Knowing of the level of carotid artery bifurcation (CB) is important for vascular surgery in the neck (Folia Morphol 2015; 74, 2: 206-211)

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Objective: To describe a horseshoe kidney, a congenital anomaly of the upper urinary tract. Clinical Presentation: A case study of horseshoe kidney harvested from a 62-year-old cadaver at Gazi University Medical School is presented. Results: The right and left kidneys were fused at their lower poles by a parenchymal isthmus located ventral to the abdominal aorta and formed a U-shape with two unequal arms.The isthmus of the ectopic kidney was placed obliquely to the left at the level of the fourth and fifth lumbar vertebra. The left kidney was larger and longer than the right one. The kidneys were supplied by three renal arteries arising from the abdominal aorta. Two arteries on the right side supplied blood of the two kidneys, while the third artery that directly originated from the aorta, above the origin of inferior mesenteric artery, supplied the isthmus. Venous drainage of the both kidneys and the isthmus were drained by three veins that opened independently into the inferior vena cava. The right ureter was duplicated in origin. Conclusion: This report shows that knowledge of anomalies such as this is very important in planning and conducting surgical procedures.

Background: The septum pellucidum is a vertical double membrane, extending from the lower surface of the corpus callosum to the fornix. Cavum septi pellucidi (CSP) is a cavity formation between the two membranes that separate the septum pellucidum from the anterior horn of the lateral ventricle. Cavum vergae (CV) is the extension of the cavity between the two leaflets posterior to the splenium of the corpus callosum. In addition, another cystic variation, cavum velum interpositum (CVI), can be found at the level of crus fornices and corpus pineale. The aim of the present study was to retrospectively determine the type and prevalence of septum pellucidum variations in the adult population using Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Methods: Using a retrospective study design, the presence of septum pellucidum variations was investigated in 3128 patients aged 18-80 years. The variations were defined as either CSP or CV on sagittal, axial, coronal T1-and T2-weighted images. In addition, the presence of CV and septum pellucidum agenesis was evaluated. Results: No variation was found in the septum pellucidum in 93.82% of cases. CSP was the most frequent variation with a prevalence of 3.7%. CV had a prevalence of 3.1%. Apart from these variations, CVI was observed in 1% of all cases. Conclusion: Embryological development of the septum pellucidum and the neighboring anatomical structures occurs simultaneously. The authors believe that the present study might serve as a preliminary study for other clinical studies related to these variations.

Methylphenidate, more commonly known as Ritalin, is a piperidine derivative and is the drug most often used to treat attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, one of the most common behavioural disorders of children and young adults. Our aims were to investigate dose-dependent immunohistochemical D2 expression and ultrastructural changes of the rat heart tissue, and to demonstrate possible toxicity of the long-term and high dose use of the methylphenidate. In this study, 27 female pre-pubertal Wistar albino rats, divided into three different dose groups (5, 10 and 20 mg/kg) and their control groups, were used. They were treated orally with methylphenidate dissolved in saline solution for 5 days/week during 3 months. At the end of the third month, after perfusion fixation, left ventricle of cardiac tissue was removed. Paraffin, semi-thin and thin sections were collected and immunohistochemical, terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated Dig-dUTP nick end labelling assay and ultrastructural studies were performed. In conclusion, we believe that Ritalin is dose-related affecting dopaminergic system to increase heart rhythm and contraction. Thus, this drug may cause degenerative ultrastructural changes in mitochondrial path.

Chiari malformation, also known as Arnold-Chiari malformation, is characterized by the caudal herniation of posterior fossa structures through the foramen magnum into the cervical spinal canal. It is a congenital malformation of the craniovertebral junction and hindbrain often associated with other abnormalities of the cerebrospinal axis. [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8] Chiari malformation is classically classified into four types. Chiari type I is the caudal herniation of cerebellar tonsils through foramen magnum by no more than 3 or 5 mm. [1,3,4,6,7,[9][10][11] In Chiari type II, there is a caudal herniation of the brainstem and the fourth ventricle into upper cervical canal through foramen magnum, frequently associated with myelomeningocele, and rarely associated with spina bifida occulta. Chiari type III is the most severe form in which posterior fossa structures herniate into an occipitocervical meningocele sac. Severe cerebellar hypoplasia in absence of cerebellar herniation is observed in Chiari type AbstractObjectives: Chiari malformation is characterized by caudal herniation of cerebellar tonsils from foramen magnum into the cervical canal on radiological images. Type I Chiari malformation is the herniation of cerebellar tonsils more than 3 mm which does not cause any symptoms until adulthood. In this study, we aimed to investigate the prevalence of Chiari type I malformation. Methods:In this retrospective study, cervical magnetic resonance images taken between 2013 and 2015 were retrospectively analyzed. The patients were 18-70 year old males and females. Type I Chiari malformation was defined as an inferior displacement of the cerebellar tonsils more than 3 mm below the opisthion-basion line. The patients with intracranial lesions, hydrocephalus or previous craniotomy were excluded from the study. Results:The prevalence of Chiari type I malformation was found as 4% when both genders were taken into consideration. The prevalence was 3.3% in females and 0.7% in males. Chiari type I malformation was associated with syringomyelia in 0.5% of females and 0.2% of males. In the present study, concomitant syringomyelia was observed in 0.7% of the patients. On the other hand, incidence of Chiari type I malformation was found relatively higher in the patients with scoliosis (15.4%). The ratio of this co-occurrence was higher in females (11.4%) when compared to the males (4%). Conclusion:In the present study, the prevalence of Chiari type I malformation was investigated in a large population, consisting of 2480 individuals, and its association with syringomyelia and scoliosis.

Methylphenidate is a piperidine derivative and is the drug most often used to treat attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder of children and young adults. Our aim is to investigate dose-dependent dopamine-2 receptor and glial fibrillary acidic protein expression and ultrastructural changes of the rat brain, to demonstrate possible toxicity of the long-term and high dose use of the methylphenidate. In this study, 27 female prepubertal Wistar albino rats, divided into three different dose groups (5, 10 and 20 mg/kg) were treated orally with methylphenidate dissolved in saline solution for 5 days per week during 3 months. At the end of the third month, tissues were removed and sections were collected for immunohistochemical and ultrastructural studies. We believe that methylphenidate causes dose-related activation of the dopaminergic system in several brain regions especially in ventral tegmental area and also causing neuronal degeneration and capillary wall structural changes such as basal membrane thickness and augmentation of the pinostatic vesicle in the endothelial cells. Also, increased dose of Ritalin is inducing astrocytes hypertrophy especially astrogliosis in pia-glial membrane and this is the result of the degenerative changes in prefrontal cortex region due to high dose methylphenidate administration. The dose-related accumulation of the astrocytes in capillary wall might well be a consequence of the need for nutrition of the neuronal tissue, due to transport mechanism deficiency related to neuronal and vascular degeneration. Thus, we believe that the therapeutic dose of methylphenidate must be kept in minimum level to prevent ultrastructural changes.