A study of the discomalleolar ligament in the adult human

The discomalleolar ligament (Pinto’s ligament) is not described in the anatomy textbooks but was demonstrated by Pinto and others. This is a ligamentous structure connecting the malleus in the tympanic cavity and the articular disc and capsule of the temporomandibular joint. This anatomical relationship between the middle ear and the temporomandibular joint is supposed to be one of the explanations for the aural symptoms associated with temporomandibular joint dysfunction. The objectives of our study were to determine: (1) the frequency of occurrence and morphology of the discomalleolar ligament, (2) its attachments, (3) the morphology of Pinto’s ligament in endoscopic visualisation, and (4) whether tension applied to the discomalleolar ligament could elicit movement of the malleus. Fourteen adult human temporomandibular joint and tympanic cavity specimens were examined with the use of an endoscope and then by gross dissection with the superior approach and with the use of the operating microscope. Endoscopic visualisation showed in four cases a band of tissue in the upper temporomandibular joint compartment, known as Pinto’s ligament. The dissections exposed a discomalleolar ligament in 11 specimens. We were able to identify two main types of this ligament on the basis of its shape. The discomalleolar ligament was either triangular in shape, as in the first group of seven specimens, or longitudinal in shape, as in the second group of four specimens. We observed that tension applied to the discomalleolar ligament resulted in movement of the malleus in three specimens

Spiro Iminosugars: Structural Diversity and Synthetic Strategies

International audienceFrom their discovery in the late 1960s, iminosugars have undergone an expansion from an area of science limited to a few researchers to a field that now attracts the interest of members of the whole synthetic organic chemistry community. Indeed, many tasks concern structural modifications of standard iminosugars in order to improve their biological and pharmacological properties. In this way, the introduction of an adjoining spirocycle afforded unprecedented polyhydroxy-azaspiranes, the structures and syntheses of which are presented in this chapter. Special attention is paid to the key steps involved in the generation of the pivotal quaternary spiro atom