The size of the foramen ovale regarding to the presence and absence of the emissary sphenoidal foramen: is there any relationship between them?

Background: The study investigates the size of the foramen ovale (FO) in relation to the presence and absence of the emissary sphenoidal foramen (ESF). Any possible alteration of the FO size in relation to the ESF (unilateral or bilateral) presence and absence was also examined. Materials and methods: One-hundred and ninety-five (117 male and 78 female) Greek adult dry skulls were investigated. Results: The ESF was present in 40% of the skulls (21.5% bilaterally and 18.5% unilaterally). No statistical significant difference was detected between ESF presence or absence and its unilateral or bilateral occurrence. The ESF existence had no relation to the FO size. Conclusions: The ESF absence or presence has no effect on FO size. The emissary sphenoidal vein is an additional venous pathway connecting cavernous sinus with the pterygoid venous plexus. These findings enhance that the venous plexus of the FO is a constant trait. The meticulous knowledge of the middle cranial fossa anatomy is of paramount importance during transovale procedures, as the outcome of cannulation may be affected by the existence of ESF, the confluence FO-ESF, the existence of osseous spurs and bridging into the FO. (Folia Morphol 2018; 77, 1: 90–98)

Foramina of the anterior mandible in dentate and edentulous mandibles

The study provides a morphometric analysis of the foramina located at the anterior mandible according to dental status. The inner surface from the midline to the distal border of the second premolars of 70 dentate and 27 edentulous Greek adult dry mandibles was investigated. The lingual foramina were divided into medial and lateral foramina. Foramina located at the alveolar process and the midline were subdivided according to their location to genial tubercles. Moreover, the height of the mandible in the genial symphysis and the distances from the foramina to the alveolar crest and the lower border of the mandible were measured. Medial and lateral lingual foramina were presented in 97.9% and 78.4% of the mandibles, respectively. The alveolar medial and lateral lingual foramina were detected in 19.6% and 27.3%, respectively. The mean height of the genial symphysis was 32.06 ± ± 4.88 mm for the dentate and 23.87± 5.37 mm for the edentulous mandibles. The meticulous knowledge of the topography of the lingual foramina and their content is of paramount importance for dentists, oral and maxillofacial surgeons during dental implants placement. Middle and lateral lingual foramina are constant structures, while the alveolar foramina presented only in dentate mandibles. The foramina location is directly affected by dental status. The morphology of edentulous mandibles increases the risk of intraoperative complications at the anterior mandible.

Enlarged parietal foramina: A rare finding in a female Greek skull with unusual multiple Wormian bones and a rich parietal vascular network

Enlarged parietal foramina (>5 mm) is an extremely rare developmental defect of the parietal bone, which is distinguished from the normal small parietal foramina, as genes associated with this entity have been identified, suggesting that it is hereditary in nature. We describe a dry skull of a 35-year-old female, with enlarged parietal foramina symmetrically situated bilaterally, oval in shape, measuring 4.5 × 9.3 mm (right) and 4.9 × 9.2 mm (left) in size. The foramina coexisted with multiple Wormian bones in several sites of the skull. On the inner parietal bone surface, the anterior, posterior and lateral foramina's rims carried grooves, which were continuous with the middle meningeal vessels' branches, indicating that a rich vascular network existed around the foramina. These vascular grooves also notched the external table at the margin of the foramina, which suggests a potential communication between the meningeal and the scalp vessels. In addition, this vascular variation should be taken into consideration when performing surgical interventions in the area, because the large vascular supply to the foramina is a possible source of extensive bleeding. Moreover, the interaction of intracranial and extracranial veins and the fact that the blood flows in them in both directions, as they are valveless, could represent a possible pathway for infections to spread in the cranial cavity. © 2013 Japanese Association of Anatomists

The size of the foramen ovale regarding to the presence and absence of the emissary sphenoidal foramen: Is there any relationship between them?

Background: The study investigates the size of the foramen ovale (FO) in relation to the presence and absence of the emissary sphenoidal foramen (ESF). Any possible alteration of the FO size in relation to the ESF (unilateral or bilateral) presence and absence was also examined. Materials and methods: One-hundred and ninety-five (117 male and 78 female) Greek adult dry skulls were investigated. Results: The ESF was present in 40% of the skulls (21.5% bilaterally and 18.5% unilaterally). No statistical significant difference was detected between ESF presence or absence and its unilateral or bilateral occurrence. The ESF existence had no relation to the FO size. Conclusions: The ESF absence or presence has no effect on FO size. The emissary sphenoidal vein is an additional venous pathway connecting cavernous sinus with the pterygoid venous plexus. These findings enhance that the venous plexus of the FO is a constant trait. The meticulous knowledge of the middle cranial fossa anatomy is of paramount importance during transovale procedures, as the outcome of cannulation may be affected by the existence of ESF, the confluence FO-ESF, the existence of osseous spurs and bridging into the FO. Copyright © 2018 Via Medica

The styloid process in a Greek population: an anatomical study with clinical implications

The study determines the variability of the length of the styloid process in a Greek population and investigates how it is affected by gender and age; it also evaluates the side asymmetry, highlighting clinical implications. One hundred and forty-nine dry adult modern skulls (94 male and 55 female) were divided into subgroups according to their age: 20–39, 40–59 and older than 60 years. The lengths of 262 styloid processes (127 right and 135 left-sided) were measured. The lengths of right-sided styloid processes ranged from 6.4 to 70.2 mm and left-sided styloid processes from 5.2 to 69.0 mm. The processes were classified according to their lengths as short <18 mm, normal 18–33 mm and elongated >33 mm. The majority of the processes were normal (45.8 %), 27.5 % were short and 26.7 % elongated. No statistical significant correlation was established among the lengths of the styloid processes, gender and age. Side asymmetry was found only in the group with elongated styloid processes (right processes were longer, 28.3 %, than the left ones 25.2 %; p = 0.016). Our study contributes to the literature, adding important information about the length of the styloid process and its diversity in the Greek population. It also confirms the existence of an osseous landmark as a starting point for the measurement of the length of the styloid process and proposes a method of measurement for the evaluation of the actual length of the styloid process. © 2014, Japanese Association of Anatomists

Morphometric variability of pyramidalis muscle and its clinical significance

Purpose: The goal of the study is to analyze the morphometric diversity of the pyramidalis muscle (PM) and to evaluate how it is affected by gender and side of occurrence. Materials and methods: Ninety-six (50 male and 46 female) formalin-embalmed Greek cadavers were dissected. Results: The PM was present in 93.8 %, usually bilaterally (79.2 %) than unilaterally (14.6 %) (p = 0.003) and more frequently in females (91.3 %) than in males (68 %) (p = 0.0001). Side symmetry was detected. The mean length of PM in males and females was 8.37 ± 2.80 and 6.18 ± 1.64 cm on the right and 7.50 ± 2.66 and 6.56 ± 1.68 cm on the left side. Male predominance existed on the right and left-sided PM lengths (p = 0.0001 and p = 0.054). The mean width of the right-sided PMs in males and females was 1.61 ± 0.55 and 1.50 ± 0.44 cm and the left-sided 1.56 ± 0.53 and 1.55 ± 0.38 cm without gender dimorphism. The positive correlation between the PM length and width indicates a symmetrical muscle augmentation on the two dimensions. Conclusions: The study demonstrates that the PM is almost constant in Greeks. Among populations the muscle morphometric variability, its clinical significance and its variable uses will help surgeons when intervening in the lower abdominal wall. © 2015, Springer-Verlag France

Kv1.3 Channel Up-Regulation in Peripheral Blood T Lymphocytes of Patients With Multiple Sclerosis

Voltage-gated Kv1.3 potassium channels are key regulators of T lymphocyte activation, proliferation and cytokine production, by providing the necessary membrane hyper-polarization for calcium influx following immune stimulation. It is noteworthy that an accumulating body of in vivo and in vitro evidence links these channels to multiple sclerosis pathophysiology. Here we studied the electrophysiological properties and the transcriptional and translational expression of T lymphocyte Kv1.3 channels in multiple sclerosis, by combining patch clamp recordings, reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction and flow cytometry on freshly isolated peripheral blood T lymphocytes from two patient cohorts with multiple sclerosis, as well as from healthy and disease controls. Our data demonstrate that T lymphocytes in MS, manifest a significant up-regulation of Kv1.3 mRNA, Kv1.3 membrane protein and Kv1.3 current density and therefore of functional membrane channel protein, compared to control groups (p < 0.001). Interestingly, patient sub-grouping shows that Kv1.3 channel density is significantly higher in secondary progressive, compared to relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (p < 0.001). Taking into account the tight connection between Kv1.3 channel activity and calcium-dependent processes, our data predict and could partly explain the reported alterations of T lymphocyte function in multiple sclerosis, while they highlight Kv1.3 channels as potential therapeutic targets and peripheral biomarkers for the disease. © Copyright © 2021 Markakis, Charitakis, Beeton, Galani, Repousi, Aggeloglou, Sfikakis, Pennington, Chandy and Poulopoulou

Evaluating the photocatalytic treatment of stevioside by TiO2 in different aqueous matrices and identification of transformation products

The present study reports the photocatalytic transformation of stevioside, under simulated solar irradiation using TiO2 as a photocatalyst. As a tool of investigating the effect of various aqueous matrices, as well as, the initial stevioside concentration on the variation of the photocatalytic efficiency, a fully nested experimental design was employed. A significant impact on the degradation rate of the sweetener was observed: degradation rate decreases in the order distilled water > river water > lake water, attributed to the increased natural organic matter content of the respective naturalwater samples. Moreover, the investigation has involved the identification of intermediate compounds, as well as the assessment of mineralization and toxicity evaluation. More than one hundred unknown transformation products, most of them in the form of several isobaric species, were identified. By employing accurate mass determination, we were able to attribute an empirical formula to each species and through MSn analyses we were capable to distinguish several isobaric species. The overall transformation mechanism was assessed and involved the hydroxylation/oxidation of the molecule and the subsequent loss of the glucose units bound to the parent compound. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved