Squatting Facets and Trochlear Extensions of Talus Bone in Indian Population

Introduction:The talus is a tarsal bone articulated with the tibia, fibula, navicular, and calcaneus bones to form supratalar, pretalar, and subtalar joints, respectively. A squatting facet is a kind of anomaly that forms on the surfaces where the tibia and talus articulate. The squatting facet states the daily activities and living style of society. Squatting is described as the hyperflexion of the hip and the knee and the movement of hyperdorsiflexion between the leg and the ankle. Materials and Methods: In the present cross‑sectional study, 600 dry adult human tali were taken from the osteology laboratory in the Department of Anatomy, King George’s Medical University, UP, Lucknow. Each talus was examined for the presence of various patterns of articular facets on the neck of the talus and extensions of its trochlear surface. Ethical clearance was obtained from the Institutional Ethics Committee, King George’s Medical University, Lucknow, as reference code: 121 ECMIIA/P3. Results: In our study, we observed that the lateral, medial, and combined squatting faces are 282 (47.64%), 49 (8.28%), and 22 (3.72%), respectively. Lateral, medial, and continuous trochlear extensions are 126 (21.12%), 120 (20.58%), and 31 (5.36%), respectively, in the Indian population. Conclusion: Modifications of the neck of the talus (squatting facets and trochlear extensions) are the result of prolonged squatting positions, which is a common habit of the Indian population, and incidences of these variations can be used as an anthropological marker for racial and regional differentiation of unidentified bones.

Gender-Wise histological differences in the human upper lip

Introduction: Knowledge of morphometry of lip lining help in deciding the best site for choosing graft for its better uptake during several dermal grafting procedures following craniofacial cancers or cosmetic procedures. It also proves useful in dermatopharmacokinetics, in which we monitor the effect of drugs acting on connective tissue by translabial route and lip augmentation surgeries (esthetic surgery) where care is to be given for dermal fillers not to be injected into the muscle core of lip. Materials and Methods: Ten human male cadavers and 10 human female cadavers were procured. The rectangle‑shaped skin specimen (1 cm × 1 cm) through the upper lip was stained with hematoxylin and eosin stain. A total of 40 slides were prepared. Readings were obtained with the help of CATCAM E series HD cameras which was installed in light microscope. Results: The mean value of thickness of skin (epidermis + dermis) of the lip was 664.72 μm among males while 769.20 μm among females. Conclusion: The epithelium of females is marginally thicker than males. Edp: sc (epidermis/stratum corneum) ratio can suggest that giving drugs through translabial route will be easy in females as compared to males in the upper lip as the stratum corneum is the main barrier in drug transfusion and its absorption secondary to epidermis as a whole. The number of rete pegs per field at the dermoepidermal junction was higher in males which ensures more stability of skin of male lips compared to females

Gender Differences in the Microanatomy of Skin of Palm in Humans

Knowledge of basic elements provides opportunity to make clear vision of structure of any organ. It is well known that accurate values of thickness of epidermis of skin and its variation with body site, age and sex are important in the fields of medical and biological research. The variations in skin reaction to certain stimuli could be due to biological factors such as the epidermal thickness, dermal thickness, distribution of epidermal appendages etc. Methods: Skin was procured from palm of six freshly embalmed human cadavers. Out of these three were males and three were females. Age of the male and female cadavers ranged between 60 to 70years (mean age 67years). Skin samples measuring 1cm (L) X 0.5cm (B) were taken from center of palm. Tissue was preserved in 10% formaldehyde for 48 hours. Fixed tissue specimens were dehydrated through increasing concentrations (30%, 50%, 70%, 90% and absolute) of ethanol. After clearing the tissue in xylene, embedding was done in paraffin wax. 5 µm thick sections were cut using rotary microtome. Whole thickness of tissue was sectioned. Haematoxylin[Harris’s] and Eosin stained section was observed for 3 different fields thus for each cadaver 27 observations were obtained. Results: In females thickness of epidermis(Edp) of were observed 404.43±23.41µm,thickness of stratum corneum (330±32.83µm),layers of stratum spinosum, stratum granulosum were 4 and 3 respectively, number of rete pegs (7.52±0.94), depth of rete pegs (195.78±18.05µm), thickness of papillary dermis and reticular dermis were(135.92±13.230µm) and (386.10±8.24µm) respectively. Whereas In males thickness of epidermis(Edp) of were observed (296.63±107.03µm),thickness of stratum corneum were (112.20±63.92µm),layers of stratum spinosum and stratum granulosum were 2, number of rete pegs 16.15±3.71, depth of rete pegs (104.56±15.28µm), thicknesss of papillary dermis and reticular dermis were(142.63±40.84µm) and (483.27±116.43µm) respectively. Conclusion: Despite of the fact that subjects from both sexes belonged to the same age group, clear and statistically significant histological differences were observed in the skin of palm. Females showed thicker epidermis as well as stratum corneum but thinner dermis in comparison to males. Males had more number of rete pegs but these are shallower than females.