High origin of a testicular artery: a case report and review of the literature

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Introduction</p> <p>Although variations in the origin of the testicular artery are not uncommon, few reports about a high origin from the abdominal aorta exist in the literature. We discuss the case of a high origin of the testicular artery, its embryology, classification systems, and its clinical significance.</p> <p>Case presentation</p> <p>We report a very rare case of high origin of the left testicular artery in a 68-year-old Caucasian male cadaver. The artery originated from the anterolateral aspect of the abdominal aorta, 2 cm cranially to the ipsilateral renal artery. Approximately 1 cm after its origin, it branched off into the inferior suprarenal artery. During its course, the artery crossed anterior to the left renal artery.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>A knowledge of the variant origin of the testicular artery is important during renal and testicular surgery. The origin and course must be carefully identified in order to preserve normal blood circulation and prevent testicular atrophy. A reduction in gonadal blood flow may lead to varicocele under circumstances. A knowledge of this variant anatomy may be of interest to radiologists and helpful in avoiding diagnostic errors.</p

The Future of Business Discourse Teaching

This chapter will:; ; ; Explore ways in which new media and digital technologies are shaping business communication and highlight the importance of digital communicative competence for learners and teachers;; ; ; Discuss ways in which the digital workplace can be brought into the business discourse classroom;; ; ; Discuss the role of Business English and other business languages in international business and what this means for business discourse teaching;; ; ; Consider how the multicultural workplace can inform business discourse teaching;; ; ; Provide a case study that illustrates some of the above developments, together with a set of tasks appropriate for the business discourse classroom, and a set of further readings

Digestibilité des protéines et disponibilité des acides aminés de quelques matières premières chez le bar (Dicentrarchus labrax)

Protein digestibility of soyabean meal, casein-gelatin mixture and fish hydrolysate was tested in the European sea bass, using increasing substitution levels in a reference diet. The protein digestibility of the latter composed of Norwegian fish meal had already been established (91 %). An accurate estimation of the apparent digestibility coefficient was made by linear regression, for the casein-gelatin mixture and soyabean meal, but not for fish hydrolysate (non significant correlation, p > 0.05). Protein digestibility estimated by extrapolation varied with the substitution level. The estimations obtained with the highest level used for each ingredient were close to those obtained by linear regression. However they exhibited a high variability for soyabean meal and, to a lesser extent, for fish hydrolysate. The availability of individual amino acids was also investigated in each protein source. For some amino acids it was different from that of total nitrogen, suggesting that the availability of essential amino acids should be used for accurate feed formulation. Metabolic fecal nitrogen and amino acids were determined using a protein-free diet, in order to estimate true availabilities. These coefficients were not significantly different from apparent availability coefficients

Failure of palmaris longus muscle duplication and its clinical application

A case of failure of palmaris longus muscle duplication was found in the left forearm of a male cadaver. Specifically, two distinct palmaris longus muscles had failed to separate, and were united from the medial epicondyle to the palmar aponeurosis. We studied the exact morphology of the abnormal muscle, which, to our knowledge, has not been reported elsewhere in the literature. It also provided data for palmaris longus muscle morphology and may have clinical implications, as the knowledge of such an anomalous muscle should be useful for hand surgeons and radiologists. (Folia Morphol 2008: 67: 150&#8211;153

Historical development of technologies for water resources management and rainwater harvesting in the Hellenic civilizations

The shortage of water in ancient Greek civilizations necessitated various collection methods and storage cisterns. In fact, rainwater harvesting dates back to Minoan times, ca. 3200–1100 BC. Since then, several types of cisterns have evolved, while a significant development appears to have occurred throughout Hellas during the Hellenistic period. In addition to the Hellenistic period, the succeeding Roman, Byzantine, Venetian and Ottoman periods are discussed. Within this context, a few examples relating to characteristics of Hellenistic cisterns, conveying illustrations of the development of technology during those historical periods, are included

Laparoscopic appendectomy: Differences between male and female patients with suspected acute appendicitis

Background: The role of laparoscopy in the management of patients with suspected acute appendicitis remains controversial. It has been suggested that laparoscopy is useful mainly in young women of reproductive age because of the high incidence of wrong diagnosis in these patients. Methods: Different management protocols for patients with suspected acute appendicitis were prospectively used in male and female patients; women of reproductive age were treated laparoscopically, while men were randomised to open or laparoscopic appendectomy. Results: From September 2002 to September 2005, 132 patients-54 women and 78 men-with suspected acute appendicitis were treated according to the protocol. The incidence of wrong diagnosis in female patients was high (26%) and the conversion rate low (5.5%). In contrast, in the laparoscopic male subgroup, these rates showed a reverse relationship (5.2% and 18.5%, respectively). Morbidity did not differ between female and male patients or between the 2 arms of the male group. Laparoscopic appendectomy took longer to perform without affecting significantly the needs for postoperative analgesia, the duration of hospital stay and the time to return to normal activities when compared with open appendectomy in men. Conclusion: Laparoscopic appendectomy is at least as safe as the open procedure in the male population, although it does not appear to offer any obvious advantage over the open procedure. The diagnostic advantage that laparoscopy offers to fertile women makes the procedure attractive for this population