Publications by authors named "Akira Iimura"

[Purpose] Few previous studies have delimitated the palpation zone of the gluteus medius muscle with a focus on its fiber bundles. The purpose of this study was to clarify the morphological characteristics of the gluteus medius muscle using an anatomical approach, and to define its proper palpation zone. [Participants and Methods] In this study, we evaluated thirteen halves of the pelvic region in seven formalin-fixed cadavers.

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Neurotrophic signaling regulates neural cell behaviors in development and physiology, although its role in regeneration has not been fully investigated. Here, we examined the role of neurotrophic signaling in Xenopus laevis tadpole tail regeneration. After the tadpole tails were amputated, the expression of neurotrophin ligand family genes, especially ngf and bdnf, was up-regulated as regeneration proceeded.

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In a student course of gross anatomy dissection at Kanagawa Dental University in 2011, we encountered anomalous case of the right subclavian artery arising from the aortic arch as the last branch in an 84-year-old Japanese male cadaver. The anomalous artery ran obliquely upward, passed behind the esophagus and trachea, and ultimately ran toward right scalene gap. The area of distribution of the anomalous artery was normal.

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In this paper, using full-body CT images of elderly and advanced elderly Japanese cadavers, we measure maxillary and other paranasal sinus volumes in order to examine the effects of age, sex, presence or absence of maxillary molars, and other factors on changes to maxillary sinus volume. The research subjects consisted of 77 of 95 cadavers donated to the Kanagawa Dental University between 2012 and 2014, which average age was 82.6 ± 10 years (33 were male, average age 79.

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Background: HECT domain and ankyrin repeat containing E3 ubiquitin protein ligase 1 (HACE1) regulates a wide variety of cellular processes. It has been shown that one of the targets of HACE1 is the GTP-bound form of the small GTPase Rac1. However, the role of HACE1 in early development remains unknown.

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The present study aimed to morphologically examine the gingival microvascular network using a microvascular resin cast (MRC) technique, and to investigate how inflammatory disease functionally affects gingival microcirculation using laser Doppler flowmetry (LDF). We used four beagle dogs with healthy periodontal tissue as experimental animals. To cause periodontal inflammation, dental floss was placed around the cervical neck portions of the right premolars.

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In a student course of gross anatomy dissection at Kanagawa Dental University in 2009, we found an extremely rare case of the coexistence of the postaortic left brachiocephalic vein with the postaortic left renal vein of a 73-year-old Japanese male cadaver. The left brachiocephalic vein passes behind the ascending aorta and connects with the right brachiocephalic vein, and the left renal vein passes behind the abdominal aorta. These two anomalous cases mentioned above have been reported respectively.

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In a student course of gross anatomy dissection at Knagawa Dental College in 2010, we found an extremely rare case of the horseshoe kidney with circumaortic venous ring in a 43-year-old Japanese male cadaver. In this case, the kidney consisted of three parts: the original kidneys on both sides and an isthmus between them. The location of each kidney was lower than that of the normal kidney.

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The Hippo signalling pathway has emerged as a key regulator of organ size, tissue homeostasis, and patterning. Recent studies have shown that two effectors in this pathway, YAP/TAZ, modulate Wnt/β-catenin signalling through their interaction with β-catenin or Dishevelled, depending on biological contexts. Here, we identify a novel mechanism through which Hippo signalling inhibits Wnt/β-catenin signalling.

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In a student course of gross anatomy dissection at Kanagawa Dental College in 2008, we found an extremely rare case of the double superior vena cava that has a shunt between the right and left atria of a 81-year-old Japanese male cadaver. The left superior vena cava passed through the space between the left cardiac auricle and the left pulmonary vein and entered the coronary sulcus. Then it opened near the opening of the inferior vena cava as the coronary venous sinus to the right atrium.

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Crown dimensions of the maxillary molars were measured in the koala (Phascolarctos cinereus). There were no significant differences in crown diameters between the first and second molars, however the fourth molars were reduced in all crown diameters. The third molar was smaller than the first or second molars in buccolingual crown diameters but there were no significant differences in mesiodistal crown diameters.

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An anomalous artery directly connecting the common carotid artery and internal carotid artery was discovered on the right side in the cadaver of an 83-year-old Japanese female, and the facial artery, maxillary artery, and superficial temporal artery arose from the common carotid artery by a common trunk. The anomalous artery arose from the posterior aspect of the common carotid artery at the level of the origin of the superior thyroid artery, and joined the posterior aspect of the internal carotid artery. The anomalous artery was covered by the connective tissue surrounding the common carotid artery and the internal carotid artery.

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In slowly metabolizing tissue such as tooth, bone and ocular lens, D-amino acids converted from L-amino acids accumulate with age and thus reflect the tissue turnover rate. To investigate whether D-amino acids play a role in determining the bone remodeling rate, we measured the accumulation of D-aspartic acid, which has the fastest rate of racemization, in various areas of the mandible. The level of D-aspartic acid was higher in the ramus than in the body (P < 0.

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The right gonadal artery (RGA) usually arises from the anterior wall of the abdominal aorta below the level of the renal arteries and veins, passes ventrally to the inferior vena cava (IVC), and then runs obliquely downward to reach the pelvic cavity. In this study, we observed 59 Japanese cadavers and found that in eight of them (13.6%), the RGA's passed dorsally to the IVC.

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Anatomical variations of the inferior mesenteric artery (IMA) are uncommon. Generally, the IMA is very stable, arises directly from the abdominal aorta at the level of the third lumbar vertebra. We describe here an extremely rare case in which the IMA arose from the superior mesenteric artery.

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In a stdudenet course of gross anatomy dissection at Kanagawa Dental College in 2006, we found an extremely rare case of the hepatic artery arising from the superior mesenteric artery of a 78-year-old Japanese male cadaver. This case belonged to type V in Adachi's classification of the celiac trunk and the superior mesenteric artery (1928). The gastro-splenic trunk and hepato-mesenteric trunk both arose from the abdominal aorta and the left gastric artery arose from the gastro-splenic trunk.

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Two cases of the horseshoe kidney in Japanese cadaver were reported in this paper. The kidneys and their associated vessels in the retroperitoneal cavity were carefully examined, and the histological examination of the isthmus was performed. In Case 1, four arteries arose from the abdominal aorta.

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The preparation of vascular corrosion casts enables us to observe the minute features of blood vessels. For mice and rats, reports on the macroscopical appearance of testicular arteries with the cast technique have been quite limited. Therefore, in the present study, we tried to prepare corrosion casts of such arteries in order to observe the three-dimensional structures in mice and rats.

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In recent years, partial laryngectomy and partial reconstruction are increasingly intended for conservation of functions of phonation and swallowing. In partial reconstruction, it is important to comprehend morphological characteristics of the blood vessels distributed in the larynx, but there have been only few reports discussing detailed information about them. Previous reports on laryngeal blood vessels have shown that branches of some arteries show remarkable "meandering".

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Three common branches of the celiac trunk are the left gastric artery, the splenic artery and the common hepatic artery. The variation of the three branches of the celiac trunk has an importance for the arterial supply to the digestive organs of the upper abdomen. In this study, we present three cases of the gastrosplenic and the hepatomesenteric trunks in Japanese cadavers.

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Objective: Toluene diisocyanate (TDI)-induced asthma is a common cause of occupational lung disease. In addition, a sore throat is one of the complaints of TDI-exposed workers. The aim of the present study was to determine whether TDI exposure induces laryngeal and/or tracheal lesions in experimental animals.

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We studied the effects of exogenously administered recombinant murine interleukin (IL)-10 on the development of experimental autoimmune orchitis (EAO) in C3H/He mice. IL-10 significantly augments histological signs of EAO when administered for 6 consecutive days from days 15 to 20 after primary immunisations with testicular germ cells. These data demonstrate that IL-10, in addition to its well-known antiinflammatory property, also has proinflammatory functions capable of up-regulating testicular immunoinflammatory processes in vivo.

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Since the cutaneous veins of the four limbs have been used as autogenous grafts in the treatment of cardiovascular disorders, knowledge of distribution of the valves is increasingly required depending upon the use. In the gross anatomical study of distribution of valves of the trunci venae, there has been argument about locational relationships between the venous roots and the valves in the vicinity of the roots and the inter-valvular distance. However, there have been only few reports discussing detailed information about valves of the cutaneous veins of the four limbs.

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The effects of the treatment with the immunosuppressant deoxyspergualin on the development of experimental autoimmune orchitis were studied. The results showed that C3H/He mice immunized with testicular germ cells and treated daily with either 0.3 or 3 mg/kg body weight deoxyspergualin during days 15-20 post-immunization developed experimental autoimmune orchitis lesions with a significantly lower incidence and severity than did the control mice treated under the same experimental conditions with phosphate buffered saline (PBS).

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