Unilateral presentation of three muscles variants in the pectoral region

In this case report, we observed a situation in which three variant muscles presented unilaterally in a single cadaver. We observed that the pectoralis major muscle had a deficient sternocostal head. Also present were two muscles rarely observed in humans, a sternalis muscle, and a pectoralis quartus muscle. The existence of these muscle variants occurring individually in humans has been described in the literature for over a century. However, this is the first report of all three variants occurring simultaneously in one individual

Bilateral Pectoralis Minor Muscle Variant

During a routine anatomical dissection we discovered an aberrant muscle slip associated with the pectoralis minor muscle that occurred bilaterally.The muscle slips originated from ribs five or six and inserted into the tendon of the coracobrachialis in close proximity to the coracoid process of the scapula.Fibers of the muscle slip also blended with the pectoralis minor muscle on its lateral border and were innervated by the medial pectoral nerve. Many of the muscular variants reported in the literature are discovered during routine cadaveric dissection and are of great interest to anatomists and developmental biologists. However, recognizing and understanding both normal and variant anatomy of the anterior thorax and axilla is of critical importance to health care professionals when diagnosing, imaging, or surgically treating these areas. It is not uncommon to observe known anatomical variants during cadaveric dissection, however many of these variants are not commonly discussed during the regular clinical coursework of health care professionals. The result is a gap of knowledge for clinicians who are more likely to confuse the variant with some form of pathology. This may result in improper or delayed treatment. For this reason it is important to add variants such as the one in this case to the anatomical record

Congenital Morgagni Hernia

A rare congenital diaphragmatic hernia was discovered upon routine dissection of a female cadaver. Given the hernia's location in the chest cavity, it was identified as a Morgagni hernia. As the least common type of diaphragmatic hernia, the exact mechanism of development is unknown. However, this hernia has previously been associated with both longstanding, congenital conditions and acute, health conditions requiring intervention

Accessory Piriformis Muscle

Emily Scholl, Michael Kellner, David R. Terfera, and Kevin R. Kelliher's poster discussing the piriformis muscle.Faculty Research Day 2018: Doctoral Student Poster 2nd Plac

Dorsal Roots and Associated Ganglia from the First Cervical Spinal Segment in Humans

Pain is a debilitating sensory experience that affects everyone at some point in his or her lives. In the United States alone unrelieved pain results in decreased quality of life, losses in productivity adding up to hundreds of billions of dollars annually, increased hospital stays, increases out patient visits all adding up to hundred of billions of dollars in increased health care costs. One in four Americans over the age of 20 report having had issues with chronic pain. Thirty-four percent of those reported having either severe headaches (15%), neck pain(15%) or facial pain (4%). Despite the tremendous burden on society pain mechanisms are still not completely understood. There is a great deal of knowledge and research devoted to the somatosensory systems, including pain systems, of the head and neck yet there is still much more that remains to be elucidated. For instance, current dogma describes the first cervical nerve (C1) as being purely motor in function. This is the most common description given in medical textbooks and reports and is being taught this way to current health professional students. Despite what is being taught anatomical reports of sensory roots coming off the first spinal segments have been observed (2). We suggest that presence of C1 dorsal roots, and a corresponding dorsal root ganglia, would have significant implications on the distribution of pain sensation in the head. The long-term goal of this project is to investigate the role of sensory roots of the C1 spinal segment in pain sensation of the head and neck

Physical Manifestations Associated with Neurofibromatosis (NF-1)

Neurofibromatosis (NF-1), know as Von Recklinghausen's disease, is one of the most common genetic disorders, affecting about 1 in 3,500 people. Inherited in an autosomal dominant fashion, this disorder results in lesions of the nervous, visual and integumentary system that are highly variable in their level of severity. NF-1 is caused by a mutation of a gene located on chromosome 17 which encodes the protein neurofibromin, a negative regulator of cell signaling pathways for the control of cellular division. Thusly, the NF gene is referred to as a tumor suppressing gene and mutations result in mostly benign tumorous growths and more rarely malignancies. NF-1 phenotypically presents itself with a variety of characteristic manifestations. While these manifestations are highly disfiguring they are generally painless and very rarely become life threatening. In addition to the neurofibromas of the central and peripheral nervous system, NF-1 may affect any part of the body resulting in a variety of complications. In this case study, we present the results of a cadaveric dissection of a donor with NF-1 to catalog the most common manifestations of this disease

Wallerian Degeneration Surveyed in Poliomyelitis

Poliomyelitis is a highly infectious disease rendering varying degrees of respiratory illness, gastroenteritis, malaise and potentially severe forms of paralysis. Infection is generated by a virus belonging in the Picornaviridae family. This enterovirus infects the human body most often through the fecal-oral route and proliferates within the mucosa of the pharynx and gastrointestinal tract. The virus ordinarily invades the lymphoid tissue and enters the bloodstream where it may enter the central nervous system and infect motor neurons in the ventral horn of the spinal cord and brainstem. Replication of the virus within the motor neurons induces neuronal cell death and axonal degeneration, resulting in the denervation of skeletal muscle and the subsequent manifestation of poliomyelitis. Patients with poliomyelitis will experience asymmetric muscle atrophy and flaccid paralysis. Here, we report on a case of a 67 year old male cadaver with poliomyelitis discovered during a routine cadaveric dissection in the gross anatomy lab at the University of Bridgeport

An olfactory subsystem that detects carbon disulfide and mediates food-related social learning

In mammals, pheromones and other social cues can promote mating or aggression behaviors; can communicate information about social hierarchies, genetic identity and health status; and can contribute to associative learning. However, the molecular, cellular, and neural mechanisms underlying many olfactory-mediated social interactions remain poorly understood. Here, we show a specialized olfactory subsystem that includes olfactory sensory neurons (OSNs) expressing the receptor guanylyl cyclase GC-D, the cyclic nucleotide-gated channel subunit CNGA3, and the carbonic anhydrase isoform CAII (GC-D(+) OSNs) is required for the acquisition of socially transmitted food preferences (STFPs) in mice

Variant Route of the Subclavian Artery Potential Cause of Thoracic Outlet Syndrome

Holly Zimmermann, Emily Scholl, David Terfera, and Kevin Kelliher's poster on a possible variant route of the subclavian artery potential cause of thoracic outlet syndrome in a cadavar