Double innervation of the anterior belly of the digastric muscle.

We came across a very rare case in which the anterior belly of the digastric muscle was innervated by the twigs of the facial nerve in addition to those of the mylohyoid nerve. The anomaly was discovered in the cadaver of an 84-year-old Japanese male bequeathed for a training seminar in gross anatomy at Kumamoto University in 2003. One twig issued from the marginal mandibular branch of the facial nerve and entered the central region of the anterior belly of the digastric muscle on the lower surface. The other twig issued from the stylohyoid branch of the facial nerve, descended along the lateral margin of the stylohyoid muscle and entered the anterior belly of the digastric muscle on the lower surface near the intermediate tendon. The twig from the marginal mandibular branch was distributed to the shallow (lower) and central region near the medial margin of the anterior belly. The twig from the stylohyoid branch was distributed to the shallow and lateral region of the anterior belly. These two twigs communicated with the mylohyoid nerve at several peripheral parts. Textbooks on general anatomy make mention of only one nerve, the mylohyoid, supplying the anterior belly of the digastric muscle. However, the present case manifests that the anterior belly receiving twigs from the mylohyoid and facial nerves is formed with the second brachial component as well as the first.

Preliminary study of post mortem identification using lip prints.

Identification using lip prints was first performed in the 1950s and was the subject of much research in the 1960s and 70s, leading to the acceptance of this technique as evidence in the criminal justice system. Previous research has focused on identifying lip print types or on methods of obtaining hidden lip prints left at the crime scene. The present study aimed to clarify characteristics of lip prints from cadavers with various causes of death (including drowning and hanging) and to determine the effects of fixation on post mortem changes in lip impressions.