The intermalleolar ligament seemed to be an almost invariably present anatomic entity with diverse morphologic features on MR images.

In anterior interosseous nerve syndrome and ulnar neuropathy, paralysis or weakness of the flexor digitorum profundus (FDP) muscles has been shown to vary according to the degree of involvement of the median and ulnar nerves, respectively. We traced these nerves in 50 cadaveric specimens in which each FDP was completely separated. The specimens were classified into six anatomic and another six presumptive electromyography (EMG) types according to the innervation patterns of the entire and the proximal one-third of the FDP muscles, respectively. The diverse anatomic and presumptive EMG types in this study suggest that the FDP muscles of the 2nd to the 5th digits should be examined by functional tests and EMG in lesions of the median or ulnar nerve.

The aim of this study was to clarify the topographical relationships between the greater occipital nerve and the trapezius muscle and between the greater occipital nerve and the occipital artery in the occiput in order to increase the success rate of greater occipital nerve blockade. Fifty-six halved heads of 28 cadavers were used in this study. The piercing points and the courses of the greater occipital nerve and occipital artery were analyzed by dividing a line connecting between the external occipital protuberance and mastoid process into three equal parts. A circle with a radius of 2 cm drawn at the medial trisection point of this line was divided into four equal sectors. The greater occipital nerve simply passed the lateral border of the trapezius muscle and then pierced the fascia connecting the cranial attachment of the trapezius muscle with the sternocleidomastoid muscle in 62.5% of the specimens, whereas it pierced the muscle itself in the other 37.5%. The greater occipital nerve and occipital artery pierced the fascia within the 2-cm-radius circle in 85.7% and 98.2% of the specimens, respectively. The piercing points of the greater occipital nerve and occipital artery were observed most frequently in the inferomedial (42.9%) and inferolateral (37.5%) sectors of the circle, respectively. The greater occipital nerve and occipital artery pierced the same sector of the circle and accompanied each other in 51.8% of the specimens. These results are expected to improve the understanding of the topographical relationships between the greater occipital nerve and trapezius muscle and between the greater occipital nerve and occipital artery in the occiput, and thus provide helpful information for the management of occipital neuralgia.

Lumbar facet joints have been implicated in chronic low back pain in up to 45% of patients with low back pain (LBP). Facet joint pain diagnosis and management are always challenging for pain physicians. Facet joint pain is not diagnosed by specific demographic features, pain characteristics, or physical findings, even though electrodiagnostic studies and imaging modalities are available. Although comparative local anesthetics or placebo saline injections can be used, diagnostic blocks are the only reliable diagnostic measures according to the current literature. Treatment of chronic LBP arising due to facet joint includes intraarticular injections, medial branch blocks, and radiofrequency neurotomy. However, the evidence of their clinical efficacy is continuously under scrutiny. Pain physicians must have a detailed understanding of the spinal anatomy in order to perform safe and effective interventional procedures. This review outlines the important aspects of spinal anatomy as they relate to interventional pain management related to facet joint injections. Additionally, we provide a comprehensive review of the procedure and clinical evidence.

Morphological variations of the deltoid ligament were investigated in this study, with the aim of classifying the different types on the basis of their components. Sixty ankles from 39 cadavers were dissected. The origin and insertion sites of the deltoid ligament were identified, and its length, width, and thickness were measured. The deltoid ligament was divided into two layers, superficial and deep, which respectively comprised four components (tibionavicular, tibiospring, tibiocalcaneal, and superficial posterior tibiotalar ligaments) and two components (anterior tibiotalar and deep posterior tibiotalar ligaments). The tibiospring and tibiocalcaneal ligaments were found in 100% of the specimens, while the prevalence rates of other components lay within the range 63.3-96.7%. The tibionavicular and deep posterior tibiotalar ligaments were the thinnest and thickest, respectively, while the other ligaments had similar thicknesses. The deltoid ligament was classified into types I-IV according to the combinations of these components: all components were present in type I (48.3%), the tibionavicular ligament was absent in type II (36.7%), only the superficial posterior tibiotalar ligament was absent in type III (6.7%), and only the anterior tibiotalar ligament was absent in type IV (8.3%). In conclusion, these results improve knowledge of the morphological and morphometric characteristics of the deltoid ligament and thus provide helpful information for surgical procedures in this region. Clin. Anat. 29:1059-1065, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.