Possible Clinical Implications of Geographic Differences in Prevalence of Double Transverse Foramen.

BACKGROUND: The double transverse foramen (DBLTF) is a cervical spine anatomic variant. Current literature has presented prevalence values of DBLTF in Caucasian Mediterranean subjects that seem to be higher than those observed in other samples of subjects. Therefore we aimed to test if Caucasian Mediterranean subjects present a higher prevalence of the DBLTF than sub-Saharan African subjects. METHODS: We analyzed the presence of DBLTF in cervical spines of 100 skeletons from Caucasian Mediterranean subjects and 91 skeletons from sub-Saharan African subjects, resulting in a total of 1337 cervical vertebrae having been studied. RESULTS: No DBLTF was found in vertebrae C1, C2, and C3. The pattern of prevalence observed in all samples analyzed indicated the prevalence ranged from exhibiting the most to the least prevalence as C6 > C5 > C7 > C4. The sub-Saharan African subjects presented a significant reduced DBLTF prevalence of 2.2%, 14.3%, 19.8%, and 3.3% in C4 (P = 0.043), C5 (P = 0.004), C6 (P < 0.001), and C7 (P = 0.041), respectively, than that presented by Caucasian Mediterranean subjects (9.0%, 32.0%, 45.0%, 11.0% in C4, C5, C6, and C7, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Our study has revealed that this anatomic variation is more frequently found in Caucasian Mediterranean subjects than in sub-Saharan African subjects.

The Decreasing Prevalence of the Arcuate Foramen.

BACKGROUND: The arcuate foramen (AF), or ponticulus posticus, is an anatomic variant of the first cervical vertebra that consists of a complete or partial osseous bridge over the groove for the vertebral artery and extends from the posterior aspect of the superior articular facet to the superior lateral border of the posterior arch. The AF has been associated with clinical symptoms, such as headache, migraine, neck pain, shoulder pain, arm pain, and vertebral artery dissection. We aimed to test whether the prevalence of the AF has decreased in the modern human population over the past centuries as a result of reduction in inbreeding and endogamy. METHODS: Possible reduction in the prevalence of the AF was assessed by comparing a 17th century rural sample (n = 108) with a 20th century modern urban sample (n = 192). RESULTS: When comparing the 17th and the 20th century samples, we found a statistically significant (P = 0.003) reduction of 14.5% (95% confidence interval 4.5-24.5) in the prevalence of the AF. CONCLUSIONS: Prevalence of the AF has been decreasing over the past centuries.

Analysis of the cervical double transverse foramen in present Spanish population

The aim of our study was to investigate the prevalence and morphometry of double transverse foramina in cervical vertebrae in a living population and to discuss their clinical importance. This is a retrospective single-center study. 253 (84.3%) computed tomography scan images of the cervical spine were collected from a total sample of 300 Spanish subjects that underwent a computed tomography study, 173 from men (68.3%) and 80 from women (31.6%), aged between 18 and 90 years old. The presence or absence of a double transverse foramen of each cervical vertebra was recorded, and the maximum right-left diameter, maximum antero-posterior diameter and area of each transverse foramen were measured. The applied statistics were multivariate models for repeated measures, Student t test and Pearson’s chi-squared test.Double transverse foramina in C4, C5, C6 and C7 were observed, the most prevalent being in C6 (45.8%), followed by C5 (23.5%), C4 (4.7%) and C7 (4.3%). The unilateral formation was significantly the most frequent. No differences were found based on sex. In the vertebrae with a double transverse foramen, the principal transverse foramen was significantly larger than the accessory transverse foramen. However, in these vertebrae the principal transverse foramen was significantly smaller when compared with the transverse foramen of normal vertebrae.C6 presents the greatest prevalence of double transverse foramina, although they are also observed in C4, C5 and C7. The double transverse foramen causes the principal transverse foramen to be smaller when compared with normal vertebrae, thus it should be taken into account in clinical practice

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Three possible cases of cranioclasis indicating obstetric extraction of the fetus in a Spanish rural population of the late 17th and early 18th Centuries

Cranioclasis is a technique that was formerly used to extract the fetus during births that were complicated due to different causes. This procedure was usually resorted to once the fetus was confirmed to be dead. This technique was substituted by the caesarean section in the mid-twentieth century. The aim of this study is to analyze osseous lesions observed in the crania of three neonates buried in the period between the end of the 17th century and the beginning of the 18th century in the church-fortress known as Iglesia Fortaleza de Nuestra Señora de los Ángeles in Castielfabib, Rincón de Ademuz, province of Valencia, Spain. The instrumental incisions found in the occipital bones of the three neonates, as well as the overlap of their neurocranial bones, are compatible with cranioclasis. The cranial lesions in the three neonate occipital bones discovered in Castielfabib in Ademuz-Valencia, Spain could confirm the practice of cranioclasis in this region of Spain at the end of the 17th century and the beginning of the 18th century

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Corneal thickness differences between sexes after oxybuprocaine eye drops.

PURPOSE: We aimed to analyze the corneal thickness (CT) values of female and male subjects before and after instillation of oxybuprocaine 0.4% anesthetic eye drops. METHODS: The CT of 30 female subjects and 28 male subjects was measured using scanning-slit corneal topography (Orbscan Topography System II, Orbscan, Inc, Salt Lake City, UT). Measurements were carried out before and 3 minutes after the instillation of oxybuprocaine 0.4% eye drops. RESULTS: The difference between the baseline values and those obtained after anesthesia ranged as follows: male subjects: central, -26 to +24 µm; superior, -24 to +23 µm; inferior, -19 to +20 µm; nasal, -25 to +30 µm; and temporal, -21 to +20 µm; female subjects: central, -16 to +24 µm; superior, -19 to +32 µm; inferior, -14 to +34 µm; nasal, -19 to +33 µm; and temporal, -36 to +16 µm. No significant differences were found in any corneal location in male subjects. The differences were significant at inferior (p = 0.001) and nasal (p = 0.011) corneal sites in female subjects. CONCLUSIONS: Oxybuprocaine anesthetic eye drops induce significant CT increases in female subjects but not in male subjects.