[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. We identified the borders between the iliotibial band and gluteus medius muscle, and between the gluteus medius and gluteus maximus muscles, on the iliac crest. Furthermore, we quantified the border points of the gluteus medius' fiber bundles and observed its anatomical and morphological characteristics. [Results] We identified two fiber bundles in the gluteus medius muscle, an anterior and a posterior fiber bundle, and detected that a portion of the posterior fibers was located subcutaneously. [Conclusion] We propose that the region where the posterior fibers of the gluteus medius muscle are located subcutaneously is an appropriate zone for the palpation of this muscle.

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. We report a case of retroesophageal right subclavian artery, and discuss its development, or relation with the thoracic duct, and its clinical importance. Despite this type of variation being relatively rare, reports on such a case have been accumulating. Owing to the recent development of CT and MRI, the number of clinical reports on this anomaly has been increasing.

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. The unmanipulated left premolars served as controls, and received plaque control every 7 days. After 90 days, gingivitis was induced in the experimental side, while the control side maintained healthy gingiva. To perform morphological examinations, we used an MRC method involving the injection of low-viscosity synthetic resin into the blood vessels, leading to peripheral soft-tissue dissolution and permitting observation of the bone, teeth, and vascular cast. Gingival blood flow was estimated using an LDF meter. The control gingival vasculature showed hairpin-loop-like networks along the tooth surface. The blood vessels had diameters of 20–40 μm and were regularly arranged around the cervical portion. On the other hand, the vasculature in the experimental group was twisted and gathered into spiral forms, with blood vessels that had uneven surfaces and smaller diameters of 8–10 μm. LDF revealed reduced gingival blood flow in the group with experimentally induced gingivitis compared to controls. The actual measurements of gingival blood flow by LDF were in agreement with the alterations that would be expected based on the gingivitis-induced morphological alterations observed with the MRC technique.

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 79.3 ± 8.3 years, and 44 were female, average age 85.1 ± 11.7 years). Sinus volume was measured from full-body CT images on the horizontal plane and computed using the 3D volume rendering software. The average maxillary sinus volume was 31.3 ± 13.2 cm3 (average value ± one standard deviation; hereafter the same), with values of 32.9 ± 13.2 cm3 (6.7 cm3 ～ 55.7 cm3) for males and 29.6 ± 12.5 cm3 (5.5 cm3 ～ 52.9 cm3) for females. In this report, we studied the effects of aging, sex, and state of remaining molars on changes to paranasal sinus volume in the maxillary sinus. These results give additional information about maxillary sinus volume of Japanese oldest-old peoples.

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. There have been few reports discussing coexistence of the postaortic left brachiocephalic vein with the postaortic left renal vein. We discuss the anatomical and embryological aspect of this anomaly with reference in the literature.

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. The hili on both sides opened toward the ventral direction, and the ureters descended in front of the isthmus and entered the bladder normally. This horseshoe kidney had original left and right renal arteries that branched from the abdominal aorta. There were also two surplus arteries. There were three renal veins on the left side, and these renal veins formed the circumaortic venous ring. The anatomical and embryological significance of this anomaly and its associated vascular system are discussed. The anatomy and etiology of these anomalous structures are discussed with references in the literature.

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. The upper edge of the interatrial septum was located at the site where the right superior vena cava opened to the right atrium. Accordingly, the right atrium connected with left atrium through this site. We discuss the anatomy and etiology of these anomalous structures with a brief review of the literature.

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. The anomalous anastomosis, especially the proximal portion, may have arisen from the second branchial arch artery during development.

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. It is proposed that the similar shapes of the first and second molars are associated with similar types of masticatory activity involving these teeth, The shape of the third molar, which is reduced in size buccolingually, may be linked to the koala's occlusal function which is characterized by a condylar action that leads to differences in movement between opposing anterior and posterior molar teeth during the occlusal stroke. The fourth molar, the smallest of the molar teeth in crown diameter, erupts significantly later than the other molars, and its reduction may be explained by the terminal and distal reduction theories. It is proposed that the pattern of molar morphology in the koala is associated with both masticatory activity linked to its characteristic occlusal function, as well as reflecting the sequence of tooth emergence.

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 < 0.01), and within the body, the level was higher in the basal area than in the alveolar area (P < 0.01). Within the alveolar area, the level of D-aspartic acid was higher in the molar region than in the incisal region (P: 0.05-0.01). No correlation was found between the accumulated level of D-aspartic acid with age, because all the specimens were obtained from elderly people with only a few years difference in age. There was also no correlation between D-aspartic acid and sex. In conclusion, we suggest that accumulation of D-aspartic acid in the mandibular bone reflects the differences in remodeling associated with occlusion. The incisal portion of the alveolar area of the mandible (above the mandibular canal), shows the greatest evidence of active remodeling.

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. Together with the various courses of RGAs reported in the literature, we here divided the courses into four subtypes, due to the relationship to the left renal vein and the IVC, of superior, middle and lower types (L1 = ventrally, L2 = dorsal of IVC). Superior type was seen in 3.6%. Lower types were fount to in the most cases (L1: 83.5%, L2: 13.6%). The middle type was not realized. The classification of this variations make it easy to describe the RGA's passing below the level of the left renal vein. RGA can pass either ventrally or dorsally to the IVC. RGAs passing at or above the level of the left renal vein run dorsally but not ventrally to the IVC. The variations in the origin, course and branching of RGAs are attributed to development of the IVC.

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. The findings were made during routine dissection of the cadaver of a 79-year-old Japanese man. This present case is the ninth report of this variation and was associated with gastrophrenic trunk, hepatosplenic trunk, hypoplastic spleen and accessory spleen. Clinically, cases like this highlight the importance of knowing the IMA anatomy and the possibility of its numerous variations in surgical procedures such as right hemicolectomy, resection of the transverse colon, left hemicolectomy, sigmoidectomy, and en bloc resection of the head of the pancreas and the superior mesenteric vessels. The developmental significance of this variation is also discussed with a detailed review of the literature.

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. The hepatic artery arose from the hepato-mesenteric trunk and crossed the portal vein anteriorly.

Although ureteral duplication, megaureter (MU) or ureteropelvic junction obstruction is a common anomaly of the urinary tract, complete ureteral duplication accompanied by MU and ureteropelvic junction dilatation (UPD) appears to be rare. In this paper, a case of a Japanese female cadaver with complete ureter duplication associated with MU in the upper pole ureter (UpU) and UPD in the lower pole ureter (LoU) is described. Besides describing and illustrating this case, we discuss the anatomy and etiology of these anomalous structures with a brief review of the literature.

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. One right and two left renal arteries were distributed to the apical, upper, middle and posterior regions of the kidney, respectively, and the artery of isthmus entered the lower segments and the isthmus. In Case 2, six arteries arose from the abdominal aorta. Among three arteries arose from the inferior end of the aorta and entered the lower segments and the isthmus. Histological study revealed that the isthmuses consisted of collecting tubes, glomeruli and urinary tubules and fibrous connective tissue. The incidence of the horseshoe kidney during the dissecting practice at Tokyo Medical University in a period of 24 years from 1980 to 2003 was estimated to be 0.16% (2 out of the 1,219 cadavers). The anatomical and embryological significance of this anomaly and its associated vascular system were discussed. And the histology of the parenchymal structure of the isthmus in the horseshoe kidney containing either fibrous connective tissue or renal parenchyma was also analyzed in this report.

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". In the present study, we devised a method for objectively determining the morphological nature, "meandering" and assessed functions of the arteries. Intralaryngeal arteries were excised from the larynx of cadavers prepared for practice in anatomy, and images of the "meandering" artery were analyzed with NIH Image. The extent of "meandering" was expressed mainly as the ratio of the total length of the blood vessel to the distance between the starting point and the end point of meandering. The results showed that there was a significant difference in the extent of meandering between superior posterior and medial posterior branches of superior laryngeal artery. These arteries, which were distributed in the arytenoid region, were found to be of primary importance in partial laryngectomy and partial reconstruction of the larynx.

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. Especially, in Case 1, the left inferior phrenic artery arose from the gastrosplenic trunk and the left hepatic artery arose from the left gastric artery. In Cases 2 and 3, the common hepatic artery penetrated the pancreatic parenchyma before reaching liver. In Case 3, the right hepatic artery arose from the hepatomesenteric trunk.

Abstract The effect of hydrogen reduction on the composition, structure, and catalytic activity of dichromium(III) copper(II) tetraoxide (copper chromite), CuCr2O4, was investigated. In this oxide, the surface and the bulk CuII was reduced into CuI and further to Cu0 by heating in hydrogen. The methanol decomposition on fresh copper chromite proceeded in a manner similar to that on metallic copper formed as the result of strong reduction and dispersed on chromium(III) oxide. The contribution of CuII, CuI, and Cu0 species to catalytic activity was examined and the similarity in the character of reaction on these two samples with different surface states was discussed. The role of Cr2O3 interacting with zerovalent copper was postulated.