The localization and morphology of pterion in adult west anatolian skulls

The pterion is an important skull landmark because it is located where the frontal, the great wing of sphenoid, parietal, and squamous parts of the temporal bone junction. The objectives of this study were to determine the localization and the shape of pterion on skulls and to find out the distances between the pterion and some certain anatomic landmarks on neighboring structures. The study was performed on the skulls of 128 (256 sides) adult West Anatolian people. All of the morphometric measurements of the distances between the pterion and the anatomic landmarks were performed using a Vernier caliper with an accuracy of 0.1 mm. The pterion was classified into 4 types: the sphenoparietal, frontotemporal, stellate, or epipteric types. The incidences of types of pterion in the skulls were also found as the sphenoparietal type (85.2%), the epipteric type (8.2%), the stellate type (5.5%), and the frontotemporal type (1.1%). The mean (SD) distances from the center of the pterion to the zygomatic arch were measured as 40.02 (4.06) mm and 39.88 (4.01) mm; to the frontozygomatic suture, 31.80 (4.51) mm and 31.44 (4.73) mm; to the zygomatic angle, 41.54 (4.95) mm and 41.35 (5.14) mm; to the mastoid process, 82.48 (5.45) mm and 81.81 (5.50) mm; and to the external acoustic meatus, 53.29 (4.55) mm and 56.22 (4.60) mm, on the right and left sides, respectively. The mean (SD) distances between the foremost point of pterion and the anterior edge of the lateral wall of the orbit were 31.02 (5.78) mm and 32.31 (5.79) mm on the right and left sides, respectively. The localization and the shape of pterion are of importance because it is an anatomic landmark and should be of use in surgical approaches and interventions via the pterion. © 2014 Mutaz B. Habal, MD

SARS-CoV-2–related MIS-C: A key to the viral and genetic causes of Kawasaki disease?

Multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) emerged in April 2020 in communities with high COVID-19 rates. This new condition is heterogenous but resembles Kawasaki disease (KD), a well-known but poorly understood and clinically heterogenous pediatric inflammatory condition for which weak associations have been found with a myriad of viral illnesses. Epidemiological data clearly indicate that SARS-CoV-2 is the trigger for MIS-C, which typically occurs about 1 mo after infection. These findings support the hypothesis of viral triggers for the various forms of classic KD. We further suggest that rare inborn errors of immunity (IEIs) altering the immune response to SARS-CoV-2 may underlie the pathogenesis of MIS-C in some children. The discovery of monogenic IEIs underlying MIS-C would shed light on its pathogenesis, paving the way for a new genetic approach to classic KD, revisited as a heterogeneous collection of IEIs to viruses