The purpose of the study was to determine anatomical variations at the suprascapular notch for better understanding of possible predisposing factors for suprascapular nerve entrapment. We dissected 32 shoulders of 16 cadavers between the ages of 39 and 74 years. We observed abnormally oriented superior fibers of the subscapularis muscle in five shoulders of the 16 cadavers, which were covering the entire anterior surface of the suprascapular notch and significantly reducing the available space for the suprascapular nerve. We also detected anterior coracoscapular ligament in six of the 32 shoulders, and calcified superior transverse scapular ligament in four of the shoulders. In this study, we classified the variations for the superior transverse scapular ligament. In conclusion, knowing the anatomical variations in detail along the course of the suprascapular nerve might be important for better understanding of location and source of the entrapment syndrome, especially for individuals who are involved in violent overhead sports activities such as volleyball and baseball. To our knowledge, close relationship of subscapularis muscle with the suprascapular nerve as a possible risk factor for suprascapular nerve entrapment has not been mentioned previously.

Cadavers remain a principal teaching tool for anatomists and medical educators teaching gross anatomy. Infectious pathogens in cadavers that present particular risks include Mycobacterium tuberculosis, hepatitis B and C, the AIDS virus HIV, and prions that cause transmissible spongiform encephalopathies such as Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) and Gerstmann-Straussler-Scheinker syndrome (GSS). It is often claimed that fixatives are effective in inactivation of these agents. Unfortunately cadavers, even though they are fixed, may still pose infection hazards to those who handle them. Specific safety precautions are necessary to avoid accidental disease transmission from cadavers before and during dissection and to decontaminate the local environment afterward. In this brief review, we describe the infectious pathogens that can be detected in cadavers and suggest safety guidelines for the protection of all who handle cadavers against infectious hazards. Anat Rec (New Anat) 269:194 -197, 2002.

Summary: The digastric muscles of 99 cadavers were examined bilaterally. In 5 of them, the digastric muscles showed different types of complex abnormalities.These complex anomalies should be kept in mind in functional studies involving the floor of mouth and evaluating the same structures with CT and MR imaging. Secondly, the embryological basis of the isolated anomalies of the anterior digastric muscle with respect to its occurrence together with the mylohyoid muscle stressed in this article needs further studies of their development from the first branchial arch.

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The venous drainage patterns of right middle lobe reveals great number of variations. Knowing the frequency of different types of drainage patterns classified in this study is extremely important for the surgeons performing pulmonary surgery, atrial fibrillation and imaging techniques.

The distance from the TM to the MIB is highly variable and independent from body height or femoral length. The so called "safe zone" in which damage of significant nerve damage is excluded can have a rather small dimension in some patients. Short patients are not at increased risk and tall patients are not risk free. Modern techniques in total hip replacement which try to minimize proximal interruption of the GMM are therefore justified.

The objective is to evaluate the prevalence and morphology of recesses along the posterior margin of the infrapatellar fat pad on routine MR imaging of the knee. MR images of 213 knees in 204 consecutive individuals were evaluated with regard to the prevalence and morphology of recesses (a "suprahoffatic" recess close to the inferior border of the patella and the previously described "infrahoffatic" recess anterior to the inferior portion of the infrapatellar plica). The recesses were analyzed with regard to synovial effusion and the condition of the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL). Anatomic dissection was made in 29 knees in 16 cadavers to verify the presence of the suprahoffatic recess. The infrahoffatic recess was present in 45% of the knees and mostly linear in shape (44%). The suprahoffatic recess was detected in 71% of the knees (45% in cadavers). Very weak to moderate positive correlation was found between the synovial effusion or the condition of the ACL and the presence and dimensions of the recesses. An awareness of the recesses in the infrapatellar fat pad is important in order to distinguish between pathology and anatomic variants on routine MR imaging of the knee.

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