AR Presents Celebration of the 40th Anniversary of the Congenital Anomaly Research Center at Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto, Japan

Abstract

The Anatomical Record is proud to once again bring embryological science to its front pages. Opportunity came to the Journal to present thematic papers about the 40th anniversary of the Congenital Anomaly Research Center at Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto, Japan, which was established in 1975. Concept for the thematic papers issue came from Dr. Shigehito Yamada. The anniversary celebration focused on scientific contribution, specimen exhibition, and the scientific symposium. The accompanying Introduction article by Dr. Yamada, Dr. Momoko Nagai, and Dr. Masatoshi Hagiwara provides details that will surely intrigue readers and entice them to read all of the thematic papers (Yamada et al., 2018). The Kyoto Collection of Human Embryos is one of the largest, scientifically active collections of human embryos on earth. Readers will be enlightened by the breadth and depth of the scientific inquiry stemming from this unique resource, as discussed and illustrated in the papers that comprise this thematic papers issue. Yasuda provides historical perspective about the Kyoto Collection (Yasuda, 2018). Kohei explains normal and abnormal prenatal development, using the Kyoto Collection (Kohei, 2018). Takakuwa provides three-dimensional (3D) analysis of human embryos and fetuses, using digitized datasets from the Kyoto Collection (Takakuwa, 2018). Morimoto inquires about what hominoid fetuses may tell us about human evolution (Morimoto, 2018). Abe et al. describe the clinical and demographic evaluation of a holoprosencephaly cohort from the Kyoto Collection (Abe et al., 2018). Kose presents magnetic resonance microscopy of chemically fixed human embryos at the University of Tsukuba from 1999 to 2015 (Kose, 2018). Hill explains the approach to developing the digital Kyoto Collection in education and research (Hill, 2018). Finally, Yamada et al. show novel imaging modalities for human embryology and applications to education (Yamada et al., 2018). Each paper covers a unique topic. Together, the group of thematic papers provides evidence that illustrates and clarifies aspects of human development.