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Echinococcosis is a human infection caused by the larval stage of Echinococcocus granulosus. The most common sites of infection are the liver and the lungs. Cardiac hydatid cysts are very rare, even in regions where hydatic cysts are endemic (the Mediterranean, South America, Africa, and Australia). It has been reported that cardiac involvement is seen in about 0.5-3% of human echinococcosis cases. Three cases of cardiac hydatid disease that caused sudden death and which were histopathologically diagnosed are reported. Cardiac echinococcosis is rare, but due to its insidious presentation and affinity to cause sudden death, it is important that it be identified in the histopathological examination.

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Aromatase (P450AROM) converts testosterone to estrogen. This conversion could be important in normal physiology and estradiol-induced tumorigenesis in human pituitary. The objective of this study was to examine the expression of P450AROM in normal human pituitary and determine the gender difference. We examined aromatase expression in 19 normal human pituitary glands [13 males, 6 females, median age: 30 years (interquartile ranges, IQR: 23-63)] obtained from autopsy. We demonstrated aromatase gene expression levels by quantitative RT-PCR and aromatase protein with immunohistochemical staining in normal male and female human pituitary. Although median relative expression level of aromatase mRNA of male individuals [median DeltaCt = 42.6 (IQR: 7.6-93.9)] was higher than the female individuals [median DeltaCt = 3.9 (IQR:0-44.8)], we could not determine a significant gender difference in aromatase mRNA levels (p = 0.2). The difference between the aromatase protein density by immunohistochemistry was not significant between genders (p = 0.78). The aromatase levels were also not correlated with the age of the study subjects (p = 0.42 r = -0.21). The results indicate that aromatase enzyme is present in human pituitary. The amount and the density of the enzyme show a large variance among different individuals. Although higher mRNA expression was observed in male pituitary compared to female pituitary, there was no statistically significant difference for gender or age.

Knowledge of the anatomy of the cavernous sinus obtained with an endoscopic view of cadaver dissections is an essential step in the learning curve of endoscopic skull base surgery, and is important for endoscopic treatment of various pathologies in this region. In this anatomic study, we reviewed the approaches to the cavernous sinus with an endoscopic view and identified the neurovascular relations. This approach will help in performing safer and minimally invasive surgery.

In this study, it was aimed to investigate the relationship between skull fractures and intracranial lesions following head injury. For this purpose, 500 cases, which were referred to the Third Committee of Council of Forensic Medicine in Istanbul due to traffic accidents by the courts of laws between 1998 and 2000, were examined retrospectively. They were categorized in 3 groups based on findings of their cranium x-rays and brain tomographies. 1- The cases who have fractures in skull bones with brain lesions 2- The cases who have fractures in skull bones with no brain lesions 3- The cases who have brain lesions with no skull fractures. They were examined in detail according to age, sex, localization of skull fractures and brain lesions, and if surgery was applied or not. Of the cases, 152 (30.4%) had only linear fractures, 69 (13.8%) had depressed fractures, 92 (18.4%) had linear fractures plus intracranial lesions, 49 (9.8%) had depressed fractures plus intracranial lesions and 138 (27.6%) had only intracranial lesions. The rate of intracranial lesion among the cases with the skull fracture was 38.9% (141/362), while the rate of skull fracture among the cases with the intracranial lesion was 50.3% (141/279) (P < 0.001). Male to female ratios were 2.4/1 for linear fractures, 5.2/1 for depressed fractures, and 3.5/1 for intracranial lesions. Linear fractures were more frequent among females whereas depressed fractures were often among males (chi2: 9.68, df: 4, p: 0.046). The mean age was 26.3. The rate of depressed fractures was higher the age groups of 0-30 years. (chi2: 16.28, df: 4, p: 0.003). Depressed fractures in the regions of frontal and parietal and, linear fracture in the regions of temporal and occipital were found at higher rates (P < 0.001). In conclusion, we reviewed skull fractures and/or intracranial lesions due to traffic accidents, and found depressed fractures to be more common among males whereas linear fractures to be more common among females and young males. In the male, the skull architecture is thicker and stronger than females and young males. We can state that presence of skull fractures lowers the incidence of intracranial lesions by lowering the intracranial pressure.

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