Unilateral absence of the lunate sulcus: an anatomical perspective.

The present study examines the gross anatomical features of anomalous lunate sulcus detected incidentally in a cadaveric brain and discusses its clinical importance. The absence of lunate sulcus was carefully studied in a dissected brain specimen. The absence of lunate sulcus was observed unilaterally on the right side of a cadaveric brain specimen. The lunate sulcus was clearly appreciated on the left side whilst on the right side it was absent. The right hemisphere of the cerebellum was also bigger in size as compared to the left. The absence of lunate sulcus is a rare finding, which may be detected incidentally. The anatomical knowledge of the lunate sulcus may be important for neurosurgeons operating on the occipital lobe and the radiologists interpreting CT scan.

Unusual venous sinuses.

The dural venous sinuses lie in between the two layers of the dura mater. The dural venous sinuses are important, because they receive blood from the brain and the cranial bones. All sinuses are related to the inner surface of the skull, except for the inferior sagittal and the straight sinus. The sinuses related to the inner surface of the skull produce impressions on it. During routine ostelogical teaching for undergraduate medical students, we observed an unusual oblique sinus, which connected the right and the left transverse sinuses. This unusual oblique sinus measured 2 cm and had a course from the right to the left side. The superior sagittal sinus turned onto the right but at a much higher level than the left transverse sinus. Although these sinuses communicated with each other, the normal position of the confleunce of the sinus (meeting point of superior sagittal sinus, right and left transverse sinus and the occipital sinus) was not seen. The impression meant for the posterior lobe of the left cerebral hemisphere was distinctly greater than that of the right side. The presence of such an anomaly suggests a possible developmental defect or handedness of the individual. The knowledge of the anatomical variations of the dural venous sinuses may have great clinical implications during venography, shunt surgeries and also helpful for neurologists and radiologists in addition to academic interest (Fig. 2, Ref 10) Full Text (Free, PDF) www.bmj.sk.

Spina bifida with higher position of sacral hiatus: a case report with clinical implications.

Spina bifida is a developmental defect in the vertebral column, in which the laminae fail to fuse and thereby the spinal cord is relatively unprotected. We report a case of spina bifida, in a dried specimen of sacrum, characterized by a prominent S1 spine and a higher sacral hiatus. Conventional textbooks of anatomy provide less information about the clinical implications of such anomalies and research studies are the only source of information. The present study, discusses in detail, the structural and radiological aspects of spina bifida, with a higher sacral hiatus. Precise knowledge of normal and abnormal anatomy of the sacrum may be clinically important for anesthetists, neurologists, radiologists and orthopedic surgeons, in their clinical practice (Fig. 3, Ref. 16). Full Text (Free, PDF) www.bmj.sk

Anatomical study of anomalous posterior horn of lateral ventricle of brain and its clinical significance.

The present cadaveric study, describes asymmetrical right cerebral hemisphere and anomalous posterior horn of the right lateral ventricle and discusses its clinical implications. The occipital lobe of right cerebral hemisphere extended more posteriorly as compared to the left and so did the posterior horn of the lateral ventricle, resulting in the thinning of the occipital cortex. Till now, the dimension and volumetric study of the lateral ventricles have been usually performed by MRI and CT scans. A gross anatomical study of such a case, is the rarest of its kind. The abnormal anatomy of the lateral ventricles may be of great academic interest regarding CSF circulation and also important for clinical, radiological and surgical interventions (Fig. 2, Ref 8). Full Text (Free, PDF) www.bmj.sk.