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The uterine tubes (UT) are fundamental tubular organs in human reproduction. However, it was not until the middle of the 17th century that Reinier De Graaf's research began to reveal its true role in reproduction. In this work the main contributions of Horacio Croxatto Avoni toward the knowledge of the morphology and physiology of the human UT are summarized. Its main contributions are related to the physiology of zygote transport and gametes throughout the UT. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Deer and sheep spines are often used as models of the human spine. A prerequisite for the use of animal models is information regarding the interspecies differences in the parameters of general interest. This would clarify the limitations of each animal model and substantiate the applicability of the obtained results to humans. Since sufficient data appear to be currently unavailable, we sought to investigate the feasibility of using deer and sheep as animal models for studies on the human spine. The objective of this study was a thorough comparison of the anatomical parameters of deer and sheep spines with those of the human spine. We employed three- dimensional reconstructions of computed tomography images, generated using figure analysis software, which facilitated quantitative analysis of the linear and curvature parameters and the geometric index of the vertebral bodies. Our findings represent a comprehensive database of the anatomical characteristics of the deer and sheep lumbar spines and their comparisons with those of the human lumbar spine. This study provides insight into the similarities and differences in the vertebral geometries between the human spine and the deer and sheep spines. We found that the differences are minimal and that they do not greatly compromise the utility of deer and sheep lumbar spines as models of the human lumbar spine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The anatomy of mammal's lung air space constitutes the bronchial tree which disposition is associated to air flux dynamics. Casts obtained from human, pig and rat lungs were studied to analyze possible differences of the bronchial tree architecture in mammals with diverse dimensions and posture. Air spaces were filled with polymers through trachea followed by acid corrosion. Tracheal and main bronchial division's diameters were measured to relate with body mass using allometry. The results revealed a dichotomic bronchial branching pattern in the human casts and a monopodial pattern in animals. In allometric relationship trachea was larger in rats, then pigs and lastly in humans, differences were statistically significant, the same occurs in right bronchus, as in the left bronchus there was no difference between rat and pig. The linear relationship between the human tracheal diameters was 1.2 times larger than the pig and 6.7 times larger than the rat; the pig tracheal diameter was 5.6 times larger than the rat. Quadruped position of the pig and rat is linked to a horizontal air way while the erect position, biped in human, correspond to a vertical air way. A big mammal shows less respiratory frequency than small mammals. Mammals with small, medium and high body mass allied to diverse posture and habits was compared revealing morphological differences in the bronchial trees as different allometric correlations between quadruped animals and human biped. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Deer and sheep are used as spinal animal models in clinical and basic research. In this paper, the anatomical morphology, curvature, and morphology index parameters were investigated to assess the feasibility of using deer and sheep as animal models of the human spine. Fresh adult male sheep, deer, and human spine specimens (n = 10 each) were screened and subjected to morphological analyses. The statistical software package SPSS (version 17.0) was used to analyze the statistical similarity and variability among the 3 species.1 Deer displayed good similarity to human in terms of the vertebral transverse diameter, radius vector, spinal canal transverse diameter, radius vector, and vertebral upper and lower endplate curvature radii. Sheep displayed good similarity to human in terms of the vertebral body height, pedicle height, vertebral mid-lever curvature radius, and vertebral positive curvature radius. Human, deer, and sheep each displayed unique morphological characteristics and trends for the lumbar spine. These findings indicate that deer and sheep are good spinal animal models of human in morphometry, but with specific advantages in different research fields: deer are more suitable when studying vertebrae and endplate structures, while sheep are more suitable when referring to structures such as the vertebral walls. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The variations in morphometric parameter of mamnmlian brains may be influenced by process of functional complexity, evolution and adaptation. Comparative analysis of linear measurements of cerebrum in the human and baboon has shown morphometric differences. In the present study linear measurements from human and baboon cerebrum (n= 10 each) were used to predict various values for human and baboon brain and body parameters through muhiple regression models. The average brain weights were found to be 2.08% and 0.84% of the body weights for humans and baboons respectively. The elasticity of regression models revealed that unit percentage increase in Occipital-Frontal (OF) distance would increase the human brain weight by 66.19%, while the baboon brain weight would increase by 7.63%. The unit percentage increase in the Height of Temporal Lobe (HTL) would increase the human brain weight by 16.28%, while the baboon brain weight would increase by only 0.28%. Unit percentage increase in Frontal-Temporal (FT) distance would decrease the human and baboon brain weights by 14.04% and 0.46% respectively. Inter-species values were also predicted through simulation techniques by using the ratios of model parameters with application of programming language Python. The OF, FT and HTL values for human were found to be 2.01 times, 1.55 times and 1.91 times respectively to that of baboon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Morphometric parameters of olfactory brain components show species-dependent variations. However, the association of these parameters with olfactory function vis-à-vis ecological and evolutionary behaviors is poorly understood. In this study, a rnorphometric analysis of the olfactory bulb, tract and stria was carried out in three ecologically diverse animals comprising humans (primate), dogs (carnivore) and goats (herbivore) to elucidate differences in morphometry in relation to olfactory function. Using formalin-fixed brains, volumes and linear measurements of the olfactory structures were determined and correlated with those of cerebrum and the whole brain. The volume of the offactory bulb was greatest in dogs, followed by goats and humans and constituted 0.31%, 0.18% and 0.01%, respectively, of the brain volume. Similarly, the ratio of volume of the bulb, tract and stria to that of brain was 1.95% in the dog, 0.77% in the goat and 0.03% in the human. The width of the bulb was greatest (p< 0.05) in dogs (10.80±1.64mm) compared to goats (8.25±0.96mm) and humans (5.50±0.71mm), and accounted for a hemisphere breadth of 42.91%, 29.73% and 8.94% respectively. Interestingly though, the total length of the olfactory bulb, tract and striae increased in the order of goat (34.5±1.30mm), human (36.25±1.70mm) and dog (48.20±1.92mm), and constituted 21.47%, 51.87% and 72.30%, respectively, of the hemisphere length. These results suggest that the morphometric adaptations of the olfactory components to olfactory function decline from the dog, to goat, to human, and this may be indicative of the varied olfactory functional needs in regard to the ecological diversity of these species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inadequate ossification of the interparietal region induces the appearance of interparietal and wormian bones, also associated with genetic factors. The formation of the interparietal bone depends on the separation of the intermediate segment from the lateral plate by the transverse occipital suture, which means that this bone is formed by the medial and lateral plates. Wormian interparietal bones or epactal bones are located within the interparietal region, being single or multiple, and are located in the upper central region of the interparietal region, the sutural bones, however, are formed from additional ossification centers that can occur in near sutures. The aim of this work was to macroscopically evaluated the presence of changes in the structure of the adult human occipital bone in cadavers found in the human anatomy laboratory of the Goiás Federal University in order to determine the frequency of supernumerary bones associated with occipital and parietal bones and relate it to literature, as well as to provide images and data for ethnic studies in the Brazilian population and data that could help medical practices such as fetal position and radiographs. Our data have indicated that the frequency of the interparietal bone of 1.92% is among those seen in countries such as Japan, Bulgaria, Nigeria, India and Turkey, but lower than values found in pre-Hispanics Chileans; however, for the sutural bones, the frequency of this study was higher than other data obtained from Spanish and other Brazilians. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]