Background: The flexor digitorum brevis tendon to the fifth digit is frequently absent, and this absence is typically an incidental discovery during dissection or surgical studies. This study aimed to assess the frequency of a missing flexor digitorum brevis tendon in a Hispanic population for the first time, the association between the absence of the flexor digitorum brevis tendon, variables such as sex and ethnicity, and the functional implications of an absent tendon. Methods: Our sample consists of 30 cadavers whose feet were dissected and examined for the presence or absence of the digiti minimi tendon. Results: We found no significant relationship between the presence or absence of the tendon to sex or ethnicity. However, due to a lack of significant effects on human ambulation from the absence of this tendon, and the ability of adjacent muscles to adapt to its absence, the absence of this tendon might become increasingly prevalent over time. Conclusions: Knowledge of the frequency of flexor digitorum brevis variations concerning the demographic characteristics of patients would be of clinical importance for tendon repair, tendon transfer to correct deformities such as claw toe or hammer toe, or soft tissue reconstruction in foot surgery.
Background: The obturator artery (OA) often presents multiple anatomical variations. These can be an atypical origin, variable anastomosis, or abnormal course within the pelvis. Methods: This study aimed to report a rare arterial variation in a Puerto Rican female cadaver that showed two abnormal obturator arteries with multiple pelvic branches. The OA emerged from the anterior branch of the internal iliac artery, which typically runs anteroinferior along the lateral wall of the pelvis to the upper part of the obturator foramen. Results: The atypical OA described in this report provided two variant branches. Abnormal obturator artery I (AOAI) emerged first and gave rise to three additional branches, while abnormal obturator artery II (AOAII) emerged second and gave rise to two other branches. Conclusions: Identifying these accessory arteries is essential for surgical interventions, particularly within the field of gynecology and urogynecology. Knowledge regarding anatomical variations within this region must be assessed preoperatively to decrease the risk of iatrogenic injury.
Inflammatory breast cancer (IBC) is one of the most lethal subtypes of breast cancer (BC), accounting for approximately 1–5% of all cases of BC. Challenges in IBC include accurate and early diagnosis and the development of effective targeted therapies. Our previous studies identified the overexpression of metadherin (MTDH) in the plasma membrane of IBC cells, further confirmed in patient tissues. MTDH has been found to play a role in signaling pathways related to cancer. However, its mechanism of action in the progression of IBC remains unknown. To evaluate the function of MTDH, SUM-149 and SUM-190 IBC cells were edited with CRISPR/Cas9 vectors for in vitro characterization studies and used in mouse IBC xenografts. Our results demonstrate that the absence of MTDH significantly reduces IBC cell migration, proliferation, tumor spheroid formation, and the expression of NF-κB and STAT3 signaling molecules, which are crucial oncogenic pathways in IBC. Furthermore, IBC xenografts showed significant differences in tumor growth patterns, and lung tissue revealed epithelial-like cells in 43% of wild-type (WT) compared to 29% of CRISPR xenografts. Our study emphasizes the role of MTDH as a potential therapeutic target for the progression of IBC.
As medical schools attempt to find time in their curriculum to cover more content, they have sought to develop new methods of teaching gross anatomy. The amount of time spent studying gross anatomy has declined amidst controversy as to how and when teaching is best delivered. Moreover, previous studies have established that medical student interest in surgery has declined, along with their technical skills in anatomy. This loss of interest is due to several factors, such as the male‐dominance present in the field, the difficulty of obtaining high enough grades, and nationality. For this reason, the Anatomy Department of the Universidad Central del Caribe School of Medicine at Puerto Rico (UCC) decided to create a pilot project aimed at second‐ and third‐year medical students with surgical interest, providing them with an integrated apprenticeship and an opportunity to mentor first‐year students during their Human Gross and Developmental Anatomy (HGDA) course. Their responsibilities include preparing for dissection, instructing students during dissection on weekends, and tutoring to emphasize anatomical concepts. This provides students with a variety of learning opportunities and a set of skills that we believe are necessary to pursue a career in the surgical field. To evaluate the viability of this pilot project, we carried out a comparison of the scores obtained by first‐year medical students during the first block examination on the musculoskeletal system in 2017 and 2018. The academic performance of first‐year medical students in 2018 served as the experimental variable, while that of students in 2017 served as the control, since they did not receive any help during their first year. In addition to this, a survey addressing satisfaction was also developed for this first phase of the study. The latter was sent to all 74 first year medical students at UCC. The survey included a 5‐point questionnaire using a Likert scale response ranking. Preliminary positive results were obtained for both the academic performance comparison and the survey. These results represent an exciting opportunity for the development of innovative approaches for teaching and learning anatomy that transform the traditional didactic methods towards more engaging and stimulating methods of learning. The analysis of academic performance regarding the remaining three examination blocks (thorax, abdominopelvic cavity, and head and neck) are pending and will take place as the course progresses. Nevertheless, findings for this first phase of the project support our hypothesis that second‐ and third‐year medical students are a viable educational resource promoting professionalism, critical thinking, and instructions.This abstract is from the Experimental Biology 2019 Meeting. There is no full text article associated with this abstract published in The FASEB Journal.
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