BACKGROUND:In 2008, members of the TEPARG provided first insights into the legal and ethical framework governing body donation in Europe. In 2012, a first update followed. This paper is now the second update on this topic and tries to extend the available information to many more European countries.METHODS:For this second update, we have asked authors from all European countries to contribute their national perspectives. By this enquiry, we got many contributions compiled in this paper. When we did not get a personal contribution, one of us (EB) searched the internet for relevant information.RESULTS:Perspectives on the legal and ethical framework governing body donation in Europe.CONCLUSIONS:We still see that a clear and rigorous legal framework is still unavailable in several countries. We found national regulations in 18 out of 39 countries; two others have at least federal laws. Several countries accept not only donated bodies but also utilise unclaimed bodies. These findings can guide policymakers in reviewing and updating existing laws and regulations related to body donation and anatomical studies.

Study Objective: To determine and categorize the anatomic variations of the uterine artery (UA) as observed during laparoscopic hysterectomy with retroperitoneal dissection for benign conditions. Design: A prospective, observational study. Setting: A hospital department of obstetrics and gynecology, Uludag University Hospital, Bursa, Turkey. Patients: A total of 378 female patients who presented with indications for laparoscopic hysterectomy for benign disease. Interventions: Laparoscopic hysterectomy with retroperitoneal dissection was performed bilaterally in all patients between March 2014 and October 2018. The vascular anatomy beginning at the bifurcation of the common iliac artery down to the crossing of the UA with the ureter was exposed and subsequently studied. The UA was identified, and its variable branching patterns were recorded. The patterns were then categorized into groups adapted from classic vascular anatomy studies. Measurements and Main Results: Retroperitoneal dissections of 756 UAs were performed in 378 female patients. The UA was the first anterior branch of the internal iliac artery in 80.9% of the cases (Model 1; Main Model). Three additional models adequately described other variations of the UA as follows: Model 2 (Cross Model), 3.7%; Model 3 (Trifurcation Model), 3.1%; and Model 4 (Inverted-Y Model), 7.4%. The origin of the UA could not be determined in 7.4% of the cases. Conclusion: The UA is the first anterior branch of the internal iliac artery in more than 80% of females. Surgeons should be aware of the anatomic variations of the UA to perform safe and efficient procedures. (C) 2020 AAGL. All rights reserved.

This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported (CC BY-NC- ND3.0) Licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/) which permits unrestricted noncommercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Please cite this article as: Celik HH, Şendemir E. Invitation from the Congress Presidents of the XXIV ICSMS Meeting. Anatomy 2015;9(1):49

During routine dissection of a 60- 65 years old Caucasian, male cadaver, we found that the ulnarartery is coursing superficially on both forearms. These superficial ulnar arteries (SUA) wereoriginating 2 cm above from termination of the brachial arteries and were running superficiallyto the flexor muscles in forearm. The brachial artery was terminated in the cubital fossa anddivided as radial, common interosseal and recurrent radial arteries. Variations of arteries, muscles and nerves of the upper limb are well documented. Variations ofthe radial artery is most frequent arterial anomaly of the forearm (15,6%), whereas theprevalence of the superficial ulnar artery is less frequent and given as the percentage of 0.7-9.4.Furthermore, its bilateral prevalence is very rare (0.01-0.62%). If it is present, the superficialulnar artery is vulnerable to traumas which may be a cause of hemorrhage and it may be riskfor misguided intra-arterial injections that may be a cause of ischemia, even non-reversiblenecrosis and gangrene in the distal portion of the forearm. Additionally, SUA may be valuablefor arterial cannulations and harvesting fasciocutaneous forearm flaps

C2 or second cervical vertebra of cervical spine is named as axis, vertebra dentata or epistropheus. It has a prominent odontoid process called dens and characteristic typical features. C2 vertebra injuries are most risky one of all spinal injuries and many surgical procedures are performed to decompress or to stabilize it. Our first aim was to analyse the morphometric features of C2 vertebra extensively. We used fifty-six measurements for thirty-seven parameters to evaluate C2 features in a total of seventy vertebrae of the late Byzantine era, which are preserved at the Department of Anatomy of Medical School of Uludag University. Vertebrae used in the study have been excavated in 1984 from the archaeological site of Nicea in Iznik, Turkey. All parameters have been measured digitally from photographs using Scion Image Software (ver. 4.0.3.2). We methodically present our morphometric measurements in this manuscript. As Forensic anthropologists and bioarcheologists, we have increased attention on the estimation of measurable bony features from fragmented bones based on markers. We believe that our data are useful for applications on physical anthropology and forensic medicine.

part in Dutch language.I can recommend this book especially to anatomicalprofessionals as well as body donors and bereaved as itputs forward strong arguments to the complex anddynamic nature of human behavior concerning donation,motivation, death and conflicts on these issues

Sepsis is known to affect neuroendocrine circuits: injections of lipopolysaccaride are potent stimulators of oxytocin secretion from the posterior lobe, acute sepsis leads to uterus contractions and spontaneous abort. Here, we report changes in expression and distribution of hypothalamic oxytocin in rats that had been subjected to caecal ligation and puncture which led to acute sepsis. Septic animals showed loss of oxytocin immunostaining in perikarya of the supraoptic and paraventricular nuclei and an increase of oxytocin positive fibres, suggesting a shift of oxytocin pools into the axonal compartment. Immunostaining of the posterior lobe revealed reduction of oxytocin in septic rats. Magnocellular neurons in supraoptic- and to a lesser extent in paraventricular nuclei showed nuclear immunoreactivity for the protooncogene c-Fos, indicating stimulation of transcriptional activity upon sepsis. Contrary to magnocellular oxytocin immunoreactivity, we observed increased oxytocin immunoreactivity in cell bodies and processes of periventricular nucleus and in perivascular neurons. Oxytocin neurons in other regions of the hypothalamus and the preoptic region did not appear to be affected by acute sepsis. Our findings suggest a differential activation of neurohypophyseal and cerebrospinal fluid contacting oxytocin systems while centrally projecting oxytocin neurons may not be affected. Systemic oxytocin levels may serve as additional diagnostic marker for sepsis.

Previously, we have reported on the legal and ethical aspects and current practice of body donation in several European countries, reflecting cultural and religious variations as well as different legal and constitutional frameworks. We have also established good practice in body donation. Here we shall further extend the legal and ethical frameworks in place and also focus on novelties in the law and different directives. Of particular interest are points that address the commercialization of human bodies and body parts and weaknesses in the legal directives. Therefore, it is important to define what is ethical and what needs to be considered unethical in body donation and the subsequent utilisation of human bodies for teaching and research.

Objective: Aim of this study is to investigate possible anatomical variations as well as cartilage thickness and surface area that can affect the utility of the tragal cartilage and perichondrium.Background: Cartilage and perichondrial grafts are frequently used in tympanoplasties and middle ear reconstructions. One of the most frequently used cartilage for this purpose is the tragus. Surgeons may face different anatomical characteristics of this cartilage. Literature search has not yet revealed any study that has been performed to define morphological characteristics of the tragal cartilage.Material: A total of twenty tragi of ten adult cadavers were dissected for area and thickness measurements of cartilages.Results: Our study showed that the cartilage tissue between borders of tragus and cartilaginis meatus acustici externi is composed of two separate plates; one superolateral part which we named "surgical tragus" and a inferomedial part that we called "tragal spare cartilage", with the dividing line being incisura cartilaginis meatus acustici. However, we have observed that this "incisura" was missing on two cartilages out of twenty. The greatest thickness was 2.20 mm on the inferior part of the tragus. The thinnest part was the superior medial part of the tragus and was measured 0.7 mm. Our results have also indicated that on average at most 2.19 +/- 0.53 cm(2) of cartilage can be used as tragal reconstruction material. In cases where cartilage harvested from tragus is insufficient, 1.36 +/- 0.67 cm(2) of cartilage on the root of the external meatus is ready to be utilized as reserve material.Conclusion: Findings from the cadaveric tragus specimen show that there are no major pathological changes or conditions on dissected cartilages. The cartilage tissue between borders of tragus and cartilaginis meatus acustici externi is composed of two separate plates; one lateral part which we named "surgical tragus", and a medial part that we called "tragal spare cartilage", ready to be utilized when the surgical tragus is not enough to serve the purpose.

Langer’s axillary arch (axillopectoral muscle) is a variant muscular structure of the axilla which was described under various names as Langer’s muscle, axillary arch or muscular axillary arch by different authors. During routine dissections, we found a muscular slip on the right axillary fossa that originated from latissimus dorsi muscle and attached to the deep surface of the tendon of pectoralis major muscle, and described it as Langer’s axillary arch. Arterial, venous and nervous structures passed under this muscular slip which constitutes an arch in the axillary fossa. Although axillary arch is not very rare, it is generally neglected and not explored or described well. It has immense clinical and morphologic importance for surgical operations performed on axillary region; thus, surgeons should well be aware of its possible existence. © IJAV. 2010; 3: 91–92.

We are pleased to announce the official Joint Meeting of Anatomical Societies of six different countries which will take place in 19-22 May, 2011 in Bursa, Turkey. Anatomical Society of Great Britain and Ireland (ASGBI), Anatomische Gesellschaft (AG), the Italian Society of Anatomy and Histology (SIAI), the Spanish Anatomical Society (SAE), the Swiss Society of Histology, Anatomy and Embryology (SSAHE/ SGAHE) are gathering under the hosting of the Turkish Society of Anatomy and Clinical Anatomy (TSACA).

Langer’s axillary arch (axillopectoral muscle) is a variant muscular structure of the axilla which was described under various names as Langer’s muscle, axillary arch or muscular axillary arch by different authors. During routine dissections, we found a muscular slip on the right axillary fossa that originated from latissimus dorsi muscle and attached to the deep surface of the tendon of pectoralis major muscle, and described it as Langer’s axillary arch. Arterial, venous and nervous structures passed under this muscular slip which constitutes an arch in the axillary fossa. Although axillary arch is not very rare, it is generally neglected and not explored or described well. It has immense clinical and morphologic importance for surgical operations performed on axillary region; thus, surgeons should well be aware of its possible existence.

SummaryAndrogen‐binding protein (ABP) and oxytocin (OT) are among the factors that control smooth muscle proliferation and tumour growth through oxytocin receptor (OTR). A close functional interaction of OTR and caveolin 1 has been shown to modulate cell growth and proliferation. We investigated samples from 10 patients (mean age 68.3) who underwent transurethral prostate resection because of benign prostate hyperplasia (BPH) by immunohistochemistry. Post‐mortem prostate samples of three young men (age 18, 28, 33) were used as controls. Tissue samples were embedded in epoxy resin and cut into serial 1 μm sections for colocalization of ABP, OTR, proliferation marker p21 and caveolin 1. ABP was found in stroma of the smooth muscle cells in all studied samples. OTR staining occurred in most of these cells in BPH while controls contained only scattered cells positive for OTR. There were no apparent differences in immunostaining for p21 while immunoreactivity for caveolin 1 was observed in most cells in BPH and only in few cells in controls. Caveolin 1 was mostly colocalized with ABP and OTR in BPH samples while controls did only occasionally show this colocalization. Our observations indicate an interaction of ABP and OTR, associated with caveolin 1, which may account in part for known non‐genomic actions of gonadal steroids. Androgen dependent prostate growth in BPH may be linked to these mechanisms.

Background. Interaction of sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) and oxytocin (OT) is among the factors that control smooth muscle proliferation and tumor growth through the oxytocin receptor (OTR). Also, a close functional interaction of OTR and caveolin-1 has been shown to modulate cell growth and proliferation.Methods. We studied surgical samples from 23 leiomyoma patients (aged 33-66 years) with immunocytochemistry. Specimens from five patients (34-76 years), who had hysterectomy for other reasons, served as controls. Tissue samples were cut into serial 1-mu m thick sections for co-localization of SHBG, OTR, proliferation marker p21 and caveolin-1.Results. SHBG was found in smooth muscle cells in all samples. OTR staining occurred in most of these cells in myomas, while controls contained only scattered cells positive for OTR. There were no apparent differences in immunostaining for p21, while immunoreactivity for caveolin-1 was observed in most cells in myomas and in only few cells in controls. Caveolin-1 was mostly co-localized with SHBG and OTR in myoma samples whereas controls showed this co-localization only occasionally.Conclusions. Our observations indicate an interaction of SHBG and OTR, associated with caveolin-1, which may account in part for known non-genomic actions of ovarian steroids. Growth of leiomyomas may be linked to these mechanisms.