In memory of professor Czeslaw Nizankowski, Head of the Department of Anatomy, Wroclaw Medical University.

Professor Czeslaw Nizankowski was an academic teacher and researcher at several universities; head of the Department of Anatomy at Wroclaw Medical University (1966-1982); and head of the Department of Biological Sciences at the Wroclaw School of Physical Education (since 1972 University School of Physical Education in Wroclaw), as well as the chancellor there. He contributed greatly to the development of morphological sciences, supervising many doctoral and post-doctoral works. He dedicated considerable time to the preparation of anatomical specimens of lungs, hearts and organs of the gastrointestinal tract. At the Museum of Anatomy, there are over 100 specimens of lungs prepared using the forced air technique improved by Professor Nizankowski, along with specimens of the bronchial tree and vascular system prepared using a corrosive technique. Professor Nizankowski was an active member of scientific societies in Wroclaw and in other cities in Poland. For his accomplishments, he received a number of ministerial and state awards, including the Knight's Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta, and was granted an honorary doctorate by Wroclaw Medical University.

The sequence of lanugo pattern development on the trunk wall in human fetuses.

BACKGROUND: Due to a growing interest in developmental disorders, and in the long-term skin appendage diseases, both in the cosmetic industry and among specialists in dermatology (broadly defined), there is an increasing number of papers on hair development. The publications by the present team of authors are part of this trend. OBJECTIVES: The aim of the study was to describe the topography and typology of skin pilosity patterns in human fetuses. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A total of 278 fetuses (141 male and 137 female) were qualified for the study. The gestational age ranged from 69 to 226 days after conception. All fetuses were taken from a local collection. RESULTS: The study revealed that the first single hairs occur on the posterior wall of the trunk in the 17th week of fetal life, and on the anterior wall between the 18th and 19th week. It was found that in human fetuses lanugo appears statistically significantly later on the skin of the anterior of the trunk than on its posterior. The difference in absolute time is almost 2 weeks of fetal life. No other differences were found in the development cycle of lanugo on the anterior and posterior walls of the trunk. A full pattern was first observed on the posterior wall of the trunk in a fetus in the 19th week, and on the anterior wall in the 21st week. It was found that the process of lanugo development was completed on the posterior wall in the 23rd week, and on the surface of the abdomen in the 26th week. CONCLUSIONS: The lanugo developmental cycle, consisting in the appearance of the first single hairs, then partial hair and subsequently the formation of final patterns, is the same on both walls of the trunk.

Remembrance of professor Tadeusz Marciniak - Lviv tradition in Wroclaw.

After the seizure of Lviv by the Soviets, in the years 1944-1946, Tadeusz Marciniak worked in the Descriptive Anatomy Department in the State-Medical Institute of Lviv and also performed the function of the dean of the Medical Faculty. On receiving a proposal to assume the Chair of the Anatomy Department in Wroclaw, he made the decision to leave Lviv. By July 2nd, 1946, prof. Tadeusz Marciniak had taken over the duties of full professor of the Descriptive Anatomy Department of the Medical Faculty of the University and the Technical College of Wroclaw. On taking his job in Wroclaw, prof. Marciniak undertook attempts to restore the worn out parts of the Anatomy Department building. Due to the lack of Polish manuals, he also took to the preparation of scripts for medical students. Professor Marciniak was a member of the Wroclaw Section of the Polish Anthropological Association and a regular member of the Wroclaw Association of Science. His main scientific interests referred to the morphogenesis of the central nervous system and urinary system. He concentrated on circulatory system and muscular system tetralogies. Professor Marciniak also actively participated in administrative work at the university. In the years 1947-1948, he held the office of associate dean of the Medical Faculty, and till 1950 was a member of the Senate of the University and Technical College of Wroclaw. In the years 1959-1962, he was a vice rector of the Medical University of Wroclaw.