k and CGRP showed strong immunoreactivity, with calbindin D-28k being positive in both cells and fibres, while CGRP was positive in fibres only. Parvalbumin and CGRP immunoreactive cells were widely distributed in various nuclei and lower motor neurones in the ventromedial horn. In addition, the lower motor neurones expressed CGRP as well as parvalbumin, but not calbindin D-28k. These results are generally consistent with previous reports, and the co-localization of parvalbumin and CGRP may explain the functional improvement of lower motor neuron disease.