The relationship of the parotid duct to the buccal and zygomatic branches of the facial nerve; an anatomical study with parameters of clinical interest.

There have been studies concerning the protection of the facial nerve during plastic surgery intended for the parotid gland. The close relationship between the parotid duct and the buccal and zygomatic branches of the facial nerve is studied here. The dissections were performed on 10 fixed cadavers at the Anatomy Dissection Laboratory of Ankara University in 2004. The reference points used for surgery of this region were taken into consideration as the landmarks for morphometric measurements. In 7 of the cases the zygomatic branch was double and in 3 it was single. In 4 of the 7 cases with a double zygomatic branch both superior and inferior branches crossed the parotid duct. In the remaining 3 cases the superior branches of the zygomatic nerve coursed through the zygomatic major and minor muscles. In 9 of all the cases the zygomatic branch of the facial nerve crossed the duct anteriorly and in one it did so posteriorly (case 10). The buccal branch was single in 4 of the cases and double in 6. Among these one of the most precise measurements was the distance between the lateral canthus and the intersection point of the zygomatic branch and the duct with a coefficient of variation of 9.9%. With the use of this reliable measurement the intersection point of the zygomatic branch and the duct may be estimated to be within 5.16+/-1.01 centimetres of the lateral canthus. Facial nerve paralysis is the most important complication of superficial face surgery and the anatomy of this region must thus be taken into detailed consideration by surgeons.

The origin and relations of the anterior choroidal artery: an anatomical study.

There has recently been an increase in surgical interventions to the inferior temporal lobe. The aim of the present study is to examine the anatomical structure and relations of the anterior choroidal artery, which extends to this region. A mixture of latex and ink was injected into the internal carotid and basilar arteries of 15 brains from fresh cadavers. In 18 out of 30 cases (60%) the anterior choroidal artery arose from the posteroinferior aspect of the internal carotid artery, in 8 (22.2%) from the posterolateral aspect and in 4 (2%) from its anterior part. The diameter of the anterior choroidal artery was 0.94 mm on average (0.7-1.2) and the average distance from the posterior communicating artery was 5.3 mm (3.8-8 mm); its distance to the bifurcation of the carotid was found to be 4.0 mm on average (2.2-8 mm). The cisternal segment of the anterior choroidal artery and the optic tract formed a neurovascular bundle. The branches arising from the plexal segment supply the lateral geniculate body, the thalamus and the optic tract. The resulting knowledge of the neurovascular relations of the anterior choroidal artery provides a safe surgical approach to the inferior temporal lobe.

A study of variations of transverse foramens of cervical vertebras in human: accessory foramina in shape and number.

Transverse foramens of 250 cervical vertebras were examined. There were accessory foramina and variations in shape and number in 10 out of 250 cervical vertebras. Since such a variation of foramens, through which the vertebral artery passes, has not been detected in the literature, these ten cases are to be considered.

Anomalous veins of the retroperitoneum: clinical considerations.

A case of complex anomalies (variations) of the veins of the retroperitoneum in a 57 year old male cadaver is presented. The anomaly involved a double inferior vena cava, with the left suprarenal v. draining into the left vena cava and the right testicular v. drained into the right renal v.. There was also no left common iliac v., with the left external iliac v. draining into the left vena cava and the left internal iliac v. into the right common iliac v.. Although duplication of the inferior vena cava has previously been reported the present case is interesting because of the complexity of the associated anomalies.

Relation of the radial nerve with the sulcus nervi radialis: a morphometric study.

The radial nerve's course from the axillary region, branch patterns and the relation of the nerve to fixed anatomical landmarks in the arm region were studied in 27 embalmed intact cadavers. The radial nerve and its relation with the sulcus nervus radialis (SNR) was analyzed. The direct contact of the nerve with humerus in SNR was observed during the dissections. The following measurements were made: the total length of the humerus (the palpable uppermost point of the tuberculum majus and the lateral epicondyle); proximal safe zone (the tuberculum majus and the proximal beginning of the SNR); distal safe zone (the intercondylar axis and the middle of SNR); lateral safe zone (the lateral epicondyle and the distal end of SNR). In conclusion, it was aimed to correlate the osseus palpable landmarks of humerus with the course of the radial nerve for a safe surgery as the sulcus nervi radialis region is one of the main risky areas for the radial nerve palsies.

Unusual branching in lumbar plexus: case report.

This article describes a complex bilateral variation in the formation of lumbar plexus in a 32 year old male cadaver. On the left side the plexus was postfixed and located posterior to the psoas major muscle. The femoral nerve was formed by the union of anterior rami of the second, third, fourth and fifth lumbar spinal nerves. On the right side, the lumbar plexus was prefixed. The lateral cutaneous nerve of the thigh was formed by the union of the anterior rami of the first and second lumbar spinal nerves. The femoral nerve formed by branches from the first, second, third and fifth lumbar spinal nerves while the obturator nerve was formed by the union of the first, second and third lumbar spinal nerves. The right lumbar plexus was located in the substance of the psoas major muscle. In the present case, the formation of branches of the lumbar plexus were different from the previous data present in the literature.

The evaluation of long-term effects of cinnamon bark and olive leaf on toxicity induced by streptozotocin administration to rats.

The effects of cinnamon bark and olive leaf have been investigated on streptozotocin-induced tissue injury, and some biochemical and haematological changes in rats. The effects on glycaemia were also evaluated. Long-term administration of olive leaf caused significant improvement in tissue injury induced by streptozotocin treatment; the effect of cinnamon bark was less extent. No effects on blood glucose levels were detected. However, significant decreases in some increased biochemical and haematological parameters of streptozotocin-treated rats were observed. Aspartate aminotransferase, urea and cholesterol levels were significantly decreased by treatment with both plant materials, and alanine aminotransferase by treatment with olive leaf. Cinnamon bark also caused a significant decrease in platelet counts. In addition, any visible toxicity, except decrease in body weight gain, attributable to the long-term use of plant materials was not established in normal rats. The data indicate that long-term use of olive leaf and cinnamon bark may provide benefit against diabetic conditions. Determination of underlying mechanism(s) of beneficial effects, toxicity to other systems and clinical assessments of related plant materials are major topics requiring further studies.

Complex variation of the superficial palmar arch--case report.

This article describes a complex variation in the pattern of blood supply to the palm of the hand. In the present case; a) the superficial palmar branch of the radial a. coursed superficial to the thenar mm.; b) The princeps pollicis and radialis indicis aa. arose from the superficial palmar branch of the radial a.; c) The first and second common palmar digital aa. arose as a common trunk from the superficial palmar arch.

Significance of serum protein and lipid-bound sialic acid as a marker for genitourinary malignancies.

A prospective study was done to evaluate the roles of serum N-acetylneuraminic acid (NANA) and the lipid-bound subfraction of sialic acid (LSA) concentrations in the detection and staging of cancer, and the follow-up of treatment in patients with genitourinary malignancies. Multiple determinations were obtained in 177 subjects: 90 normal volunteers, 38 patients with prostate cancer, 20 patients with bladder cancer, 15 patients with renal cell cancer, and 14 patients with benign urologic diseases. The results showed a low incidence of elevated values in patients with early stages of cancer and a high incidence of false-positive values with serum NANA concentrations in patients with benign urologic diseases, especially prostatitis. Serum NANA and LSA concentrations were highly correlated with the stage and grade in patients with advanced urologic cancer, and may be used as markers of tumor activity during follow-up under treatment; currently, however, they are not useful in the screening of patients for urologic cancer. Their usefulness in prostatic cancer is at least comparable to that of acid phosphatase determinations by the enzymatic and radioimmunoassay methods, which were elevated in a smaller percentage of patients with prostate cancer than were the NANA or LSA concentrations.

Use and limitations of serum total and lipid-bound sialic acid concentrations as markers for colorectal cancer.

Concentrations of total serum N-acetyl-neuraminic acid (NANA) by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and lipid-bound sialic acid (LSA) by resorcinol procedure were evaluated and compared to carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) as markers for colorectal carcinoma. Elevated concentrations of NANA were found in 32% of patients with nonmalignant disorders, 28% of patients with localized cancer, and 87% of patients with metastatic cancer. All three markers correlated with the extent of metastasis of colorectal carcinoma. Strong correlation was found between NANA and LSA measurements, whereas measurement of the sialic acid markers provide information that can not be derived from the measurement of CEA. NANA and LSA show promise as supplemental markers for staging and monitoring colorectal cancer, but they are neither sensitive nor specific enough for cancer screening.