Agenesis Of Isthmus Of Thyroid Gland – A Rare Case Report In An Adult Male Cadaver

Introduction: The thyroid gland is a highly vascular endocrine gland. The congenital anomalies of thyroid glandincludes thyroglossal cyst, ectopic thyroid tissue and rarely agenesis of one of the lobes or isthmus of thyroidgland. One such rare finding observed in the present study which is highly relevant both to the non – operativeclinician and in operative surgery.Materials and Methods: During routine dissection on an adult male cadaver in the department of anatomy,Ponnaiyah Ramajayam Institute of medical sciences, Chennai, we report agenesis of isthmus of thyroid gland.Results and Discussion: The lobes of the thyroid gland appear to be normal in size, shape and position. Anotherimportant rare finding was the presence of levator glandulae thyroideae which arises from the left lobe to thehyoid bone. Agenesis of isthmus and presence of levator glandulae thyroideae from the left lobe might occur dueto high separation of thyroglossal duct.Conclusion: The knowledge of normal anatomy and its variation of this vital endocrine gland is highly essentialfor physicians and surgeons for the repair of any thyroid ailment and also during tracheostomy

Assessment of biomedical and pharmacological activities of sea anemones Stichodactyla mertensii and Stichodactyla gigantea from Gulf of Mannar Biosphere Reserve, southeast coast of India

Cnidarians comprise an old and diverse animal phylum, and possess a wide variety of biologically active substances. Sea anemones contain a diversity of interesting biologically active compounds including some potent toxins. In the present work, the sea anemones Stichodactyla mertensii and Stichodactyla gigantea, collected from the Mandapam coast, are characterized biomedically and pharmacologically. The crude protein was obtained by using methanol and aqueous extracts. The respective protein contents of S. mertensii and S. gigantea were found to be 2.10 µg/mL and 1.87 µg/mL. The methanol and aqueous extracts of S. mertensii and S. gigantea yielded six and nine bands by SDS-PAGE on 12 percent gel. In the hemolytic assay, both extracts exhibited hemolytic effect on chicken, goat, cow and human erythrocytes ('A', 'B' and 'O'). The neurotoxic effects of these crude extracts were determined in vivo using the sea shore crab Ocypode macrocera and mortality was observed. The mouse bioassay for lethality was performed on male albino mice. The crude extract of S. mertensii showed higher lethality (58 seconds at 1 mL-dose) than that of S. gigantea (2 minutes and 10 seconds at 0.75 mL-dose). The analgesic activity test was also carried out on albino mice by Eddy's hot plate and tail-flick methods. The extracts showed moderate analgesic effect by both hot-plate and tail-flick methods. These characteristics emphasize the need for the isolation and molecular characterization of new active toxins in S. mertensii and S. gigantea.(AU)