The Anomalous Left Brachiocephalic Vein in Adults

PURPOSE@#To classify anomalous left brachiocephalic vein (LBCV) in adult without cardiac anomaly, and evaluate CT findings of anomalous LBCV.@*MATERIALS AND METHODS@#This study included 32 patients who were diagnosed anomalous LBCV using MDCT between March 2005 and August 2016. Subaortic LBCV divided into group I (with normal LBCV) and group II (without normal LBCV). We evaluated age, sex, diameters and diameter ratios of superior vena cava (SVC) and subaortic LBCV, the entering sites to SVC of subaortic LBCV and the azygos vein, and vascular tortuosity of subaortic LBCV.@*RESULTS@#There were included 29 subaortic LBCV and 3 retroesophageal LBCV. There were not statistically significant in age, sex, diameter of SVC between subaortic groups (p > 0.05). The diameters of subaortic LBCV were thinner in group I. Diameter ratios of subaortic LBCV were lower in group I. The entering site of subaortic LBCV was higher than azygos vein in group I (64%) and same as azygos vein in group II (67%). Vascular tortuosity of subaortic LBCV was in 7 cases of group I.@*CONCLUSION@#It is important for radiologists to be familiar with CT findings of anomalous LBCV, since the radiologists give information of uncommon or rare anomalous LBCV to clinician.

Preventing Extracellular Diffusion of Trigeminal Nitric Oxide Enhances Formalin-induced Orofacial Pain

Nitric oxide (NO), a diffusible gas, is produced in the central nervous system, including the spinal cord dorsal horn and the trigeminal nucleus, the first central areas processing nociceptive information from periphery. In the spinal cord, it has been demonstrated that NO acts as pronociceptive or antinociceptive mediators, apparently in a concentration-dependent manner. However, the central role of NO in the trigeminal nucleus remains uncertain in support of processing the orofacial nociception. Thus, we here investigated the central role of NO in formalin (3%)-induced orofacial pain in rats by administering membrane-permeable or -impermeable inhibitors, relating to the NO signaling pathways, into intracisternal space. The intracisternal pretreatments with the NO synthase inhibitor L-NAME, the NO-sensitive guanylate cyclase inhibitor ODQ, and the protein kinase C inhibitor GF109203X, all of which are permeable to the cell membrane, significantly reduced the formalin-induced pain, whereas the membrane-impermeable NO scavenger PTIO significantly enhanced it, compared to vehicle controls. These data suggest that an overall effect of NO production in the trigeminal nucleus is pronociceptive, but NO extracellularly diffused out of its producing neurons would have an antinociceptive action.