Neuroanatomy

Unilateral degeneration in hippocampus of female rat

Tue, 11 Mar 2008 10:30:00 GMT

Bhatnagar M, Shukla SD.
Study demonstrates occurrence of unilateral type neurodegeneration in hippocampal sub region (CA2 and CA4) of female rats that given four hours swimming stress and unique rotational behavior. Stressed rats’ brain sections, stained with cresyl violet, passing through bregma -1.8 to -3.8 levels, demonstrated degenerative changes in the cell bodies of CA2 and CA4 hippocampal sub regions of right hemisphere. These changes were observed in 50% of rats. Reason lying behind the unilateral degeneration after exposure to swimming stress could not be explained. To our knowledge, it is the first report demonstrating unilateral hippocampal degeneration.
© NEUROANATOMY 2008; 7: 1-5.

Unilateral, double hypoglossal nerves leaving the cranial cavity through two hypoglossal foramina – a case report

Tue, 11 Mar 2008 10:30:00 GMT

Nayak SB.
Hypoglossal nerve is the twelfth cranial nerve. It functionally and clinically important since it is supplies most of the muscles of the tongue. Here we report the doubling of the left hypoglossal nerve. The hypoglossal nerve of the left side had two roots which pierced the dura separately and entered two hypoglossal canals and reunited in the occipital bone and emerged out of the skull as a single hypoglossal nerve. Knowledge of this anatomical variation may be important to various fields of medicine.
© NEUROANATOMY 2008; 7: 6-7.

Neuromuscular variations in the posterior triangle of the neck – a case report

Tue, 11 Mar 2008 10:30:00 GMT

George BM, Nayak SB.
The lower part of the posterior triangle of the neck is one of the important areas of the body because of the presence of brachial plexus. The thorough knowledge of anatomy and anatomical variations in this region are important for surgeons, anesthesiologist and physiotherapists. We report here the neuromuscular variations at the lower part of the posterior triangle of the neck. In the current case, the dorsal scapular nerve made a loop around the deep branch of transverse cervical artery. There was an additional muscle arising from the first rib and getting inserted to the inner surface of the superior angle of the scapula. The long thoracic nerve pierced this additional muscle. The loop of dorsal scapular nerve around the artery may lead to neurovascular symptoms and the abnormal muscle pierced by the long thoracic nerve may cause to neuromuscular symptoms.
© NEUROANATOMY 2008; 7: 8-9.

Variation in the branching pattern of posterior cord of brachial plexus

Tue, 11 Mar 2008 10:30:00 GMT

Bhat KMR, Grijavallabhan V.
During the routine dissection in the department of Anatomy, KMC, Manipal, we found a rare and unreported variation in the branching pattern of the posterior cord of brachial plexus. Normally, a single posterior cord is formed by the union of posterior divisions of the trunks of the brachial plexus. All the branches of the posterior cord arise from this single cord. Here we report that, after formation of posterior cord, the cord has divided again into two roots, and enclosed the subscapular artery. Then, these two roots fused to continue as radial nerve. In this report, we also describe the variations in the branching pattern of the posterior cord and clinical relevance of this variation.
© NEUROANATOMY 2008; 7: 10-11.

A novel degenerative process of the thalamus, red nucleus and connecting pathways

Tue, 11 Mar 2008 10:30:00 GMT

McQueen AS, Butteriss D, McHanwell S, Bates D, Birchall D.
A 51-year-old man presented with 7 year slowly progressive focal tremor affecting the left hand and arm. There were no associated neurological findings and no biochemical or genetic cause could be identified. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) demonstrated extensive symmetrical abnormality involving the thalamus, red nuclei and associated pathways. This appearance has not, to our knowledge, been previously reported. We discuss the neuroanatomy involved and the possible aetiology for the MRI abnormalities.
© NEUROANATOMY 2008; 7: 12-14.

Split median nerve with variation in its common digital branch – a case report

Tue, 11 Mar 2008 10:30:00 GMT

Sundaram SM, Kumar MSJ, Sethupathi BB, Nayak SR, Krishnamurty A.
Anatomical variations of median nerve are frequent. We report a split median nerve 5 cm proximal to the flexor retinaculum. This split portion of the median nerve continued distally as common palmar digital nerve, which further divided into two proper palmar digital branches, found to be peculiar in their course and distribution. The probable diagnostic and clinical significance of this variant are discussed.
© NEUROANATOMY 2008; 7: 15-16.

The axon reflex

Tue, 11 Mar 2008 10:30:00 GMT

Yaprak M.
This brief review focuses on historical development of the knowledge about the axon reflex and on investigations in which this reflex used to link pathophysiologic processes to symptoms of the disease state through the organization of neuronal networks. Unlike spinal reflexes, there is neither an integration center nor any synapse in the arc of the axon reflex. Receptor and effector of axon reflex are at the peripheral ends of an afferent neuron. To set the basic knowledge and major achievements we first provide a brief account of the understanding of the spinal cord in conventional reflexes. Next, recent work on specifically axon reflex and its involvement in processes such as pain, itch, bronchial asthma and dermal circulation is reviewed.
© NEUROANATOMY 2008; 7: 17-19.

OsiriX: Is it really a suitable software for 3D visualization of neuroanatomical structures acquired from DICOM images?

Tue, 11 Mar 2008 10:30:00 GMT

Tatar I.
In this paper, compatibility of OsiriX software with 3D visualization of neuroanatomical structures acquired from DICOM images was examined. OsiriX, as a multi-dimensional image navigation and display software, was designed for display and interpretation of multidimensional and multimodality images. This software was used in some new thesis on anatomy about 3D reconstruction and volume calculation of the intra-orbital part of the optic nerve successfully. Advantages and features of the software in 3D visualization, multidimensional image navigation and display were summarized in this brief technical note.
© NEUROANATOMY 2008; 7: 20-21.