The effectiveness of virtual and augmented reality in health sciences and medical anatomy.

Although cadavers constitute the gold standard for teaching anatomy to medical and health science students, there are substantial financial, ethical, and supervisory constraints on their use. In addition, although anatomy remains one of the fundamental areas of medical education, universities have decreased the hours allocated to teaching gross anatomy in favor of applied clinical work. The release of virtual (VR) and augmented reality (AR) devices allows learning to occur through hands-on immersive experiences.

Topographic anatomy of the great auricular point: landmarks for its localization and classification.

Purpose: The great auricular point (GAP) marks the exit of the great auricular nerve at the posterior border of the sternocleidomastoid muscle (SCM). It is a key landmark for the identification of the spinal accessory nerve, and its intraoperative localization is vital to avoid neurological sequelae. This study delineates the topography and surface anatomy landmarks that used to localize the GAP.

Anatomical variations: How do surgical and radiology training programs teach and assess them in their training curricula?

Sound knowledge of anatomy and Anatomical variations plays an integral role in surgical and radiology specialties. This study investigated the current teaching and assessment trends on Anatomical variations in various surgical and radiology specialty training curricula in Canada and Australia. A survey was sent to 122 Program Directors and Chairs of specialty committees in Canada and Directors of Training/Education in Australia of selected surgical and radiology specialties.

Surgical and topographic anatomy of the maxillary line: an important landmark for endoscopic nasal surgery.

The maxillary line is an important surgical landmark in the lateral nasal cavity. We investigated its location, variation, and relation to other landmarks in 47 formalin fixed cadaveric half-heads dissected in steps. Measurements and observations were made to describe the topography of the maxillary line, maxillary line midpoint (M-point), and their relationship with surgically important structures.

Internal jugular vein cannulation complications and elimination of the muscular triangle of the neck due to aberrant infrahyoid muscles.

We report on a rare case of anatomical variations of the infrahyoid muscles with prominent clinical significance. The aberrant anatomy was on the right side of the neck and involved the omohyoid and sternohyoid muscles. The superior belly of the omohyoid was duplicated in width due to an aberrant belly anteriorly and merged with fibers of the inferior belly inferiorly and the sternohyoid muscle medially.

How useful is YouTube in learning heart anatomy?

Nowadays more and more modern medical degree programs focus on self-directed and problem-based learning. That requires students to search for high quality and easy to retrieve online resources. YouTube is an emerging platform for learning human anatomy due to easy access and being a free service.

The thyroid foramen: a systematic review and surgical considerations.

This study presents an analytic review about the trait of the thyroid foramen. A detailed description about the demographics, frequency, embryology, morphometry, possible content, topography, clinical and surgical considerations is provided. The overall frequency was 28.

Duplicated gallbladder: surgical application and review of the literature.

Duplicated gallbladder is a rare congenital anomaly, usually asymptomatic and occurring as incidental radiographic or surgical finding during upper abdomen, liver and extrahepatic biliary tract surgery. We report on a case of two separate gallbladders, one main and one accessory, each one with its own cystic duct. The main cystic duct drained into the common bile duct while the accessory bile duct extruded into the left side of common bile duct just inferior to the main cystic duct termination.

Human body exhibitions: public opinion of young individuals and contemporary bioethics.

Purpose: The exhibitions of plastinated cadavers and organs have attracted millions of visitors globally, while raising serious controversy about their content and purpose of implementation.

Methods: We performed a survey based study on 500 randomly chosen individuals, aged 18- to 35-year old, in order to access their opinion regarding the conduction of such shows as well as body donation for scientific purposes.

Results: We found that 46.

Etiopathogenesis of hyperostosis frontalis interna: a mystery still.

Hyperostosis frontalis interna is a morphological pattern characterized by single or multiple bony nodules situated on the inner lamina of the frontal bone. It is seldom found in males, but it is a common phenomenon among post-menopausal females in modern societies but relatively rare in antiquity. The etiopathogenesis of the trait is a matter of debate and ranges from genetic predisposition to epigenetic, while endocrine disturbances, aging, and dietary factors are also listed among the causes.

Sternalis muscle: an underestimated anterior chest wall anatomical variant.

Over the recent years, an increased alertness for thorough knowledge of anatomical variants with clinical significance has been recorded in order to minimize the risks of surgical complications. We report a rare case of bilateral strap-like sternalis muscle of the anterior chest wall in a female cadaver. Its presence may evoke alterations in the electrocardiogram or confuse a routine mammography.

Topographic anatomy of the internal laryngeal nerve: surgical considerations.

Background: This study is focused on the topographic features of the internal branch of the superior laryngeal nerve (ibSLN) at the thyrohyoid membrane area using as anatomic landmarks the posterior border of the thyrohyoid muscle and the superior border of the thyroid cartilage.

Methods: Thirty-six fresh adult cadavers were dissected to determine the topography and branching pattern of the ibSLN and the superior laryngeal artery.

Results: The ibSLN prior to thyrohyoid membrane's penetration was divided into 3 or 2 branches, in 72.

Superior thyroid artery origin in Caucasian Greeks: A new classification proposal and review of the literature.

Studies on the origin of the superior thyroid artery, define that it could originate either from the external carotid artery, (at the level of common carotid bifurcation), or from the common carotid artery. However, there is a classical anatomic knowledge that the superior thyroid artery is a branch of the external carotid artery. Variability in the anatomy of the superior thyroid artery was studied on 100 carotids.

Sternalis muscle: a new crossed subtype, classification, and surgical applications.

The sternalis muscle is an anatomic variation well known to anatomists, but relatively unknown to clinicians and surgeons. It is localized superficially to the pectoralis major and can cause a diagnostic dilemma during breast surgery, mammography, and computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging scans, as its appearance mimics tumor pathology of the region. We studied the presence of longitudinally placed muscles in the anterior thoracic wall in 45 cadavers (90 hemithoraces).

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

Introduction: 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.

Case Presentation: We report a very rare case of high origin of the left testicular artery in a 68-year-old Caucasian male cadaver.

Sesamoid ossicles within the nuchal ligament: a report of two cases and review of the literature.

Sesamoid ossicles are ovoid or round nodular small bones found usually within a joint or tendon of the upper and lower limb and rarely at other regions. They are usually asymptomatic, resulting in an increased propensity to injuries. We report on two cases where sesamoid ossicles were detected within the nuchal ligament.

Unilateral elongated styloid process: a case report.

An unusual case of a unilaterally elongated styloid process with a length of 5.8 cm was found on a dry skull of a male cadaver. During his life the subject was complaining for reported ipsilateral otalgia presumably due to nerve compression from the elongated styloid process.

Osteopoikilosis: a case report of a symptomatic patient.

Osteopoikilosis (OP) is a very rare benign sclerosing bony dysplasia with an autosomal dominant inheritance. We describe the morphology of an osteopoikilosis male patient, associated with severe pain on wrist and hand joints, report on the relative literature and focus on clinical significance, due to mimicking capability of other more severe conditions such as bone metastases.