Anatomy & Cell Biology

There are major and minor salivary glands that aid in the digestive process. Major glands are discrete and exist in predictable locations; minor salivary glands are more widespread and usually found dispersed in the mucosa of the mouth. Glands have their own contractile abilities, which allow them to secrete products without the assistance of vasculature or skeletal, or smooth muscle. This study will describe a cadaveric histological specimen in which an ectopic buccal gland was embedded within bucinator muscle fibers...

The carotid duct (CD) is a transient embryological structure connecting the 3rd and 4th aortic arches. We found a persisting CD in an adult female case, by studying the computed tomography angiogram. On the left side, the proximal external carotid artery (ECA) agenesis was noted. The CD was inserted into the left subclavian artery and continued upwards to reach the level of the atlas, and then it descended to connect to a normally configured segment of that ECA. It could be speculated that the CD-to-ECA connection was possible via unregressed 1st and/or 2nd aortic arches...

The origin and distribution of median nerve varies among the different individuals. The median nerve variations in axillary region were reported by many authors previously. Understanding of these variations is especially necessary for clinicians to prevent iatrogenic nerve damage. The current work aimed to evaluate the possible anatomical variations of median nerve in the axillary region in a sample of the Iranian cadavers (Shiraz, Fars). We dissected 26 upper limbs from 13 male cadavers to investigate the different variations of median and musculocutaneous nerves according to Venieratos and Anagnostopoulou classification...

The world has witnessed tremendous advancements in nano-base applications. Zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZON) are widely used in food industry and medicine. Although their application is of important value, they may cause toxicity to body tissues. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) proved its efficacy in tissue regeneration especially when it is preconditioned by activated platelet supernatant (APS). The aim of this study is to evaluate the effect of ZON on the gastric mucosa and the therapeutic role of the PBMCs preconditioned by APS in rats...

Heavy reliance on glucose metabolism and a reduced capacity to use ketone bodies makes glioblastoma (GBM) a promising candidate for ketone-based therapies. Ketogenic diet (KD) is well-known for its promising effects in controlling tumor growth in GBM. Moreover, synthetic ketone ester (KE) has demonstrated to increase blood ketone levels and enhance animal survival in a metastatic VM-M3 murine tumor model. Here, we compared the efficacy of a KE-supplemented Atkins-type diet (ATD-KE) to a classic KD in controlling tumor progression and enhancing survival in a clinically relevant orthotopic patient-derived xenograft GBM model...

The current cadaveric report describes an unusual morphology of the sartorius muscle (SM), the biceps-bicaudatus variant. The SM had two (lateral and medial) heads, with distinct tendinous origins from the anterior superior iliac spine. The lateral head was further split into a lateral and a medial bundle. The anterior cutaneous branch of the femoral nerve emerged between the origins of the lateral and medial heads. SM morphological variants are exceedingly uncommon, with only a few documented cases in the literature, and several terms used for their description...

Atlanto-occipital assimilation is an osseous embryological anomaly of the craniovertebral junction in which the atlas (C1) is fused to the occiput of skull. Embryologically, this assimilation may happen due to failure of the segmentation and separation of the caudal occipital and the cranial cervical sclerotome. The segmentation clock is maintained by NOTCH and WNT signalling pathways along with Hox genes and retinoic acid. This condition is likely to be a consequence of mutation in above mentioned genes. The knowledge of this assimilation may be crucial for the clinicians as it may lead to various neurovascular symptoms...

Clinical case reports and research regarding the mental spines and their associated structures create a detailed picture of the floor of the mouth for assessment during clinical treatment. This compilation of information covers the mental spines, the attached geniohyoid and genioglossus muscles, the lingual foramina, and the veins and arteries of the jaw and floor of the mouth. It is important to consider the variations in the mental spines for oral and maxillofacial treatment involving the mandible. Differences in anatomy of the mental spine, including their number, location, and size, can impact diagnosis and treatment approaches...

Glucocorticoids play a physiologic role in the adult male reproductive functions, modulating gonadal steroid synthesis and spermatogenesis, through the glucocorticoid receptor (GR). The expression of GR has been described in several key testicular cell types, including somatic cells and early germ cell populations. Nothing is known on GR in human spermatozoa. Herein, we explored the GR expression and its possible role in normal and testicular varicocele semen samples from volunteer donors. After semen parameter evaluation by macro- and microscopic analysis, samples were centrifuged; then spermatozoa and culture media were recovered for further investigations...

Morphologic changes in the brain through aging, as a physiologic process, may involve a wide range of variables including ventricular dilation, and sulcus widening. This study reports normal ranges of these changes as standard criteria. Normal brain computed tomography scans of 400 patients (200 males, 200 females) in every decade of life (20 groups each containing 20 participants) were investigated for subcortical/cortical atrophy (bicaudate width [BCW], third ventricle width [ThVW], maximum length of lateral ventricle at cella media [MLCM], bicaudate index [BCI], third ventricle index [ThVI], and cella media index 3 [CMI3], interhemispheric sulcus width [IHSW], right hemisphere sulci diameter [RHSD], and left hemisphere sulci diameter [LHSD]), ventricular symmetry...

Hypogonadism is associated with an increased risk of coronary artery disease. This study sought to describe the histomorphology of the left coronary arteries of the adult male rabbit following orchiectomy and subsequent testosterone administration. We included 20 adult male rabbits, divided into a baseline group (n=2), an interventional group subjected to castration only (n=6), an intervention group subjected to castration followed by testosterone injection (n=6), and a control group (n=6). Key variables under investigation were serum testosterone levels, the intima-media thickness of coronary arteries, smooth muscle cell density, and adventitial collagen fiber density...

Methamphetamine (METH) can potentially disrupt neurotransmitters activities in the central nervous system (CNS) and cause neurotoxicity through various pathways. These pathways include increased production of reactive nitrogen and oxygen species, hypothermia, and induction of mitochondrial apoptosis. In this study, we investigated the long-term effects of METH addiction on the structural changes in the amygdala of postmortem human brains and the involvement of the brain- cAMP response element-binding protein/brain-derived neurotrophic factor ( CREB/BDNF ) and Akt-1/GSK3 signaling pathways...

Glioblastoma is the most common primary malignant brain tumor in adults. Temozolomide (TMZ) is an FDA-approved drug used to treat this type of cancer. Cinnamaldehyde (CIN) is a derivative of cinnamon extract and makes up 99% of it. The aim of this study was to investigate the in vitro combined effect of CIN and TMZ on human glioblastoma multiforme T98G cell line viability. In this study, we used 3-(4,5 dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl-tertazolium bromide (MTT) method to evaluate the extent of IC50 , acridine orange, Giemsa and Hoechst staining to evaluate the manner of apoptosis and the Western blotting method to examine the expression change of apoptotic proteins...

Pulmonary veins (PVs) and their myocardial sleeves play an important role in the development of atrial fibrillation. Hence, detailed knowledge of PV anatomy is required to improve the procedural success rate and prevent complications during cardiac procedures. The aim of this study was to evaluate the PV anatomy along with anatomical variations in the Indian population. Total 100 formalin fixed cadaveric hearts were examined. The number and pattern of the PVs were observed along with the measurement of their horizontal and vertical diameters...

In cancer patients, chemo/radio therapy may cause infertility by damaging the spermatogenesis affecting the self-renewal and differentiation of spermatogonial stem cells (SSCs). In vitro differentiation of stem cells especially mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) into germ cells has recently been proposed as a new strategy for infertility treatment. The aim of this study was to evaluate the proliferation and differentiation of SSCs using their co-culture with Sertoli cells and conditioned medium (CM) from adipose tissue-derived MSCs (AD-MSCs)...

Septin4 belong to a family of polymerizing GTP-binding proteins that are required for many cellular functions, such as membrane compartmentalization, vesicular trafficking, mitosis, and cytoskeletal remodeling. Since, Septin4 is expressed specifically in the testis, we aimed to determine the association between Septin4 gene expression with sperm quality, DNA damage, and stress oxidative level in infertile patients. The present study included 60 semen samples that grouped into three groups: normozoospermia (n=20), asthenozoospermia (n=20), astheno-teratozoospermia (n=20)...

Understanding the anatomy of suprascapular area helps the clinicians and surgeons in management of any disability at the shoulder region. This work aimed to clear the different morphological and morphometrical types of suprascapular notch (SSN). Unknown 120 dry human scapulae of both sides and 60 formalin-embalmed cadaveric upper limbs (40 males and 20 females) were used in the present study. Three main morphological forms of SSN were reported: J, U, and V-shaped. J-shaped notch showed the highest incidence followed by U-shaped then V-shaped one...

Few studies have examined the basilar venous plexus (BVP) and to our knowledge, no previous study has described its histology. The present anatomical study was performed to better elucidate these structures. In ten cadavers, the BVP was dissected. The anatomical and histological evaluation of the intraluminal trabeculae within this sinus were evaluated. Once all gross measurements were made, the clivus and overlying BVP were harvested and submitted for histological analysis. A BVP was identified in all specimens and in each of these, intraluminal trabeculae were identified...

Anterior cerebral arteries are paired and supply the major portion of the medial surface of the brain. They are branches of the intracranial part of the internal carotid artery and form the anterior portion of the circle of Willis (CW) which is situated in the interpeduncular fossa. During routine dissection in the department of anatomy, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Bibinagar, Hyderabad, a rare variation had been observed in the CW, azygos anterior cerebral artery associated with hypoplastic A1 fragment of the right anterior cerebral artery in a 63-year-old female cadaver...

The intercostobrachial nerve (ICBN) originates from the second intercostal nerve's lateral cutaneous branch, while the median nerve (MN) typically arises from the brachial plexus's lateral and medial roots. The medial cutaneous nerve of the arm, a branch of the medial cord of the brachial plexus, often connects with the ICBN. Variations were observed during the dissection of a 50-year-old male cadaver, including MN having two lateral roots (LR), LR1 and LR2, joining at different levels. Three ICBNs innervated the arm in this case, with the absence of the medial cutaneous nerve of the arm compensated by branches from the medial cutaneous nerve of the forearm...