It Is Time the Sternum Gets a New Name.

Names of objects change over a period of time. New words come up to keep in line with innovations and technology. Neologism requires that the new word entrant should be concise, phonetically strong and resemble the function towhich thewordmay be used. Internet language is the latest invention inwhich theword has been so abbreviated that at times the user is frightened that its continuous usage would finally obliterate the real word. To counter that threat old-timers adopt duality in action, i.e., they would use internet language while using internet portfolio and would revert to the old language while scripting text. However, in certain cases it is better to discard the old robe in favor of new when the coined word would instill more confidence and is in harmony to the function it is required to perform. In this way the word is remembered accurately and used with finesse. Presented in this paper is the strong defense for change of the word “sternum” to “saber” and reason why this change is desired.

Incidence of bregmatic bone in north Indian skulls.

Background and objective: Studies of non-meteric cranial variants have been a field of considerable interest to research workers specially because of their racial and regional importance. Supernumerary ossicles (or Wormian bones) of the cranial vault are formations associated with insufficient rate of suture closure. It was reported that there exists racial variability among the incidence of these bones. Material and methods: Studies of fifty north Indian skulls of Rohilkhand Medical College Bareilly and Shri Ram MurtiSmarak Institute of Medical Sciences, Bareilly, U.P. were studied for the incidence of Bregmatic bone cranial variant. Results: In our study the incidence of bregmatic bone was 4%, which was higher than reported elsewhere. Conclusion: The findings are discussed in the light of available literature and are of considerable racial and regional significance. We believe that the knowledge of bregmatic bone is of importance to the neuroanatomists, neurosurgeons, radiologists, anthropologists, paediatricians and morphologists.

Sonographic evaluation of portal vein diameter in North Indian population.

Background: Portal vein size is a diagnostic index useful in measuring portal hypertension which is found in many disease conditions including cirrhosis where it occurs in > 60% of cases. Aims: The aim of this work is to determine the normal portal vein diameter in adult North Indian population. There is paucity of work describing the portal vein diameter in this population. Method: In this work we used a 2 D ultrasound- a non invasive method to assess the portal vein size in 400 adults aged 20-80 years of both sexes(146 males & 254 females). Results: The mean diameter of normal portal vein in the male subjects was 10.33 mm ± 1.004 & in female 9.41 mm ± 1.16. Conclusion: The portal vein diameter obtained in this work is comparable to that found in Caucasians. This information can be useful in diagnosing and treating portal hypertension in a variety of clinical situations.

Ultrasonographic study of correlation between development of gallstones with morphology of gallbladder and common bile duct in North Indian Population.

Background & objectives- Gallbladder diseases are very common in Indian population. Ultrasonography (USG) is the commonest mode of investigation in such conditions .In view of above mentioned points we have conducted the present study on ultrasonographic findings of gallstone (GS) patients . Present study aims at determining the comparative prevalence of single and multiple gallstones and size of gallbladder(GB) and common bile duct (CBD) in patients . In present study we have also tried to find relationship of development of gallstones with age and sex of the patient . Methods- For the purpose of study we have divided patients into seven groups(groups A-G) according to age . In each group we have calculated mean gallbladder size and mean common bile duct diameter with the help of ultrasonographs . Then we will calculate percentage of patients ,patients with multiple stones, patients with single stones , mean gallbladder size and mean gallbladder diameter in each age group. Results- Gallstones patients are more of 25-50 years of age and females are more susceptible according to present study . There were more cases of multiple stones . Mean gallbladder length in all age groups is found to be less than normal. Interpretation & conclusion- Present study suggests increased incidence of gallstones in young population and it underlines the importance of ultrasound in screening gallbladder diseases.

A study of metopic suture in adult north Indian skulls.

Background:- Studies of non metric cranial variants have been a field of considerable interest to research workers especially because of their racial and regional importance. Material and Methods:- Total of 40 north Indian skulls of U.P. were studied for the incidence of metopism, a cranial variant in the present study. Results:- Metopism was found in 2(5%) of total of human skulls. Conclusion:-The presence of Metopic suture found to be of considerable regional and racial significance and it simulates fracture of frontal bone, therefore its presence should be properly ruled out in X-rays.

Study of relationship between changes in size of posterior fontanelle with gestational age.

In this study we have measured size and area of posterior fontanelle and have studied its relations with gestational age in human fetuses. This study is aimed to provide a range of normal posterior fontanelle dimensions and to provide base for further research in Asian population on morphology of posterior fontanelle and see if there exists any significant difference when compared to European & African studies. For this fifty fetuses were arranged in 5 groups according to their gestational age. Mean posterior fontanelle size and area of each group is measured. After statistical calculations it was observed that posterior fontanelle size and area both vary significantly with gestational age.