Home About us Contact
|
Home About us Contact | ||
|
|
||
Cranial Cavity (cranial + cavity)
Selected AbstractsEndoscopic investigation of the internal organs of a 15th-century child mummy from Yangju, KoreaJOURNAL OF ANATOMY, Issue 5 2006Seok Bae Kim Abstract Our previous reports on medieval mummies in Korea have provided information on their preservation status. Because invasive techniques cannot easily be applied when investigating such mummies, the need for non-invasive techniques incurring minimal damage has increased among researchers. Therefore, we wished to confirm whether endoscopy, which has been used in non-invasive and minimally invasive studies of mummies around the world, is an effective tool for study of Korean mummies as well. In conducting an endoscopic investigation on a 15th-century child mummy, we found that well-preserved internal organs remained within the thoracic, abdominal and cranial cavities. The internal organs , including the brain, spinal cord, lung, muscles, liver, heart, intestine, diaphragm and mesentery , were easily investigated by endoscopy. Even the stool of the mummy, which accidentally leaked into the abdominal cavity during an endoscopic biopsy, was clearly observed. In addition, unusual nodules were found on the surface of the intestines and liver. Our current study therefore showed that endoscopic observation could provide an invaluable tool for the palaeo-pathological study of Korean mummies. This technique will continue to be used in the study of medieval mummy cases in the future. [source] Olfactory Neural Cells: An Untapped Diagnostic and Therapeutic ResourceTHE LARYNGOSCOPE, Issue 4 2002Christopher Perry MBBS, FRACS Abstract Objective This is an overview of the cellular biology of upper nasal mucosal cells that have special characteristics that enable them to be used to diagnose and study congenital neurological diseases and to aid neural repair. Study Design After mapping the distribution of neural cells in the upper nose, the authors' investigations moved to the use of olfactory neurones to diagnose neurological diseases of development, especially schizophrenia. Olfactory-ensheathing glial cells (OEGs) from the cranial cavity promote axonal penetration of the central nervous system and aid spinal cord repair in rodents. The authors sought to isolate these cells from the more accessible upper nasal cavity in rats and in humans and prove they could likewise promote neural regeneration, making these cells suitable for human spinal repair investigations. Methods The schizophrenia-diagnosis aspect of the study entailed the biopsy of the olfactory areas of 10 schizophrenic patients and 10 control subjects. The tissue samples were sliced and grown in culture medium. The ease of cell attachment to fibronectin (artificial epithelial basement membrane), as well as the mitotic and apoptotic indices, was studied in the presence and absence of dopamine in those cell cultures. The neural repair part of the study entailed a harvesting and insertion of first rat olfactory lamina propria rich in OEGs between cut ends of the spinal cords and then later the microinjection of an OEG-rich suspension into rat spinal cords previously transected by open laminectomy. Further studies were done in which OEG insertion was performed up to 1 month after rat cord transection and also in monkeys. Results Schizophrenic patients' olfactory tissues do not easily attach to basement membrane compared with control subjects, adding evidence to the theory that cell wall anomalies are part of the schizophrenic "lesion" of neurones. Schizophrenic patient cell cultures had higher mitotic and apoptotic indices compared with control subjects. The addition of dopamine altered these indices enough to allow accurate differentiation of schizophrenics from control patients, leading to, possibly for the first time, an early objective diagnosis of schizophrenia and possible assessment of preventive strategies. OEGs from the nose were shown to be as effective as those from the olfactory bulb in promoting axonal growth across transected spinal cords even when added 1 month after injury in the rat. These otherwise paraplegic rats grew motor and proprioceptive and fine touch fibers with corresponding behavioral improvement. Conclusions The tissues of the olfactory mucosa are readily available to the otolaryngologist. Being surface cells, they must regenerate (called "neurogenesis"). Biopsy of this area and amplification of cells in culture gives the scientist a "window to the developing brain," including early diagnosis of schizophrenia. The "Holy Grail" of neurological disease is the cure of traumatic paraplegia and OEGs from the nose promote that repair. The otolaryngologist may become the necessary partner of the neurophysiologist and spinal surgeon to take the laboratory potential of paraplegic cure into the day-to-day realm of clinical reality. [source] CT and Cross-sectional Anatomy of the Normal Head of the Loggerhead Sea Turtle (Caretta caretta)ANATOMIA, HISTOLOGIA, EMBRYOLOGIA, Issue 2005A. Arencibia The objective of this study is to describe the CT anatomy of the normal loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta) head using three loggerhead sea turtle heads. CT imaging was performed using the following parameters: K.v.: 120 mAs: 220, and a soft-tissue window (WW 1880, WL 465): Transverse and sagittal CT images were obtained. Detailed anatomy of the head was acquired with the sagittal and transverse series. The heads were frozen and then sectioned using an electric saw, to compare them with the CT images. In CT, the grey scale is directly related to the radiation attenuation of the head structures. The skull and hyoid bones, and the lower jaw were easily identifiable due to the high CT density image compared to adjacent or surrounding structures such as the respiratory system, oral cavity, oesophagus and cranial cavity that appeared as a low opacity. The nervous structures, salt gland, eyeball, ramphoteca structure and different muscles of the head had an intermediate CT density and appeared grey. CT images of the loggerhead sea turtle head provided excellent detail of clinically relevant anatomy and correlated well with corresponding gross specimens. CT of the head has considerable advantages over other techniques: CT provides excellent spatial resolution and good discrimination between bone and soft tissue, and the structures are viewed without superimposition. The planimetric or sectional anatomy of the head allows a correct morphologic and topographic evaluation of the anatomic structures, which is a useful tool for the identification of the CT images. With developing technology, CT imaging may soon become more readily available for exotic animals imaging. In the same way, we consider it quite useful to be able to establish some references on head, in order to scan only selected parts during a clinical or experimental approach. The information presented in this communication should serve as an initial reference to evaluate CT images of the loggerhead sea turtle head and to assist interpretation of lesions of this region. [source] Applying circular posterior-hinged craniotomy to malignant cerebral edemasCLINICAL ANATOMY, Issue 3 2002H. Traxler Abstract Malignant brain edemas are often fatal, regardless of whether they are treated conservatively with sedation, blood pressure management, mannitol-therapy, hyperventilation and hypothermia, or non-conservatively with routine trepanation. Unfortunately, temporal trepanation may result in significant brain damage through herniation of the cerebrum at the edges of the trepanation openings. In one case of a 26-year-old male with severe head injury, a circular posterior-hinged craniotomy (CPHC) was performed after an ineffective unitemporal trepanation for evacuation of an acute subdural hematoma. This ultimately successful operation prompted experimental and morphologic investigations on a new surgical procedure for lowering intracranial pressure (ICP). In 12 of 15 human cadavers, an experimentally ICP was lowered by a CPHC with between 9,21 mm of frontal elevation of the calvaria. Using computer simulation, the frontal elevations of the calvaria were "virtually" performed on 3D reconstructions from CT scans of skulls, and the intracranial volume gained was measured with a computer software program. The volume increase of the cranial cavity showed a relatively constant relation to the cranial capacity and was increased by 6.0% (±0.4%) or 78 cm3 with a 10 mm elevation and by 12.4% (±0.7%) or 160 cm3 with a 20 mm elevation. There were no significant differences with skulls of different ages or ethnic origin; however, a significant effect of gender (F = 7.074; P , 0.013) on the gained volume in percent of the cranial capacity for the 20 mm elevation was observed. This difference can be explained by the inverse relationship between volume increase and cranial capacity (r = ,0.507; P , 0.004). Clin. Anat. Month:173,181, 2002. © 2002 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] | ||||||||||