Cerebral arterial and ventricular morphology of the dogfish (Squalus acanthias), American bullfrog (Rana catesbeiana), and green iguana (Iguana iguana): Arterial high-resolution micro-CT, dissection, and radiography study.

This study's objective was to investigate obtaining high-resolution micro-computed tomography (CT) imaging of the injected arterial circulation of the brains of the dogfish (Squalus acanthias), American bullfrog (Rana catesbeiana), and green iguana (Iguana iguana). No micro-CT images of the arterial morphology of the brains of these vertebrates were previously published. Micro-CT imaging was performed on brains that had the cerebral arterial and ventricular systems injected with a radiopaque barium-gelatin compound in the early 1970s. These specimens were dissected and placed in a preservative fluid for 35 years, until imaged with micro-CT. The obtained micro-CT images were processed with a software program that provided 3D rotational motion rendering, and sequential display of 2D renderings of the micro-CT data. The anatomic information provided by the high-resolution micro-CT is not reproducible by any other radiopaque contrast currently available, without tissue removal corrosion, and enhanced the dissection information. The digital videos of the micro-CT 3D rotational motion rendering and sequential display of 2D renderings of the dogfish, bullfrog, and green iguana, demonstrate the extent of the arterial network within the brain, the arterial segments obscured by overlying structures such as nerves, and identified in the bullfrog the venous cerebral circulation resulting from the centrifugal leptomeningeal arterial capillaries. The rotational 3D images separated superimposed arterial structures, and the sequential display of the 2D renderings clarifies the relationship of cut or overlapped arterial branches. Comparing the brain and arterial morphology of the dogfish, bullfrog, and green iguana demonstrates some of the evolutionary modifications in these vertebrates.

Comparative anatomy of the middle cerebral artery, rhinal and endorhinal sulci, piriform lobe, entorhinal cortex, olfactory tubercule, anterior perforate substance, and hippocampus: A dissection study.

The literature describing the complex anatomy of the middle cerebral artery (MCA), lenticulostriate arteries, and recurrent artery of Heubner, does not discuss the comparative anatomy of the cerebrum, MCA, the recurrent artery of Heubner, and the relationship of the MCA with the rhinal sulci. The entorhinal literature does not detail the comparative anatomic modification of the rhinal and endorhinal sulci, piriform lobe and the hippocampus's compressed positional change in the temporal lobe. This investigation's objectives were to analyze the comparative anatomic modifications of the cerebrum, the MCA, lenticulostriate arteries, recurrent artery of Heubner, olfactory tubercule, anterior perforate substance, rhinal sulcus, endorhinal sulcus, piriform lobe, entorhinal cortex, and hippocampus. Brain dissections of adult iguana, rabbit, sheep, cat, dog, macaque, human and human fetal specimens were analyzed. The MCA branches enter the striate nuclei via the endorhinal sulcus, with few branches present in the rhinal sulcus. Modifications of the cerebrum, with the development of gyri and sulci and opercula covering the insula, changes the linear surface configuration of the MCA into a tridimensional one. Similar changes are present in human fetal specimens. The cerebral neocortical expansion changes the position of the rhinal and endorhinal sulci, their relationship with the MCA, the size of the olfactory tubercule, the position and size of the piriform lobe, and the diagonal course of the lenticulostriates and recurrent artery of Heubner. The hippocampus becomes compressed in the inferomedial region of the human temporal lobe. The lenticulostriate arteries are likely the first developed component of the MCA.

Comparative anatomy of dissected optic lobes, optic ventricles, midbrain tectum, collicular ventricles, and aqueduct: evolutionary modifications as potential explanation for non-tumoral aqueductal anomalies in humans.

PURPOSE: An extensive literature has postulated multiple etiologies for aqueductal stenosis. No publications were found, discussing that evolutionary modifications might explain aqueductal anomalies. This study's objectives were to review the evolutionary modifications of vertebrates' tectum structures that might explain human aqueduct anomalies. Undertaking vertebrate comparative study is currently not feasible in view of limitations in obtaining vertebrate material. Thus, vertebrate material collected, injected, dissected, and radiographed in the early 1970s was analyzed, focusing on the aqueduct and components of the midbrain tectum. METHODS: Photographs of brain dissections and radiographs of the cerebral ventricles and arteries of adult shark, frog, iguana, rabbit, cat, dog, and primate specimens, containing a barium-gelatin radiopaque compound, were analyzed focusing on the aqueduct, the optic ventricles, the quadrigeminal plate, and collicular ventricles. The anatomic information provided by the dissections and radiographs is not reproducible by any other radiopaque contrast currently available. RESULTS: Dissected and radiographed cerebral ventricular and arterial systems of the vertebrates demonstrated midbrain tectum changes, including relative size modifications of the mammalian components of the tectum, simultaneously with the enlargement of the occipital lobe. There is a transformation of pre-mammalian optic ventricles to what appear to be collicular ventricles in mammals, as the aqueduct and collicular ventricle form a continuous cavity. CONCLUSIONS: The mammalian tectum undergoes an evolutionary cephalization process consisting of relative size changes of the midbrain tectum structures. This is associated with enlargement of the occipital lobe, as part of overall neocortical expansion. Potentially, aqueductal anomalies could be explained by evolutionary modifications.

The cavernous carotid inferolateral trunk and persistent primitive maxillary arteries: analysis of dissected arterially injected fetal specimens and high-resolution micro-CT of the dog's anastomotic arteries.

PURPOSE: The presence of a persistent primitive maxillary artery is described in the literature dealing with the development of the cavernous carotid inferolateral trunk, and the relevant similarities of the cranial circulation of the human and dog. The literature includes no dissection photographs of the above-mentioned two human fetal arteries, only diagrammatic representations. This study's objectives were to analyze photographs of fetal dissections for the presence of these two arteries, and also investigate the possibility of obtaining, in preserved dog specimens, high-resolution micro-CT imaging of arteries homologous with the above-mentioned two human arteries. METHODS: The literature describing the embryologic development of the cavernous carotid inferolateral trunk, the persistent primitive maxillary arteries, and their homologies in the dog was reviewed. Relevant dissections of fetal specimens were analyzed. High-resolution micro-CT images of un-dissected dog arteries were produced and analyzed. RESULTS: Photographs of fetal specimen dissections demonstrate the cavernous carotid inferolateral trunk. A separate persistent primitive maxillary artery was not present in the dissected specimens. High-resolution micro-CT images of the dog demonstrate homologous arteries with segments of the human inferolateral trunk, and other skull base and brain arteries. CONCLUSION: This investigation provides the only photographs in the literature of dissected human fetal cavernous carotid inferolateral trunks. A persistent primitive maxillary artery was not present in the dissected specimens and is a non-existent structure, likely a previously misidentified carotid inferolateral trunk. High-resolution micro-CT images of the dog visualized arteries that are homologous to segments of the human cavernous carotid inferolateral trunk artery.

Sphenoidal artery: review of the literature and analysis of a dissected arterially injected fetal orbit.

PURPOSE: The sphenoidal artery is considered a component of the complex and dangerous arterial anastomoses of the human orbitocranial region, particularly with the advent of interventional neuroimaging. The objective of this publication was to analyze the various descriptions of the sphenoidal artery in the literature as related to relevant photographs of a dissected arterially injected fetal middle cranial fossa and orbit. METHODS: Publications dealing with middle meningeal-ophthalmic arterial anastomoses, focusing on the sphenoidal artery, were reviewed. A relevant dissection of a fetal specimen was analyzed. RESULTS: The literature dealing with the sphenoidal artery is at times not in agreement. The nomenclature and anatomy of its passage through the superior orbital fissure or Hyrtl canal have variable descriptions. Photographs of the skull base of a dissected arterially injected fetal specimen show bilateral prominent orbital branches of the middle meningeal arteries. These branches entered both orbits in a course similar to the diagrammatic representations of the sphenoidal artery, and give rise to several major intraorbital arteries. This study provides the only photographic image in the literature of this variation in a human fetal anatomic dissection. CONCLUSIONS: Review of the literature dealing with the sphenoidal artery shows inconsistent nomenclature and conflicting descriptions of its anastomotic connections, and varying evolutionary and embryologic theories. Analysis of the dissected fetal skull base indicates that the sphenoidal artery is not a distinct artery but just a middle meningeal orbital arterial branch, an important component of the complex and dangerous arterial anastomoses of the human orbitocranial region.

"The dead shall be raised": Multidisciplinary analysis of human skeletons reveals complexity in 19th century immigrant socioeconomic history and identity in New Haven, Connecticut.

In July 2011, renovations to Yale-New Haven Hospital inadvertently exposed the cemetery of Christ Church, New Haven, Connecticut's first Catholic cemetery. While this cemetery was active between 1833 and 1851, both the church and its cemetery disappeared from public records, making the discovery serendipitous. Four relatively well-preserved adult skeletons were recovered with few artifacts. All four individuals show indicators of manual labor, health and disease stressors, and dental health issues. Two show indicators of trauma, with the possibility of judicial hanging in one individual. Musculoskeletal markings are consistent with physical stress, and two individuals have arthritic indicators of repetitive movement/specialized activities. Radiographic analyses show osteopenia, healed trauma, and other pathologies in several individuals. Dental calculus analysis did not identify any tuberculosis indicators, despite osteological markers. Isotopic analyses of teeth indicate that all four were likely recent immigrants to the Northeastern United States. Nuclear and mitochondrial DNA were recovered from three individuals, and these analyses identified ancestry, hair/eye color, and relatedness. Genetic and isotopic results upended our initial ancestry assessment based on burial context alone. These individuals provide biocultural evidence of New Haven's Industrial Revolution and the plasticity of ethnic and religious identity in the immigrant experience. Their recovery and the multifaceted analyses described here illuminate a previously undescribed part of the city's rich history. The collective expertise of biological, geochemical, archaeological, and historical researchers interprets socioeconomic and cultural identity better than any one could alone. Our combined efforts changed our initial assumptions of a poor urban Catholic cemetery's membership, and provide a template for future discoveries and analyses.

High-Resolution Computed Tomography Imaging of the Cranial Arterial System and Rete Mirabile of the Cat (Felis catus).

The objective of this study was to investigate the possibility of obtaining high-resolution multiplanar computed tomography (CT) imaging of the cranial arterial circulation of the cat (Felis catus), the rete mirabile, and components of the skull, utilizing preserved cat specimens with an arterial system that was injected with a radiopaque contrast compound in the early 1970s. Review of the literature shows no high-resolution CT studies of the cat's cranial circulation, with only few plain radiographic studies, all with limited cranial vascular visualization. In view of the inability of the radiographic techniques available from 1970s to mid-2000s to provide high-resolution imaging of the arterial circulation within the intact skull and brain of the cat, without dissection and histologic sectioning and disruption of tissues, no further imaging was performed for many years. In 2010, a high-resolution micro CT scanner became available, large enough to scan the entire nondissected head of the arterially injected cats. All the obtained CT images were processed with a software program that provided 3D volume rendering and multiplanar reconstruction with the ability to change the plane angulation and slab thickness. These technical features permitted more precise identification of specific arterial and bony anatomy. The obtained images demonstrated, with a nondestructive method, high-resolution vascular anatomy of the cerebral, orbital, facial arterial system, the rete mirabile, and skull bone components of the cat, with details not previously described in the literature. Anat Rec, 302:1958-1967, 2019. © 2019 The Authors. The Anatomical Record published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of American Association of Anatomists.

The importance of pathophysiology to the understanding of functional limitations in the bioarchaeology of care approach.

This article presents a partial bioarchaeology of care case study of a mummified adult female with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) from late historic period United States. It examines likely clinical and functional impacts of disease and corresponding need for provision of care, stopping short of Stage 4 Interpretation/analysis. The case study illustrates and argues for the importance of an interdisciplinary research team for achieving a comprehensive understanding of disability and care. The article highlights the necessity of knowledge of pathophysiology for identifying the potential interventions (supports) dictated by the associated functional limitations. inter alia, this case is a powerful illustration of the way analysis of preserved soft tissue can provide insights into disease and likely care that are inaccessible using skeletal analysis alone. The article represents an interesting contribution to the theory and methodology of both the bioarchaeology of care approach and mummy studies.

MUMAB: A Conversation With the Past.

In May of 1994, Drs. Bob Brier and Ronn Wade produced the first modern mummy embalmed in the ancient Egyptian tradition. MUMAB (Mummy, University of Maryland At Baltimore) has been studied over the intervening 18 years as part of the Mummy Replication Project, including high-resolution computed tomography scanning, magnetic resonance imaging, and histological examination. The radiological study of MUMAB is combined here with the firsthand discussion of the processes that resulted in the mummy's radiographic appearance. This allows for a close examination of the assumptions made in the radiological study of ancient Egyptian mummified human remains in a way not possible for the ancient remains themselves.

Forensic considerations for preprocessing effects on clinical MDCT scans.

Manipulation of digital photographs destined for medico-legal inquiry must be thoroughly documented and presented with explanation of any manipulations. Unlike digital photography, computed tomography (CT) data must pass through an additional step before viewing. Reconstruction of raw data involves reconstruction algorithms to preprocess the raw information into display data. Preprocessing of raw data, although it occurs at the source, alters the images and must be accounted for in the same way as postprocessing. Repeated CT scans of a gunshot wound phantom were made using the Toshiba Aquilion 64-slice multidetector CT scanner. The appearance of fragments, high-density inclusion artifacts, and soft tissue were assessed. Preprocessing with different algorithms results in substantial differences in image output. It is important to appreciate that preprocessing affects the image, that it does so differently in the presence of high-density inclusions, and that preprocessing algorithms and scanning parameters may be used to overcome the resulting artifacts.