The authors report the results of a series of dissections and anatomic sections of the fronto-basal region of the brain and of the anterior cranial fossa in human cadavers. The constant presence of an arachnoidal cistern above the olfactory nerve was verified. The arachnoid separates from the pial membrane and forms a bridge with the ventral part of the olfactory bulb and tract, from the lateral edge of the olfactory sulcus to the medial edge of the gyrus rectus. The cistern is wide in its anterior portion, between the gyrus rectus and the olfactory bulb, and is reduced to a virtual slit in its posterior portion where the tract is lodged in the olfactory sulcus. The olfactory nerve can be separated without damaging fronto-basal arachnoidial adhesions over several centimeters. Dissection of this region after intravascular injection of colored media shows the constant presence of an artery destined to the olfactory bulb and tract. It originates either from the lateral surface of the anterior cerebral a. (segment A2), or from the medial fronto-basal a., and consistently provides terminal branches in front of the olfactory trigone in the medial olfactory sulcus. At their ventral extremity, the olfactory structures are therefore vascularised independently for several centimeters, from the lower face of the frontal lobe. The independent vascularisation of the olfactory nerve, the tenuous and easily detachable adhesions, and the actual presence of a true arachnoidal cistern all contribute to enabling surgical techniques which conserve olfactory function during anterior approaches.
The authors have studied the pericardial recesses of the venous aspect of the heart. They report 107 anatomical dissections on fresh cadavers with the cardiac cavities artificially filled. Variations in the number of the pulmonary vv., in their diameters and their pericardial segments are reported. The characteristics of the oblique sinus, of the postcaval and pulmonary recesses are also reported. These variations define five types of pericardial morphology. A classification is proposed. These results differ from those in the literature, possibly because the pericardial reflection is delineated in diastolic filling of the cavities. These morphometric data are useful in anatomic instruction, imaging of the mediastinum, and the surgery of malignant tumors and pulmonary transplantation.
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