Gastro-Pancreatic and Gastro-Duodenopancreatic Ligaments: A Case of Two Unusual Inhabitants of the Omental bursa and their Clinical Implications

This paper reports a cadaveric case of two unusual peritoneal structures; namely, the gastro-pancreatic and gastro-duodeno-pancreatic ligaments. The gastropancreatic ligament is a broad peritoneal structure that holds the stomach and the pancreas together and has occasionally been reported while gastro-duodeno-pancreatic ligament is our new finding. It attaches the stomach, duodenum and the pancreas. The existence of these ligaments may create clinical conditions such as internal herniation or viscera kinking and they limit the movement easing function of the omenta bursa. It is important that such anatomical variations be brought to the knowledge of anatomists, surgeons and radiologists.Key words: gastro-pancreatic ligament, gastro-duodeno-pancreatic ligament, omenta bursa, peritoneum, variation, omental foramen, cystoduodenal  ligamen

Variability of the morphology of gastrocnemius muscle in an African population

Gastrocnemius morphological status is often designated as being bipennate. Its robustness in humans is a feature that accompanies the human mode of locomotion. The three-headed variant has often been reported, but paucity of information exists within the Nigerian population as regards gastrocnemius morphological variability. We therefore currently aim to determine the pattern of occurrence of variations of the muscle in both legs of thirty cadavers in four Anatomy laboratories of Universities in Southwestern part of Nigeria. Our current study shows that the multi-headed variants (three and four-headed) are more dominant. A minority (35%) of the legs had two-headed gastrocnemius muscle, 13.3% had three-headed gastrocnemius while 51.7% had four-headed gastrocnemius muscle. This study provides a careful description of the gastrocnemius muscle in the studied population and also sheds light on the embryological and clinical implications of the findings. The knowledge of variant gastrocnemius anatomy will aid understanding of popliteal surface anatomy, palpation of popliteal arterial pulse, popliteal nerve block and the assessment of gastrocnemius muscle for autografting. The additional variant heads also bear evolutionary importance.Keywords: Gastrocnemius; Multi-Pinnate; Popliteal Entrapment Syndrome; Variations; Four-Headed, Third Head Of Gastrocnemiu

Variability of the lateral ligamentous complex of the knee

The current study examined the prevalence and morphometric values of three extracapsular ligaments on the lateral aspect of the knee namely lateral collateral ligament, anterolateral and triradiate collateral ligaments in human cadavers. Twenty knees were used. The lateral collateral ligament, anterolateral and triradiate collateral ligaments were present in 70%, 5% and 25% of the cases respectively. The triradiate collateral ligament had three parts namely femoral, tibial and fibular arms with average lengths of 20.03mm, 18.14mm and 16.20mm respectively. The lateral collateral ligament was attached on the lateral condyle of femur and the apex of head of fibula. The anterolateral ligament was attached on the lateral epicondyle of femur anterior to the origin of the lateral collateral ligament and both posterior to the Gerdy’s tubercle and on the lateral meniscus. The triradiate collateral ligament attached on the lateral condyle of femur, descends as the femoral arm and divides at the joint line as the tibial arm (anteriorly) and fibular arm (posteriorly). The tibial arm was attached on the posterior aspect of the Gerdy’s tubercle while the fibular arm was attached on the anterior aspect of head of fibula. The triradiate collateral ligament and the anterolateral ligaments possessed internal attachment to the lateral meniscus and could potentiate meniscal damage. There are considerable ligament variations at the lateral side of knee which should be brought to the knowledge of surgeons and radiologists.Keywords: Knee, Lateral complex, lateral collateral ligament, anterolateral ligament, triradiate collateral ligamen

Bilateral high division of the sciatic nerve: incidence and clinical implications in Nigeria.

Introduction: The sciatic nerve (L4-S3) comprised of the tibial and common fibular (peroneal) components contained in the same epineural sheath usually leaves the pelvis via the greater sciatic foramen beneath the piriformis muscle. They usually separate in the lower thigh above the popiteal fossa. Variations in this arrangement have been reported. We noted one such variation in our study. Materials / Methods: The gluteal region and posterior thigh of 26 cadavers were dissected over a two session period (2004/05 and 2005/06) with emphasis on the sciatic nerves and its related structures. Results: One out of the twenty-six had the sciatic nerve dividing into its two main branches in the pelvis and the common peroneal passing over the piriformis muscle as it enters the posterior thigh. Conclusion: High division of the sciatic nerve is seen in 3.8% of Nigerians and could predispose to injury during intragluteal injection, may be the cause of piriformis syndrome, sciatica, failed sciatic nerve block in anesthesia and predispose to injury during posterior hip operations. Keywords: Sciatic nerve, high division, nerve injury, nerve block.Tropical Journal of Medical Research Vol. 11 (2) 2007: pp. 12-1

Effects of long-term construction noise on health of adult female Wistar rats

The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of long-term building construction noise from refurbishment, which including vibration, on some physiological parameters and histopathological changes of organs of Wistar rats. Twenty 12 month old female rats were divided into two groups: rats group I (n = 10) were exposed to long-term construction noise and rats group II (n = 10) were kept under normal noise level. Study results revealed that long-term construction noise from building refurbishment has an influence on body weight, haematological and some serum biochemical parameters affects caecal microbiota, and causes histopathological changes in the organs of adult female Wistar rats. It was noticed that rats in group I exihibited significantly higher mean values for total protein, albumin and lower values for glucose, AST, ALT, blood urea nitrogen, haematological and caecal microbiota parameters than rats in group II. The most common pathologies were determined in the kidney, liver and lungs. Other observed pathologies were lymphadenopathy, catarrhal inflammation of the intestines, spleen hyperplasia and mammary gland adenofibroma. Single cases were subcutaneous fibroma in the thoracic region, abortus with uterine inflammation and thymus hyperplasia with formation of cysts were found