THE OPHTHALMIC ARTERY ARISING FROM THE MIDDLE MENINGEAL ARTERY

The present report describes a case of variation of the ophthalmic artery observed in a 91-year-old Japanese woman at dissection in 1992. It was found that on one side, the ophthalmic artery originate from the middle meningeal artery, and the ophthalmic artery from the internal carotid artery was absent

SHIFT OF AXIAL POSITION FOR ROTATION AT THE INTERVERTEBRAL JOINT IN DOGS

To elucidate whether the position of axis for rotation at the intervertebral joint is related with the spinal curvature, the authors investigated the spinal columns of beagles. The spinal column of beagle was composed of 7 cervical, 13 thoracic, 7 lumbar, 3 sacral, and 19 coccygeal vertebrae. It was observed that the position of axis for rotation at the intervertebral joint was shifted on the superior and inferior views of the 2nd thoracic vertebra and was next shifted on the superior and inferior views of the 10th thoracic vertebra. It was suggested that in the case of beagle and Wistar rat with 13 thoracic vertebrae, the upper shift of axial position for rotation at the intervertebral joint occurred on the superior and inferior views of the 2nd thoracic vertebra and the lower shift of axial position for rotation at the intervertebral joint occurred on the superior and inferior views of the 10th thoracic vertebra

POSITION OF AXIS FOR ROTATION AT THE INTERVERTEBRAL JOINT IN RATS

To elucidate whether the position of axis for rotation at the intervertebral joint is related to the spinal curvature, the authors investigated the spinal columns of rats. The spinal column of the rat was composed of 7 cervical, 13 thoracic, 6 lumbar, 4 sacral, and 27 coccygeal vertebrae. It was observed that the position of axis for rotation at the intervertebral joint was shifted on the superior and inferior views of the 2nd thoracic vertebra and was next shifted on the superior and inferior views of the 10th thoracic vertebra. X-ray examination demonstrated that lordosis was seen in the cervical and lower 1umbar (L4-L6) spine, whereas kyphosis was seen in the thoracic and upper lumbar (Ll-L3) spine. The present study did not support the possibility that the position of axis for rotation at the intervertebral joint was dorsal in the spinal site of lordosis, whereas it was ventral in the spinal site of kyphosis

ARTIFICIAL BORING ON THE INCISOR ROOT AT THE LATE JOHMON PERIOD

A single hole penetrating tangentially through the middle of the dental root was found in a right central incisor of the mandible. The tooth was excavated from the bottom layer of the late Johmon and early Yayoi periods under the shell mound of Mitani ruin, Tokushima city. The hole is roundly polished to make a cone-like shape on both the mesial and distal sides without crack. There is neither pathological injury nor trace of living response on microscopy and X-ray test. It is strongly suggested that the hole was simply made on the tooth after extraction from the human mandible

COMPOSITIONAL CHANGES OF THE CORONARY ARTERIES WITH AGING IN JAPANESE, THAI, AND MONKEYS

To examine whether there were differences between different races and between different species in regard to age-related changes of elements and the relationships among element contents in the coronary arteries, the authors investigated the left coronary arteries of Japanese, Thai, and monkeys by direct chemical analysis. After ordinary dissections at Nara Medical University and Chiang Mai University were finished, the left coronary arteries were resected from the subjects. The anterior interventricular branch was used as the left coronary artery. The anterior interventricular branches were also resected from rhesus and Japanese monkeys bred in the Primate Research Institute, Kyoto University. After ashing of the arteries with nitric acid and perchloric acid, the element content was determined by inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectrometry. In the left coronary arteries of Japanese, the average content of Ca increased remarkably in subjects in their seventies and thereafter increased in the nineties. In the left coronary arteries of Thai, the average content of Ca increased progressively from the forties to the seventies. The average content of Ca in the seventies was two times higher in the left coronary arteries of Thai than in those of Japanese. The accumulation of Ca in the left coronary arteries of Thai occurred at least 10 years earlier in comparison with Japanese. In contrast, the accumulation of Ca hardly occurred at all in the left coronary arteries of rhesus and Japanese monkeys at old age. Regarding the relationships among element contents in the left coronary arteries of Japanese and Thai, significant direct correlations were found among the contents of Ca, P, Mg, Zn, and Na, whereas significant inverse correlations were found between S and element contents, such as Ca, P, Mg, Zn, and Na

A CASE OF DOUBLE RENAL PELVES AND URETERS ASSOCIATED WITH DOUBLE SUPERIOR VENAE CAVAE

A case of incomplete double renal pelves and ureters was found in a 78-year- old Japanese woman during an ordinary dissection by medical students at Nara Medical University in 2007. The double renal pelves and ureters were present in the left kidney. After two ureters were combined at the distal site, the combined ureter entered the urinary bladder. The number of renal calices was five and three in the upper and lower renal pelves of the left kidney, respectively. Furthermore, the right kidney and ureter were normal. The double superior venae cavae were also present in the woman

A CASE OF DOUBLE SUPERIOR VENAE CAVAE WITH PAIRED AZYGOS VEINS

A case of double superior venae cavae with completely paired azygos veins was found in a 76-year-old Japanese man during an ordinary dissection by medical students at Nara Medical University in 2000. The left superior vena cava was formed by the union of the left internal jugular vein and the left subclavian vein, coursed vertically downward along the thoracic aorta, and entered the coronary sulcus. The vein ran horizontally toward the right in the coronary sulcus and opened into the right atrium. A typical left brachiocephalic vein was not found. The left superior vena cava was the same size as the right one, without communication between them. Paired azygos veins were present