Hypertrophy of the ligamentum flavum (LF) can reduce the diameter of the spinal canal posteriorly. Such stenosis may significantly compress the dural sac and nerve roots, resulting in symptoms, even without a bulging anulus fibrosus or herniated nucleus pulposus. We conducted an anatomical study to determine the influence of age and gender on the thickness of the LF at the lower lumbar levels using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The thickness of 1,280 ligaments was determined at the L4-L5 and L5-S1 levels from MRIs. We screened 320 patients (152 males [47.5%] and 168 females [52.5%]) between 21 and 82 years of age. There were no significant differences in LF thickness with respect to gender (P > 0.05). Age was not correlated with the thicknesses of the LF. The left LF at the L4-L5 and L5-S1 levels was significantly thicker than on the right side (P < 0.05). Furthermore, the LF thicknesses at L5-S1 bilaterally were significantly greater than on the corresponding sides at L4-L5 (P < 0.05). The LF is an important anatomical structure, which might cause low back or leg pain. Therefore, the thickness of the LF should be measured and evaluated carefully in the case of spinal stenosis.

Sexual dimorphic characteristics, which play an important role in human evolution studies and biological research, can be studied morphologically and metrically. Geometric morphometrics allows a better assessment of morphological characteristics. Statistical shape analysis has a long history in neuroanatomical and other research. The aim of this study was to identify shape differences of the corpus callosum between genders. Landmark coordinate data were collected from two-dimensional magnetic resonance imaging scans of 93 homogeneously aged patients, 45 men and 48 women. These data were analyzed using Euclidean distance matrix analysis and thin plate spline analysis. The general shape variability of the corpus callosum of men was greater than that of women (men, 0.134; women, 0.097). We found no significant difference between sexes in the general shape of the corpus callosum, but we did find significant differences in the distances between some landmarks. Deformation of the corpus callosum between men to women was mainly detected in the posterior of the corpus callosum. These results serve as a reference for future studies on shape alterations of the corpus callosum associated with certain conditions. Anat Rec, 290:825-830, 2007. 2007 Wiley-Liss, Inc.Key words: corpus callosum; sexual dimorphism; statistical shape analysis; geometric morphometrics; EDMAThe corpus callosum (CC) is the major commissural pathway between the brain hemispheres and plays an integral role in relaying sensory, motor, and cognitive information from homologous regions in the two hemispheres. Many neurological studies indicate that the size and shape of the CC are related to gender, age, and neurodegenerative diseases, among other factors. The sexual dimorphism of the CC has been reported from postmortem and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies, but this conclusion has remained controversial since the original report by DeLacoste-Utamsing and Holloway (1982), who found that adult human women had a larger splenium.Statistical shape analysis, a relatively new method in biological research, compares body forms by using specific landmarks determined by anatomical prominences.

SUMMARY:There are a number of variations regarding morphometric anatomy and degree of pneumatization of the sphenoid sinus. In our study, we planned to examine and show the differences of pneumatization of the sphenoid sinus particularly to guide the neurosurgeon during transsphenoidal surgery. Sagittal T1-weighed spin-echo Magnetic Resonance Images (MRIs) of 616 adult individuals (406 women and 210 men) were analyzed, retrospectively. According to the collected data from our study, the most common type of the sphenoid sinus was the sellar type (83%; n=511) for the whole study group. Of the 616 individuals 16.6% (n=102) had presellar type and 0.5% (n=3) had conchal type of sphenoid sinus. Preoperative detailed detection of the anatomical characteristics of sphenoid sinus is essential. A thorough information obtained from studies of the regional anatomy and awareness of its variability can provide a safe and accurate transsphenoidal and extended endoscopic skull base approaches.

178C. BARUT ET AL.(22.11 ± 2.07). Of the right-handed men, 75.5% preferred the right foot, 7.1% the left foot, and 17.4% both feet. Of ambidextrous men, 44.0% preferred the right foot, 28.0% the left foot, and 28.0% both feet. Of left-handed men, 32.3% preferred the right foot, 56.9% the left foot, and 10.8% both feet. The differences between these percentages were found to be statistically significant. Of the right-handed women, 89.9% preferred the right foot, left foot 1.2%, both feet 8.9%, whereas 50.0% preferred the right foot, 12.5% the left foot, and 37.5% both feet in the ambidextrous women. In the left-handed women, 8.8% preferred the right foot, 79.4% the left foot, and 11.8% both feet. The differences between these percentages were found to be statistically significant. The results suggested that the cultural differences among the different study groups may be the reason for the inconsistencies with regard to hand and foot preferences. Moreover, the results may bring insight into the foot preference in relation to hand preference in the Turkish population.

Diabetes mellitus is a common, potentially serious metabolic disorder. Over the long term, diabetes leads to serious consequences in a number of tissues, especially those that are insulin insensitive (retina, neurons, kidneys). It also causes a variety of functional and structural disorders in the central and peripheral nervous systems. We investigated whether neurodegenerative changes were observable in the hippocampus, cortex, and cerebellum after 4 weeks of streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetes in rats and the effect(s) of melatonin. Male Wistar rats (n = 32) were divided into four groups (n = 8 each): untreated controls, melatonin-treated controls, untreated diabetics, and melatonin-treated diabetics. Experimental diabetes was induced by a single dose of STZ (60 mg/kg, intraperitoneal (ip)). For 3 days before the administration of STZ, melatonin (200 microg/kg/day, ip) was injected and continued for 4 weeks. Sections of hippocampus, cortex, and cerebellum were stained with hematoxylin and eosin and examined using light microscopy. In addition, brain tissues were examined immunohistochemically for the expression of glial and neuronal markers, including glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), neuron-specific enolase (NSE), and heat shock protein-70 (HSP-70). No neurodegenerative changes were observed in the hippocampus, cortex, or cerebellum of the untreated diabetic group after 4 weeks compared with the other groups. We did not observe any change in GFAP, NSE, or HSP-70 immunostaining in the brain tissues of STZ-induced diabetic rats. In summary, after 4 weeks of STZ-induced diabetes in rats, no degenerative or immunohistochemical changes were detected in the hippocampus, cortex, or cerebellum.

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The level of the conus medullaris (CM) in adults has been described in many studies with cadavers and living people. T1-weighted sagittal spin-echo MR images of the lumbar spine were reviewed in 364 consecutive patients (207 women, 157 men) with a mean age of 45 years (range 18-80). The most common level of CM was the L1-L2 intervertebral disc level in females and the T12-L1 intervertebral disc level in males. The distribution of CM location in a large adult population was shown to range from the T11-T12 intervertebral disc level to L2-L3 intervertebral disc level.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the relationship between variations of the lateral wall of the nasal cavity and septal deviation (SD). Coronal and axial paranasal sinus CT images of 115 individuals (65 females, 50 males) were reviewed and the presence of pneumatisation and hypertrophy of the conchae was evaluated. Pneumatisation of the concha was classified as lamellar concha bullosa (LCB), bulbous concha bullosa (BCB), or extensive concha bullosa (ECB). If bulbous and extensive conchae and hypertrophic conchae were bilateral the side on which it was greatest was accepted as the dominant concha. The relationship between these variations and nasal septum deviation was also taken into account. Eighty-six (74.8%) of the 115 subjects had SD. Of these, 20 were not affected by the size of the middle nasal concha (MNC) or inferior nasal concha (INC). Thirty-four cases had dominant MNC, 20 had dominant INC, and 11 had both dominant MNC and dominant INC, and all of which had SD towards the opposite side. In one case there was SD towards the side in which the MNC was dominant. Our data indicate that coexistence of pneumatisation or hypertrophy of the conchae and SD was more common in adults compared to the results of similar studies conducted with a wide range of age groups, including children. Thus the presence of SD together with a large concha increases with age. A prospective study, which will include infants, will elucidate the relationship between conchae and SD.