John Browne (1642-1702): anatomist and plagiarist.

In contrast to many other physicians of his age, John Browne (1642-1702), an English anatomist and surgeon, managed to strike a balance in his career that spanned relative obscurity, prestige, and notoriety. Among his more prestigious credits, Browne was Surgeon in Ordinary to King Charles II and William III. He also had numerous publications to his name, some of which are credited as great innovations.

Varicella-zoster virus reactivation from multiple ganglia: a case report.

Introduction: Simultaneous involvements of multiple cranial nerve ganglia (geniculate ganglion and peripheral ganglia of cranial nerves VIII, IX and X) by varicella-zoster virus and its subsequent activation may result in the characteristic eruptions of herpes zoster cephalicus. Coexistence of facial palsy and involvement of upper cervical dermatomes by varicella-zoster virus is quite rare.

Case Presentation: Here, we report a 71-year-old Iranian man with involvement of multiple sensory ganglia (geniculate ganglion and upper dorsal root ganglia) by varicella-zoster virus.

Wang Qingren and the 19th century Chinese doctrine of the bloodless heart.

Wang Qingren, a Chinese physician, made interesting observations regarding the cardiovascular system approximately 200 years ago. His textbook of anatomy was based on cadaveric dissections only and this resulted in many of his observations being erroneous. Nevertheless, Wang made steps forward in reversing past misconceptions based on Chinese mysticism.

The sublime bridge: anatomy and implications in median nerve entrapment.

Object: The sublime bridge is a potential site of entrapment of the median nerve in the forearm. To the authors' knowledge, this structure and its relationship to the median nerve have not been studied. The aim of the present study was to quantitate this structure and elucidate its relationship to the median nerve.

Wilhelm His (1831-1904) and his contributions to neuroanatomy.

Introduction: The contributions to neuroanatomy by the Swiss scientist Wilhelm His, Sr. (1831-1904) are underrepresented in the literature.

Discussion: The present paper will discuss the life and writings of this pioneer of the neurosciences who expanded our knowledge of neurohistology and neuroembryology.

Johan Georg Raeder (1889-1959) and paratrigeminal sympathetic paresis.

Introduction: Johan Georg Raeder (1889-1959) was the most eminent Norwegian ophthalmologist in the early decades of the last century. Raeder made significant contributions to our current understanding of glaucoma. He is remembered for a syndrome he described, that of trigeminal nerve neuralgia and/or paresis and incomplete Horner's syndrome (oculopupillary sympathetic paresis).

Renal involvement in Behcet's disease.

There are conflicting reports about the renal involvement in Behcet's disease (BD). In this study we aimed to study the frequency and type of renal involvement in a group of patients with BD in Azerbaijan province that is one of the prevalent areas of BD in Iran. All cases of BD were prospectively followed between June 2004 and January 2007, and evaluated for renal dys-function (serum creatinine > 1.

The petrosal nerves: anatomy, pathology, and surgical considerations.

The literature lacks a comprehensive review of the petrosal nerves, which often have a complicated course and nomenclature. The medical literature was reviewed comprehensively for information regarding the anatomy, pathology, and surgery of the petrosal nerves. The terminology and anatomy of the petrosal nerves are often complicated.

Facial palsy and its management in the Kitab al-Hawi of Rhazes.

More than 1000 years ago, Rhazes practiced rudimentary neurology. This monumental physician wrote more than 200 books in his lifetime and died a blind pauper in the 10th century AD. His Kitab al-Hawi (Liber Continens) was one of the most famous and detailed medical texts of the ancient world.

John Murray Carnochan (1817-1887): the first description of successful surgery for trigeminal neuralgia.

Description of and treatment for trigeminal neuralgia has a long history. One pivotal pioneer in this disease, however, has been more or less lost to history, along with his first description of a series of patients treated successfully for trigeminal neuralgia with surgery. John Murray Carnochan, a surgeon practicing in New York City, performed successful neurosurgery on 3 patients some 3 decades earlier than the first commonly accepted successful procedure by William Rose of London in 1890.

Classification and clinical anatomy of the first spinal nerve: surgical implications.

Object: Data regarding the first cervical nerve are scanty and conflicting, however this nerve may need to be identified for neurosurgical procedures such as rhizotomy for torticollis and suboccipital pain syndromes. The authors performed the present study to elucidate further the detailed anatomy of the first cervical nerve and review its clinical relevance.

Methods: Forty adult cadavers (80 sides) were used in this study.

Outcome of renal transplant in hereditary gelsolin amyloidosis.

Amyloid nephropathy is an unusual manifestation of hereditary gelsolin amyloidosis and may present with proteinuria and progressive renal failure. We report the first case of renal transplantation in a patient with hereditary gelsolin amyloidosis complicated by end-stage renal disease. The patient was a 44-year-old man from the Northwest of Iran who had undergone hemodialysis for 1 year.

William Henry Battle and Battle's sign: mastoid ecchymosis as an indicator of basilar skull fracture.

William Henry Battle (1855-1936) practiced medicine in England > 1 century ago and is primarily remembered for his description of ecchymosis over the mastoid, which indicates fracture of the skull base. Although Mr. Battle made many contributions to medicine, almost nothing exists in the literature regarding his life and findings, especially in regard to head injury.

Feasibility of ventricular expansion postmortem: a novel laboratory model for neurosurgical training that simulates intraventricular endoscopic surgery.

Object: Cadavers are often used in the teaching of various neurosurgical procedures. One aspect of this resource that has not been previously explored is the postmortem dilation of the ventricular system, which is often collapsed, for the purpose of training neurosurgeons in the use of intraventricular endoscopy.

Methods: Nine adult cadavers without a history of hydrocephalus or other known intracranial pathology were used for this study.

Anatomy of the lateral intermuscular septum of the arm and its relationships to the radial nerve and its proximal branches. Laboratory investigation.

Object: Other than very simple descriptions of the existence of the lateral intermuscular septum (LIS), the literature offers almost nothing about its detailed anatomy, relationships to the radial nerve, and proximal branches. To further elucidate its morphological characteristics, the present cadaveric study was performed.

Methods: The lateral arm was bilaterally dissected from 25 adult fixed cadavers (50 sides).

Emergency transorbital ventricular puncture: refinement of external landmarks.

Object: Emergency access to the ventricular system is sometimes necessary for the treatment of raised intracranial pressure with ensuing herniation. One procedure described in the literature is a transorbital approach performed using a spinal needle. Because past publications have been case reports with minimal definition of external landmarks, the present study was performed.

Richard Lower (1631-1691): acknowledging his notable contributions to the exploration of the nervous system. Historical vignette.

Richard Lower (1631-1691), an anatomist and physician, was born in St. Tudy, Cornwall, England, and became an avid follower of William Harvey and a pupil to Sir Thomas Willis. Unfortunately, little is written of his contributions to the study of the nervous system despite his successful medical career and his regard as one of the most significant English physiologists of the 17th century.

Surgical and anatomical landmarks for the perineal branch of the posterior femoral cutaneous nerve: implications in perineal pain syndromes. Laboratory investigation.

Object: The perineal branch of the posterior femoral cutaneous nerve (PBPFCN) has received little attention in the literature. Because perineal pain syndromes can be disabling and pudendal nerve surgical decompression/block is often not efficacious, an anatomical study of this cutaneous nerve of the perineum seemed warranted.

Methods: The authors dissected 20 adult cadavers (40 sides) to identify the branching pattern and landmarks for the PBPFCN.

Vasovagal syncope in the Canon of Avicenna: the first mention of carotid artery hypersensitivity.

Ibn Sina, known as Avicenna in the West, was a celebrated Persian thinker, philosopher, and physician who is remembered for his masterpiece, The Canon of Medicine. The Canon that served as an essential medical encyclopedia for scholars in the Islamic territories and Europe for almost a millennium consisted of 5 books. In the third book, Avicenna described patients with symptoms of carotid hypersensitivity syndrome.

The role of prophylactic chest drainage in the operative management of esophageal atresia with tracheoesophageal fistula.

Introduction: Anastomotic leakage and respiratory complications are among the most common and potentially life-threatening complications following the surgical repair of esophageal atresia. Controversies exist regarding the efficacy of prophylactic extrapleural chest tube (EPCT) drainage in patients who have undergone repair of esophageal atresia.

Materials And Methods: In this prospective study, 50 newborns with esophageal atresia and distal tracheoesophageal fistula (EA-DTEF) were randomized into two groups, with no significant differences regarding gender ratio, birth body weight and delivery status.

The evolution of the study of anatomy in Japan.

The following review focuses on how the study of anatomy in Japan has evolved throughout the centuries; specifically, we investigate anatomical knowledge during the primitive, ancient, feudal, and early modern periods of Japanese history. Early vague and mythical anatomical concepts derived from China prevailed for many centuries in Japan. Kajiwara wrote one of the earliest anatomical works in 1302.