A novel formula for the classification of blood vessels according to symmetry, asymmetry and hypoplasia

A new mathematical formula for calculating the symmetry, asymmetry and hypoplasia of blood vessel segments is presented for discussion. The study was conducted using the computed tomography (CT) files from 80 patients (34 men and 46 women) from the Silesian University Hospital, Silesia, Poland, who were between the ages of 12 to 76 and had undergone CT angiography of the circle of Willis. With the use of Gradual Angiographic Image Data Analyser software and double shuttled glasses, CT files were reconstructed. In addition, 80 renal arteries (RAs) from spontaneously aborted foetuses ranging in age from 14 to 30 weeks (24 male and 16 female) were injected with latex and also included in the study. Digital images of the RAs were taken using a Camedia 4040 camera and analysed using original analysis software. A novel formula entitled the Vascular Asymmetry Coefficient (VAC) was derived for this purpose and displays the differences between the mean diameters of blood vessel segments expressed as a percentage of the wider vessel with respect to the major diameter. The asymmetrical classification for a vascular segment of a vessel is given when the difference between the mean diameters of the vascular segment, as represented by the wider vessel, is greater than VAC > 10%. The hypoplastic classification is reserved for blood vessels where the difference between the diameter of the two segments is expressed as a percentage of the wider vessels and is greater than VAC > 40%. While there have been inconsistent and arbitrary classifications for the qualitative criteria of blood vessels, this newly presented algorithm can be used as a standardised tool and has a considerable range of uses, particularly when comparing blood vessel symmetry, asymmetry and hypoplasia prior to bifurcation, and unification

The relationship between the dimensions of the right coronary artery and the type of coronary vasculature in human foetuses

Background: The area of vascular supply of particular coronary arteries is directly linked to the varying typology of the coronary vasculature. This factor may have a significant influence on the coronary vessel diameters. To date there has been no published research that analyses the relationship between the type of coronary vasculature and the dimensions of the epicardial arteries in the human foetus. There are only a few papers that deal with this issue in the postnatal period of human life. Material and methods: The study was carried out on a group of 187 human foetuses aged five to seven months of intrauterine life. Prior to examination all foetuses had been conserved in a 9% formaldehyde solution for a minimum of three months. All foetuses had been aborted naturally. None of them had any external signs of malformations or developmental abnormalities. The number of foetuses in the particular age groups was variable. Adachi/Bianchi classification was used to categorize the particular vasculature types: type I - classic, neither artery is dominating; type II - dominant right coronary artery; type III - dominant left coronary artery. Results and conclusions: The analysis of differences between the artery dimensions in particular types of coronary vasculature revealed that such differences existed between types I and II and also between types II and III. (Folia Morphol 2011; 70, 1: 13-17

Terminologia anatomica in the past and the future from perspective of 110th anniversary of Polish Anatomical Terminology

Professional terminology is commonplace, particularly in the fields of mathematics, medicine, veterinary and natural sciences. The use of the terminology can be international, as it is with Anatomical Terminology (AT). In the early age of modern education, anatomists adopted Latin as the international language for AT. However, at the end of the 20th century, the English language became more predominant around the world. It can be said that the AT is a specific collection of scientific terms. One of the major flaws in early AT was that body structures were described by varying names, while some of the terms was irrational in nature, and confusing. At this time, different international committees were working on preparing a unified final version of the AT, which in the end consisted of 5,640 terms (4,286 originally from the Basle Nomina Anatomica, BNA). Also, each country wanted to have its own nomenclature. In order to accomplish this, each country based their nomenclature on the international AT, and then translated it into their own language. The history of the Polish Anatomical Terminology (PAT) is unique, and follows the events of history. It was first published in 1898, at a time when its neighbours partitioned the territory of Poland. During 150 years, the Polish culture and language was under the Russification and Germanization policy. It is important to note, that even with such difficult circumstances, the PAT was the first national AT in the world. The PAT was a union of the accepted first BNA in Latin and the original Polish anatomical equivalents. This union formed the basis for theoretical and clinical medicine in Poland. (Folia Morphol 2008; 67: 87–97