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The spleen is the largest lymphoid organ. It is wedge shaped and measures about 1 inch thick, 3 inches broad and 5 inches long. It presents characteristic notches on its superior margin and has a hilum on the visceral surface. The aim was to study the anomalies related to size, shape and external features of the spleen and discuss their clinical importance. As there are not many reports on variations in size shape and features of spleen in the South Indian population, we decided to do this study on cadaveric specimens. We observed 50 spleens fixed with 10% formalin. Among the 50 spleens observed, 25 spleens (50%) were normal and had all the features explained in the textbooks. 25 spleens (50%) did not have any notches on the superior margin, 2 spleens (4%) did not have a hilum and 4 spleens (8%) were small sized i.e. about 3 inches long. One of the spleens (2%) was "liver shaped" with 2 lobes. The knowledge of external features and dimensions of spleen are important for radiologists and surgeons as it may lead to confusions in interpreting radiographs and in the procedures of ultrasound examinations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Histotechnology is concerned with processing and preparing of the body tissue in such a manner as to enable a satisfactory study of it. Section cutting is an integral part of histology and histopathology. It is an art by itself requiring skill and knowledge on the part of technician or the person who needs to do section cutting. In the routine method of preparing paraffin sections, it is often encountered by the presence of artefacts like fine wrinkles or folds. Attempts have been made to remove the wrinkles by floating the sections in the warm water bath. However this method has not been able to remove all the wrinkles from the sections. We have designed a simple and reliable method, in which the paraffin sections were floated over the ethyl alcohol diluted with water (1:15) before they were placed in the water bath. Through this method, we have been able to get the wrinkle free sections of superior quality. The advantage of our method is that, it is easy to prepare the dilute alcohol and is cost effective. This method can be used by the histology and pathology technicians and the researchers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Brachial plexus shows several variations in its formation and branching pattern. Variations in the formation of the trunks are very rare. We studied 44 dissected specimens specifically tor variations in the formation of the trunks of the brachial plexus. 5 cadavers (11.3%) showed variations in the formation of the trunks. All the variations were unilateral. In one cadaver (2.27%), the middle trunk was formed by union of C7 and C8 roots and lower trunk was formed by TI root. Upper and middle trunks were fused with each other in one specimen (2.27%). In 3 specimen (6.81%), the C5 root pierced scalenus anterior before joining C6 to form the upper trunk. Knowledge of its variations is of importance to orthopedic surgeons, neurologists and anesthesiologists. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Occurrence of variant muscular slips from pectoralis major muscle is rare. In this report, we present a rare case of aberrant muscular slip associated with the pectoralis major muscle which we call costodorsalis. This muscular slip originated from the 6th rib near the costochondral junction and ran along the lower border of pectoralis major muscle. It crossed the axilla from medial to lateral side and merged with the latissimus dorsi muscle. This type of origin and insertion is unique and has not been reported earlier. The knowledge of this muscle variation may be of special importance to the anesthesiologists, physiotherapists and plastic surgeons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]