Retrostyloid and retromandibular courses of the external carotid artery.

Background: The external carotid artery (ECA) branching pattern has been extensively studied in the current literature. However, its topographical variability has been barely reported. The aim of the current study was to assess the ECA in relationship with the styloid process (SP) and the mandible.

Internal Jugular Vein Fenestration and Duplication.

The internal jugular vein (IJV) is considered one of the prominent veins of the neck. It corresponds to the continuation of the sigmoid sinus and joins the subclavian vein to form the brachiocephalic vein. A retrospective study of 200 computed tomography angiographies was performed at the Larissa University Hospital Radiology Department, where the IJV variant morphology was investigated.

A bilateral fetal origin of the posterior cerebral artery coexisting with an absent A1 segment of the anterior cerebral artery.

Background: The cerebral arterial circle variants are well-described due to their clinical significance for neurosurgeons and neuroradiologists.

Materials And Methods: This magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) report describes the unusual coexistence of three cerebral variants incidentally identifiedin a 44-year-old female patient.

Results: The right-sided first segment (A1) of the anterior cerebral artery (ACA) was absent, and both the posterior cerebral arteries (PCAs) originated from the internal carotid arteries (ICAs).

Τhe styloid process length and the stylohyoid chain ossification affect its relationship with the carotid arteries.

Purpose: The elongated styloid process (SP) is associated with internal carotid artery (ICA) dissection, due to its close relationship with the vessel. However, the relationship with the variable ossified stylohyoid chain (SHC) has been scarcely studied. The current study investigated the relationship between the temporal bone's SP and the external and internal carotid arteries (ECA and ICA).

The lingual and facial arteries' common origin: a systematic review with meta-analysis and a computed tomography angiography study.

Purpose: The present evidence-based systematic review with meta-analysis aimed to investigate the fusion morphology of the lingual artery and facial artery (in the form of the linguofacial trunk-LFT) pooled prevalence and morphometry. After carefully investigating the data literature, a retrospective computed tomography angiography (CTA) study was performed to investigate a few parameters that were not well-studied.

Materials: An evidence-based systematic review retrieved 41 studies that met our inclusion criteria to identify the LFT pooled prevalence.

A scarce combination of arterial variants: an occipital artery originating from the internal carotid artery associated with a linguofacial trunk.

The occipital artery (OA) typically originates from the external carotid artery (ECA). Variations of the ECA has been well described in the current literature, while the OA is a relatively stable vessel, and its variations are uncommon. In the current case report, an aberrant OA has been found coexisting with a linguofacial trunk (LFT) on the right hemineck of a 51-year-old male patient.

Fenestration of the anterior and posterior cerebral arteries in coexistence with a contralateral posterior cerebral artery of fetal origin.

Purpose: The present case report aims to describe the rare coexistence of three variants of the cerebral arterial system diagnosed by computed tomography angiography (CTA).

Methods: A retrospective study on head and neck CTAs was performed on a Greek adult population from the Department of Radiology, University Hospital of Larissa. An interesting case of an 80-year-old male was further investigated.

An ectopic thyrolingual trunk arising from the common carotid artery: a rare variant.

The common carotid artery (CCA) typically bifurcates into the external and internal carotid arteries (ECA and ICA). In the head and neck area, the ECA gives off a few anterior branches from proximal to distal: the superior thyroid artery (STA), the lingual artery (LA), and the facial artery (FA). Occasionally, these branches can fuse into trunks, with the linguofacial trunk being the most common.

Right-Sided Aortic Arch: A Computed Tomography Angiography Investigation, A Systematic Review with Meta-Analysis.

: The right-sided aortic arch (RAA) is an uncommon variation of the aortic arch (AA), characterized by the aorta crossing over the right main bronchus. In the RAA, the descending aorta can be found on either the right or left side of the spine. The current study comprises a comprehensive retrospective computed tomography angiography (CTA) investigation into the prevalence of the RAA within the Greek population.

Pterygoid Hamulus: Morphological Analysis and Clinical Implications.

Introduction: The pterygoid hamulus (PH), as a small and curved projection of the sphenoid bone, occupies a unique position at the skull base. Given its functional relation with the surrounding anatomical structures, the study of this rather underrepresented structure in the literature assumes paramount importance.

Materials And Methods: We examined a total of 87 pterygoid hamuli (50 right-sided and 37 left-sided) out of a sample of 114 dry skulls.

Radiologic Features of T10 Paravertebral Muscle Sarcopenia: Prognostic Factors in COVID-19.

Background: Sarcopenia, defined as a small cross-sectional area (CSA) in computed tomography (CT) measurements of skeletal muscles, serves as a disease severity marker in various clinical scenarios, including pulmonary conditions and critical illness. Another parameter of sarcopenia, the level of myosteatosis, reflected by the tissue's radiodensity, in the thoracic skeletal muscles group, has been linked to disease progression in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients. We hypothesize that CT-derived measurements of the skeletal muscle density (SMD) and the CSA of thoracic skeletal muscles can predict outcomes in COVID-19 pneumonia.

Combination of fusion guided multiparametric MRI-transrectal US with systematic biopsy of the prostate for the detection of clinically significant prostate cancer: A prospective single-center study.

Purpose: To investigate the diagnostic efficacy of fusion guided multiparametric MRI (mpMRI)-transrectal ultrasound (TRUS) biopsy versus systematic biopsy of the prostate in patients with suspicion of prostate cancer.

Methods: A total of 185 patients with PI-RADS 3 lesions or higher underwent fusion guided targeted and systematic prostate biopsy. Histology of samples was correlated with PI-RADS score and biopsy method for each patient.

Breast Cancer Classification on Multiparametric MRI - Increased Performance of Boosting Ensemble Methods.

This study aims to assess the utility of Boosting ensemble classification methods for increasing the diagnostic performance of multiparametric Magnetic Resonance Imaging (mpMRI) radiomic models, in differentiating benign and malignant breast lesions. The dataset includes mpMR images of 140 female patients with mass-like breast lesions (70 benign and 70 malignant), consisting of Dynamic Contrast Enhanced (DCE) and T2-weighted sequences, and the Apparent Diffusion Coefficient (ADC) calculated from the Diffusion Weighted Imaging (DWI) sequence. Tumor masks were manually defined in all consecutive slices of the respective MRI volumes and 3D radiomic features were extracted with the Pyradiomics package.

PCaGuard: A Software Platform to Support Optimal Management of Prostate Cancer.

Background And Objective: Prostate cancer (PCa) is a severe public health issue and the most common cancer worldwide in men. Early diagnosis can lead to early treatment and long-term survival. The addition of the multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging in combination with ultrasound (mpMRI-U/S fusion) biopsy to the existing diagnostic tools improved prostate cancer detection.

Incorporating diffusion-weighted imaging in a diagnostic algorithm for multiparametric MR mammography.

Background: Apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) measurements are not incorporated in BI-RADS classification.

Purpose: To assess the probability of malignancy of breast lesions at magnetic resonance mammography (MRM) at 3 T, by combining ADC measurements with the BI-RADS score, in order to improve the specificity of MRM.

Material And Methods: A total of 296 biopsy-proven breast lesions were included in this prospective study.

A facile approach to prepare silica hybrid, spin-crossover water-soluble nanoparticles as potential candidates for thermally responsive MRI agents.

A reverse micelle method was used for the synthesis of water-soluble silica hybrid, spin-crossover (SCO) nanoparticles (NPs). MRI experiments provided temperature dependent 2 values, indicating their potential use as smart MRI agents, while lyophilization of NP dispersions in water yielded powders with a preserved but modified thermal hysteretic magnetic profile.

Asymptomatic unilateral aplasia of the left parotid gland: an unusual entity and case report.

Congenital agenesis of major salivary glands is considered a very infrequent condition and typically appears to be a coincidental finding. It can be present as sporadic case or may be combined with aplasia or hypoplasia of other salivary glands or the lacrimal glands, or as a part of syndromes. Only 23 cases documented in the literature to date, while the youngest patient was 50 days old.

Frequency of sternal variations and anomalies in living individuals evaluated by MDCT.

Purpose: The aim of this retrospective study was to present the frequency and MDCT appearances of sternal variations and anomalies, as well as to highlight their clinical significance.

Methods: This retrospective study was carried out on 1150 patients, who underwent chest MDCT. Axial planes, multiplanar and curved-planar reconstructed images were studied.

Multi-parametric MRI lesion heterogeneity biomarkers for breast cancer diagnosis.

Purpose: To identify intra-lesion imaging heterogeneity biomarkers in multi-parametric Magnetic Resonance Imaging (mpMRI) for breast lesion diagnosis.

Methods: Dynamic Contrast Enhanced (DCE) and Diffusion Weighted Imaging (DWI) of 73 female patients, with 85 histologically verified breast lesions were acquired. Non-rigid multi-resolution registration was utilized to spatially align sequences.

The O-Linked N-Acetylglucosamine Containing Epitope H (O-GlcNAcH) is Upregulated in the Trophoblastic and Downregulated in the Fibroblastic Cells in Missed Miscarriage Human Chorionic Villi With Simple Hydropic Degeneration.

Epitope H contains an O-linked N-acetylglucosamine (O-GlcNAcH) residue in a specific conformation and/or environment recognized by the mouse monoclonal antibody H. O-GlcNAcH is present in several types of cells and in several polypeptides, including cytokeratin 8 and vimentin, on the latter in cells under stress. In the present work, we examined the expression of the O-GlcNAcH in 60 cases of endometrial curettings from missed miscarriage cases containing normal and simple hydropic degenerated chorionic villi in each case, using monoclonal antibody H and indirect immunoperoxidase and Western blot immunoblot.

Vidian canal and sphenoid sinus: an MDCT and cadaveric study of useful landmarks in skull base surgery.

Purpose: To present the anatomical variations of vidian canal (VC) and sphenoid sinus (SS), relative to other anatomical landmarks of skull base area, which may be helpful for safer surgical approach to this area.

Materials: MDCT scans (128-row MDCT system) of 90 patients (mean age 62 years) and six cadaveric heads were studied, and the following parameters were evaluated: mean length and types of VC, distance between VC and foramen rotundum (FR) and optic canal (OC), position of the VC regarding the lateral pterygoid plate (MPTG) and petrous ICA, pneumatization of SS, position of intrasinus septum regarding ICA and OC, bone dehiscence and protrusion of ICA and OC into SS. Six cadaveric heads underwent MDCT and endoscopic dissection, and the type and length of VC were evaluated.

Celiac Trunk and Hepatic Arteries: Anatomical Variations of Liver Arterial Supply as Detected with Multidetector Computed Tomography in 1,520 Patients and its Clinical Importance.

Hepatic arterial variations are relatively common, but usually overlooked by radiologists, leading to iatrogenic complications or prolonging interventional or surgical procedures. Michels in 1966 classified hepatic arterial variations in 10 categories, based on a cadaveric study. Establishment of multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) provides useful anatomical information.

Application of Radiomics and Decision Support Systems for Breast MR Differential Diagnosis.

Over the years, MR systems have evolved from imaging modalities to advanced computational systems producing a variety of numerical parameters that can be used for the noninvasive preoperative assessment of breast pathology. Furthermore, the combination with state-of-the-art image analysis methods provides a plethora of quantifiable imaging features, termed radiomics that increases diagnostic accuracy towards individualized therapy planning. More importantly, radiomics can now be complemented by the emerging deep learning techniques for further process automation and correlation with other clinical data which facilitate the monitoring of treatment response, as well as the prediction of patient's outcome, by means of unravelling of the complex underlying pathophysiological mechanisms which are reflected in tissue phenotype.

Diagnostic performance of quantitative diffusion tensor imaging for the differentiation of breast lesions at 3 T MRI.

Background: Conventional breast magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), including dynamic contrast-enhanced MR mammography, may lead to ambiguous diagnosis and unnecessary biopsies.

Purpose: To investigate the contribution of quantitative diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) in the discrimination between benign and malignant breast lesions at 3 T MRI.

Material And Methods: The study included a total of 86 lesions (44 benign and 42 malignant) in 58 women (34 with malignant lesions, 23 with benign lesions and 1 with both types of lesions).

Artificial oocyte activation: physiological, pathophysiological and ethical aspects.

Infertile couples with low oocyte yield in combination with abnormal semen parameters may experience intra-cytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) failure. An established factor associated with ICSI failure is oocyte activation deficiency (AOD). The latter originates from seminal contributors, such as phospholipase C-zeta (PLCζ) that is not adequate to produce calcium (Ca) oscillations for oocyte activation.