Origen y evolución histórica del término «prefrontal» / Topographical origins of the term 'prefrontal'

INTRODUCCIÓN: Actualmente, existe un amplio consenso sobre los confines de lo que denominamos corteza prefrontal, pero no siempre ha sido así. El propósito de esta revisión histórica es ahondar en los orígenes topográficos del término «prefrontal» y analizar su evolución conceptual. DESARROLLO: El artículo se estructura en función de los principales criterios que se han sucedido cronológicamente para definir los límites de la corteza prefrontal: morfológico, citoarquitectónico y hodológico. Durante la segunda mitad del siglo XIX, los criterios son esencialmente de índole morfológico. En esta época se sitúa David Ferrier, responsable de la popularización del término «prefrontal». En los primeros años del siglo XX dominan los criterios basados en la organización arquitectónica de la corteza cerebral (o citoarquitectura), y su principal representante es Korbinian Brodmann. A finales de la década de 1940, Jerzy E. Rose y Clinton N. Woolsey consideran que el estudio de las conexiones cerebrales (hodología) es la vía para definir los confines de la corteza prefrontal y proponen que esta región frontal es la principal área de proyección del núcleo dorsomedial del tálamo. CONCLUSIONES: Históricamente, la región cerebral denominada «prefrontal» ha tenido unos límites borrosos y cambiantes, producto de los criterios empleados en distintas épocas. Correspondencia Diagnóstico y tratamiento del trombo móvil carotídeo. A propósito de un caso

INTRODUCTION. Today, there is a broad consensus on the boundaries of what we call the prefrontal cortex, but this has not always been the case. The purpose of this historical review is to examine in greater depth the topographical origins of the term «prefrontal» and analyse its conceptual evolution. DEVELOPMENT. The article is structured according to the main criteria that have been proposed successively over time in order to define the limits of the prefrontal cortex, namely, morphological, cytoarchitectural and hodological. During the second half of the 19th century, the criteria were essentially of a morphological nature. David Ferrier popularised the term «prefrontal» in this period. In the early years of the 20th century, criteria based on the architectural organisation of the cerebral cortex (or cytoarchitecture) predominated, and their main representative was Korbinian Brodmann. At the end of the 1940s, Jerzy E. Rose and Clinton N. Woolsey considered that the study of brain connections (hodology) was the way to define the boundaries of the prefrontal cortex and proposed that this frontal region was the main area of projection of the dorsomedial nucleus of the thalamus. CONCLUSIONS. Historically, the limits of the so-called «prefrontal» region of the brain has been blurred and changing, as a result of the different criteria used at different times

Historical awareness of the brainstem: From a subsidiary structure to a vital center.

The historical trajectory of the discovery of the brainstem as a vital center has been rarely explored. Focusing on its tracts and neurons first, anatomists much later expanded their understanding of the brainstem with the discovery of groups of nuclear networks that affected major vital functions. Comparative anatomists (i.e., Edinger) postulated a primordial paleopallium that indirectly implied the centrality of the brainstem and a neopallidum with its differentiation and specialization up to Homo sapiens Methods that governed the discovery of the brainstem were (1) comparative anatomy, (2) embryonic growth, (3) vivisection, (4) brain dissection, and, much later, (5) microscopy and chemical feedback loops. This historical study traces how neuroscientists of the 18th and 19th century became increasingly aware of the vital functions performed by the brainstem. The anatomists of the 20th century found the ascending reticular formation, the respiratory center, and pressor centers-all automatic and vital functions. It took centuries for this realization to open the way to use the testable brainstem centers to establish the criteria for a neurologic determination of death. The ontogenetic conclusion is that the brainstem is the ancestor of the developed human brain; the physiologic conclusion is that the brainstem is a vital center and a structural support system and conduit. When afunctional, life ends.

Cerebellum: What is in a Name? Historical Origins and First Use of This Anatomical Term.

In this paper, we study who first used the Latin anatomical term "cerebellum" for the posterior part of the brain. The suggestion that this term was introduced by Leonardo da Vinci is unlikely. Just before the start of the da Vinci era in the fifteenth century, several authors referred to the cerebellum as "cerebri posteriorus." Instead, in his translation of Galen's anatomical text De utilitare particularum of 1307, Nicolo da Reggio used the Latinized Greek word "parencephalon." More peculiar was the Latin nautical term "puppi," referring to the stern of a ship, that was applied to the cerebellum by Constantine the African in his translation of the Arabic Liber regius in the eleventh century. The first to use the term "cerebellum" appears to be Magnus Hundt in his Anthropologia from 1501. Like many of the anatomists of this period, he was a humanist with an interest in classical literature. They may have encountered the term "cerebellum" in the writings by classical authors such as Celsus, where it was used as the diminutive of "cerebrum" for the small brains of small animals, and, subsequently, applied the term to the posterior part of the brain. In the subsequent decades of the sixteenth century, an increasing number of pre-Vesalian authors of anatomical texts started to use the name "cerebellum," initially often combined with one or more of the earlier terms, but eventually more frequently in isolation. We found that a woodcut in Dryander's Anatomia capitis humani of 1536 is the first realistic picture of the cerebellum.

Revisiting Avicenna's (980-1037 AD) anatomy of the abdominal viscera from the Canon of Medicine.

Avicenna (980-1037 A.D) was the most influential Iranian physician and philosopher in the medieval era. Avicenna composed and compiled treaties on various aspects of medicine in his famous book the Canon of Medicine. Avicenna's treaties have inspired countless debates in all fields of medicine including basic medical sciences. In his treaties, Avicenna adopted the practical approach to the descriptions of the human body and the diseases associated. He made substantial contribution to the medical literature and medical education through his observations and clinical studies. In the current treaties we analysed the anatomy extracts on the topographic and functional anatomy on the abdominal viscera including the gastrointestinal tract presented in the Canon of Medicine and compared to them to extant anatomical textbooks, particularly those adopted in modern curriculums. We found that Avicenna described fairly the anatomy and topographic relations of the abdominal viscera and associated digestive organs. Avicenna's anatomy contributed immensely to the evolution of anatomical sciences and related medical disciplines despite being written 1000 years ago.

Relaciones anatómicas de la vena safena magna con el nervio safeno a nivel talocrural / Anatomical relations of the saphenous magna vein with saphenous nerve at the talocrural level

La relación anatómica de la vena safena magna (VSM) y del nervio safeno (NS) en la región talocrural tiene importancia anatomoclínica, sin embargo existen pocos trabajos en la literatura anatómica. Se disecaron 30 pies de cadáveres formolizados de individuos adultos de ambos sexos, describiéndose el origen de la VSM y su relación con el NS en la región talocrural; se midió la distancia entre el NS y la VSM a nivel del ápice, margen anterior y a 1 cm del margen superior del maléolo medial. La VSM se originaba de la unión de la vena marginal medial del pie y el plexo venoso dorsal. La relación anatómica entre la VSM y el NS es variada, cursando el NS en un 63,3 por ciento anterior y 30 por ciento posterior a la VSM y en 6,7 por ciento el NS se dividía en dos ramos los cuales acompañaban anterior y posteriormente a la VSM. La distancia de la VSM y del NS al ápice del maléolo medial fue de 10,75 mm +/- 3,06 y 13,38 +/- 2,82 mm, respectivamente. La distancia de la VSM al margen anterior del maléolo medial fue de 0,53 mm +/- 0,51. Es importante conocer las relaciones de la VSM y del NS para su aplicación clínica, especialmente, en el momento de elegir un acceso venoso periférico no tan frecuente como las venas de la región talocrural.

Despite the clinical and anatomical significance of the anatomical relationship ofthesaphena magna vein (SMV)and thesaphenous nerve in (SN) in the talocrural region there are few studies in the literature. Thirty feet of adult formolized cadavers of both sexes were dissected describing the origin of the SMV and its relation with the SN in the talocrural region. Distance between the SN and the SMV was measured at the apex level, anterior margin and at 1 cm from the upper margin. The SMV originated from the medial marginal vein and dorsal venous arch. Anatomical relation between the SMV and the SN is varied, traveling anterior the SN 63.3 percent, and posterior the SMV 30 percent; in 6.7 percent the SN divided in two branches which joined anterior and posterior to the SMV. The distance of the SMV and the SN medial malleolus apex was 10.75mm +/- 3.06 and 13.38 +/- 2.82 mm. SMV distance to anterior margin of the medial malleolus was 0.53 mm +/- 0.51. The relation between the SMV and SN is important for clinicians particularly at the time of determining peripheral venous access not as frequent in veins of the talocrural region.

About vital staining of the eye and eyelids. I. The anatomy, physiology, and pathology of the eyelid margins and the lacrimal puncta by E. Marx. 1924.

This article is a translation of the original article authored by Eugen Marx and published in 1924.1 Amazingly, many of the issues addressed in the 1924 publication are now, >80 years later, of prime interest for both understanding the lid margin and ocular surface and thus for dry eye diagnosis and treatment. To assist the reader and possibly to provoke further contemplation on a particular section of the translation, we have inserted comments, identified throughout the text. All references, in their original format, have been included in this translation, except those referred to in a few paragraphs that were not readily understood in today's technical language and which were omitted. The first figure of the original article is not included in this translation because it was referred to in one of the few omitted paragraphs.

Michael Servetus (1511-1553) and the discovery of pulmonary circulation.

Michael Servetus was the first doctor ever to challenge and scientifically argue against the theories of Galen, which predominated for 14 centuries in medical schools worldwide. Even though he was relatively correct in scientific terms, Servetus was punished because of his boldness in challenging Galen's theories and was condemned to death by the Holy Inquisition. Yet, by publicly challenging Galen's and Hippocrates' predominant and unquestionable lessons on medicine for the first time, Servetus opened the door for other doctors to challenge and correct those theories and subsequently to bring about a new view of human anatomy and physiology. This article underlines the contribution of Servetus to the description of the pulmonary circulation.