International forum. an investigation of iron status in blood donors

No abstract availabl

Primary and secondary glioblastoma and tumor boundaries of glioblastoma: a morphometrical and immunocytochemical study

Not availabl

Intracranial facial nerve rhabdomyoma

✓ Nerve rhabdomyomas are exceedingly rare benign tumors of the peripheral nerves consisting of well-differentiated striated muscle fibers admixed with parental nerve fibers. Only one case of intracranial nerve rhabdomyoma has been described, which affected the trigeminal nerve. This report presents the detailed neuropathological description of a nerve rhabdomyoma arising in the schwannian portion of the facial nerve root in a 41-year-old Caucasian man. The nerve fibers were arranged chaotically as in a traumatic neuroma. Because of the intimate intermingling of this slowg-rowing tumor with the parental nerve fibers, complete excision should be avoided.</jats:p

Accessory intraventricular prominence of the occipital horn of the lateral ventricle

Object. Knowledge of normal variations in ventricular morphological features is important in endoscopic neurosurgery. Classically, two elevations are described on the medial wall of the occipital horn of the lateral ventricle: an upper bulb and a lower calcar avis. Nevertheless, a third, as yet unreported elevation may be present at the junction of the medial wall and the floor of the occipital horn. The authors report the frequency with which this third elevation was found in a series of cadaveric brains. Methods. The medial wall of the occipital horn of the lateral ventricle was studied in the three orthogonal planes in 45 formalin-fixed cadaveric hemispheres. The underlying structures responsible for the observed intraventricular prominences were exposed by microdissection. A third elevation was present, lying ventrorostral to the calcar avis, in seven (47%) of the 15 single hemispheres, and bilaterally in six (40%) of the 15 whole brains. After microdissection, a fiber bundle from the splenium of the corpus callosum was seen emerging in the occipital horn at the angle between the tail of the hippocampus and the bulb of the occipital horn. The most rostral fibers fanned out inferolaterally along the floor of the collateral trigone. The larger, posterior part protruded into the medial wall along the ventral border of the calcar avis as far as the tip of the occipital horn. Conclusions. Besides its importance as a variation of normal ventricular morphological features, the close relationship of this accessory intraventricular prominence to the tail of the hippocampus should be kept in mind when intervening neurosurgically so that damage to the underlying commissural fibers can be avoided.</jats:p

Macroanatomic and radiologic characteristics of the superior genial spinal foramen and its bony canal

Purpose: To determine the incidence, size, location, course, and content of the superior genial spinal foramen and its bony canal. Materials and Methods: Three hundred eighty dry human cadaver mandibles were morphometrically analyzed by measuring the distance from the foramen to the mandibular base and the size of the foramen and bony canal. Radiologically, the course of the bony canal and its relation to the mandibular incisive canal were investigated after injecting contrast medium (Omnipaque) in the superior genial spinal foramen and the incisive canal at the level of the mental foramen or by inserting a thin metal wire into the bony canal. Dissection was performed on another 10 intact cadaver mandibles. Results: A distinct foramen was present in 98% of all dry specimens studied. Its general form was round or flattened funnel-shaped. Upon microanatomic dissection, a distinct branch of the lingual artery and the lingual nerve entering the superior genial spinal foramen were found. Conclusions: The superior genial spinal foramen is present in most human mandibles and appears to be the entrance of a true lingual neurovascular bundle passing into the bone via a well-defined bony canal toward the buccal side. This implies that surgery and more specifically implant placement at the mandibular midline may carry some risk of neurovascular damage

Accessory intraventricular prominence of the occipital horn of the lateral ventricle

Object. Knowledge of normal variations in ventricular morphological features is important in endoscopic neurosurgery. Classically, two elevations are described on the medial wall of the occipital horn of the lateral ventricle: an upper bulb and a lower calcar avis. Nevertheless, a third, as yet unreported elevation may be present at the junction of the medial wall and the floor of the occipital horn. The authors report the frequency with which this third elevation was found in a series of cadaveric brains. Methods. The medial wall of the occipital horn of the lateral ventricle was studied in the three orthogonal planes in 45 formalin-fixed cadaveric hemispheres. The underlying structures responsible for the observed intraventricular prominences were exposed by microdissection. A third elevation was present, lying ventrorostral to the calcar avis, in seven (47%) of the 15 single hemispheres, and bilaterally in six (40%) of the 15 whole brains. After microdissection, a fiber bundle from the splenium of the corpus callosum was seen emerging in the occipital horn at the angle between the tail of the hippocampus and the bulb of the occipital horn. The most rostral fibers fanned out inferolaterally along the floor of the collateral trigone. The larger, posterior part protruded into the medial wall along the ventral border of the calcar avis as far as the tip of the occipital horn. Conclusions. Besides its importance as a variation of normal ventricular morphological features, the close relationship of this accessory intraventricular prominence to the tail of the hippocampus should be kept in mind when intervening neurosurgically so that damage to the underlying commissural fibers can be avoided

Macroanatomic and radiologic characteristics of the superior genial spinal foramen and its bony canal

Purpose: To determine the incidence, size, location, course, and content of the superior genial spinal foramen and its bony canal. Materials and Methods: Three hundred eighty dry human cadaver mandibles were morphometrically analyzed by measuring the distance from the foramen to the mandibular base and the size of the foramen and bony canal. Radiologically, the course of the bony canal and its relation to the mandibular incisive canal were investigated after injecting contrast medium (Omnipaque) in the superior genial spinal foramen and the incisive canal at the level of the mental foramen or by inserting a thin metal wire into the bony canal. Dissection was performed on another 10 intact cadaver mandibles. Results: A distinct foramen was present in 98% of all dry specimens studied. Its general form was round or flattened funnel-shaped. Upon microanatomic dissection, a distinct branch of the lingual artery and the lingual nerve entering the superior genial spinal foramen were found. Conclusions: The superior genial spinal foramen is present in most human mandibles and appears to be the entrance of a true lingual neurovascular bundle passing into the bone via a well-defined bony canal toward the buccal side. This implies that surgery and more specifically implant placement at the mandibular midline may carry some risk of neurovascular damage

Accessory intraventricular prominence of the occipital horn of the lateral ventricle

Object. Knowledge of normal variations in ventricular morphological features is important in endoscopic neurosurgery. Classically, two elevations are described on the medial wall of the occipital horn of the lateral ventricle: an upper bulb and a lower calcar avis. Nevertheless, a third, as yet unreported elevation may be present at the junction of the medial wall and the floor of the occipital horn. The authors report the frequency with which this third elevation was found in a series of cadaveric brains. Methods. The medial wall of the occipital horn of the lateral ventricle was studied in the three orthogonal planes in 45 formalin-fixed cadaveric hemispheres. The underlying structures responsible for the observed intraventricular prominences were exposed by microdissection. A third elevation was present, lying ventrorostral to the calcar avis, in seven (47%) of the 15 single hemispheres, and bilaterally in six (40%) of the 15 whole brains. After microdissection, a fiber bundle from the splenium of the corpus callosum was seen emerging in the occipital horn at the angle between the tail of the hippocampus and the bulb of the occipital horn. The most rostral fibers fanned out inferolaterally along the floor of the collateral trigone. The larger, posterior part protruded into the medial wall along the ventral border of the calcar avis as far as the tip of the occipital horn. Conclusions. Besides its importance as a variation of normal ventricular morphological features, the close relationship of this accessory intraventricular prominence to the tail of the hippocampus should be kept in mind when intervening neurosurgically so that damage to the underlying commissural fibers can be avoided