Variation in the formation of the retromandibular and the external jugular veins with embryological overview: A case report.

Awareness of the formation and termination of the head & neck's superficial vein, such as jugular veins, are imperative for anatomists, surgeons, and radiologists during interventional procedures. We report an uncommon variation in the formation of the retromandibular vein and external jugular vein (EJV) in an embalmed male cadaver's right side. The joining of the facial vein and superficial temporal vein within the parotid gland formed the retromandibular vein (RMV). The anterior division joined with the submental vein forming an anomalous venous trunk. The anomalous vein united with the EJV forming a common trunk in the lower third of the neck and terminated into the subclavian vein. We compared the available literature and justified the embryological development of this rare variation.

Determining the effect of folate diets during pregnancy and lactation on neurobehavioural changes in the adult life of offspring.

OBJECTIVES: Animal and human studies have demonstrated that folic acid (FA) is essential for nervous system and brain development. In humans, insufficient maternal FA intake is known to cause neural tube defects, autism spectrum, and other neurodevelopmental disorders in children. The present study aimed to determine the impact of maternal FA supplementation on psychomotor skills and learning and memory functions in their adult offspring. METHODS: Eighteen female Wistar rats were randomly divided into three groups. The animals were fed three different concentrations of FA from preconception to pregnancy and during lactation. The adult offspring were assessed for neurobehavioural changes and histological confirmation by hippocampal neuron quantification. RESULTS: Neurobehavioural assessment revealed a significantly smaller number of alternations, a higher percentage bias, and a greater number of working and reference memory errors. The increased time spent in the dark compartment in the FA-supplementation group indicated deficit(s) in learning memory. Hippocampal neuron quantification revealed a higher mean number of viable neurons in the cornu ammonis (CA) region in the control group (CA1 region, 31.2 ± 3.2; CA3 region, 23.2 ± 3.2), with a distinct nucleus in both regions, and least in the FA-supplementation group (CA1 region, 24.2 ± 3.1; CA3 region, 15.2 ± 2.2). CONCLUSION: Results of this investigation support the possible negative effect of high levels of maternal FA supplementation during pregnancy and lactation. Such alterations potentially lead to neurobehavioural changes in the adult offspring of Wistar rats.

Effects of Lead in Various Preparatory Stages of Nagabhasma on Function and Histopathology of Cornu Ammonis of Hippocampus.

INTRODUCTION: Heavy metals are frequently used in the preparations of traditional/folk medicines. One such preparation in Ayurveda is Nagabhasma, in which lead is the main ingredient. Lead is non-essential element to the human body and is known toxic substance to many organ systems. However, it is claimed that, the highly toxic metallic lead will be converted into health beneficial organo-metallic compound when raw lead is subjected to various traditional methods of purification during preparation as mentioned in the ancient medicinal system. AIM: The present study is designed to evaluate the effect of such detoxification of lead in various stages of authentically prepared Nagabhasma on the learning and memory. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Using half of the human equivalent doses of traditionally prepared Nagabhasma, at intermittent stages of its preparation were fed orally to healthy Wistar rats for 30 days. After treatment, the immediate effect and residual effect after 2 months was evaluated by subjecting them to passive avoidance test. Then rats were sacrificed and hippocampus was collected for histopathological evaluation. RESULTS: Pure lead treated animals showed deficit in learning and memory which is indicated by spending more time in the dark compartment in passive avoidance test. However, animals treated with stage 1 to 4 Nagabhasma showed gradual increase in the memory and learning. This observation is substantiated by the findings of the histopathology of the Cornu Ammonis (CA) region of hippocampus. CONCLUSION: The results of the present study indicate that, the metallic toxicity of the lead used in the preparation of bhasma was gradually decreased from stage 1 to stage 4 of preparation. Therefore, the traditional way of preparing the metallic bhasma is very critical in eliminating the possible health hazardous metallic lead toxicity.

Unilateral anatomical variation of the ansa cervicalis.

The ansa cervicalis is a loop of nerves that is usually formed by the union of ventral rami of spinal nerves C1, C2, and C3. It is located in the carotid triangle of the neck, lying superficial to the carotid sheath. During routine dissection, unilateral variation of the ansa cervicalis was observed. The superior root, arising from hypoglossal nerve, was initially bifurcated and later united to form a single superior root. IN addition, the inferior root consisted of fibres arising from the spinal accessory nerve, C1, C2 and C3 spinal nerves that joined separately. Fibres from the spinal accessory and C1 joined to form a single root. Thus, a 'triple form' of ansa cervicalis was observed. An interconnection was observed between the C2 and C3 fibres. Knowledge of such anatomical variations is important for surgery, clinical intervention or trauma involving the carotid triangle or the structures within or deep to this region.

Variations in the lobes and fissures of lungs - a study in South Indian lung specimens

Detailed knowledge of variations in the lobes and fissures of the lungs is important for radiologists to be able to correctly interpret radiological images and also for clinicians in planning segmental resection or pulmonary lobectomy. The right lung normally has three lobes divided by two fissures, and the left lung has two lobes divided by one fissure. Many studies have presented variations in the fissural and lobar patterns of the lungs through radiological examination, CT scan, and also through embalmed cadavers and specimens. We have conducted a study on 76 formalin-fixed lung specimens (36 right and 40 left) from male cadavers ranging from 45-65 years of age to characterize the variations in the formalin-fixed lung specimens from a population of South Indian origin. It was found that four out of seventy-six lungs (5%) exhibited accessory lobes, and fourteen out of seventy-six lungs (18%) presented accessory fissures. These findings are of clinical importance and also of academic interest to all in the medical field

No disponible

Anomalous azygos venous system in a south Indian cadaver: a case report.

INTRODUCTION: The posterior thoracic wall, an area drained by the azygos venous system, is a common site for surgical intervention. Since the venous part of the cardiovascular system is subject to most common variation, abnormalities in the azygos venous system are often reported. CASE PRESENTATION: During routine dissection classes for undergraduate medical students, we encountered a variation in the azygos venous system in a 65 years old south Indian male cadaver. We observed that there was no accessory azygos vein, and left 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th posterior intercostal veins terminated directly into azygos vein. CONCLUSION: Identifying these types of variations is important during imaging this region and surgical operations of mediastinum.