Variations in the motor nerve supply of the thenar and hypothenar muscles of the hand.

The distribution pattern of the muscular branch of median and ulnar nerves and motor innervation of the thenar and hypothenar muscles were studied in 68 palmar regions taken from 34 adult cadavers of both sexes aged 40 to 70 y. The structure of the flexor pollicis brevis was examined in all 68 hands. In 13 of the 68 hands an anastomosis was seen between the ulnar and median nerves.

The cutaneous branch of the human suprascapular nerve.

The cutaneous branch of the suprascapular nerve was studied bilaterally in 34 adult cadavers. In 5 the suprascapular nerve derived its fibres from the ventral rami of the 4th, 5th and 6th cervical nerves. The cutaneous branch was observed in 14.7% of the 68 limbs examined. In 3 cadavers the cutaneous branch arose from the upper branch to the supraspinatus muscle and in 1 case from the stem of the suprascapular nerve just above the transverse scapular ligament. In 1 case the cutaneous branch arose deep to the transverse scapular ligament. The cutaneous branch was present bilaterally in 3 and unilaterally in 2 cadavers. Every suprascapular nerve with a cutaneous branch had a normal course. After passing deep to the acromioclavicular ligament, the cutaneous branch bent forward near the tip of the acromion process and pierced the deltoid muscle close to its origin and came to lie deep to the deep fascia. In the subcutaneous tissue, it divided into 3-4 twigs and supplied the proximal third of the lateral aspect of the arm within the territory of the axillary nerve. Presumably in normal human arms the cutaneous component of the suprascapular nerve is contained within the axillary nerve.

Anatomical variation in position of the greater palatine foramen in the adult human skull.

Sixty-five Nigerian and 34 Indian adult human skulls with full eruption of the 3rd molar teeth were examined to ascertain the location of the greater palatine foramen. The location of the foramen from the posterior border of the hard palate was quite consistent, being 0.35 cm in Nigerian and 0.37 cm in Indian skulls. The usually accepted description as opposite the upper 2nd molar was observed for only 13.1% of foramina in Nigerian skulls. The most common position of the foramen was found to be medial or opposite the 3rd maxillary molar, the next most common being between the 2nd and 3rd maxillary molars. The direction of opening of the foramen into the oral cavity was inferiorly in an anteromedial direction in 58.5% Nigerian and 91.1% Indian skulls. In 38.5% Nigerian skulls the opening was in an anterolateral direction. A bilaterally symmetric bony projection extending from the posterior margin of the foramen was observed in 24.6% of the Nigerian and 35.3% of Indian skulls. The palatal vault of was U-shaped in all instances, its height varying from flat to 0.3-0.8 cm.

A metrical study of the laryngeal skeleton in adult Nigerians.

Laryngeal cartilages were studied in 40 dissection room specimens of adult age groups ranging from 17 to 50 years in both the sexes. Various dimensions of the laryngeal skeleton were measured and statistical analysis of the data for male and female were evaluated separately. Conspicuous and highly significant differences of the dimensions between male and female laryngeal cartilages were observed. The incidence of the cuneiform cartilage and cartilago triticea was greater in the female than in the male.

Sex differences in adult pubic hair distribution in Nigeria.

Pubic hair was studied in 520 men and 270 women belonging to the various parts of the Northern Nigeria. An attempt has been made to study the pubic hair pattern in three age groups. The distribution of pubic hair was classified into four types, designated as horizontal, sagittal, acuminate and disperse. The acuminate or "masculine" type is present in approximately half of the men and 10 percent of the women. It is characteristic of 39.8 per cent of 19-20 years old males, and persists in 20.2 per cent of adult males. In the majority the division into "masculine" and "feminine" types is found to be satisfactory. There is definite relationship between the age of an individual and hair pattern. In males the decrease in frequency of the horizontal pattern with age is associated with increase in general hirsutism and is associated by the development of a disperse pubic hair pattern.

Age and wisdom teeth in Nigeria.

An attempt has been made to estimate the eruption age of wisdom teeth in the North Nigerian population. The present study was carried out on 654 boys and 584 girls of age groups ranging from 11-23 years. From the data collected estimates have been provided for the eruption age of the third molar. In general, teeth of the lower jaw erupt before those of the upper jaw. The teeth on the left side erupt earlier than those on the right side. The wisdom teeth erupt little earlier amongst boys (18 years) as compared with girls (18.5 years). In general, the wisdom teeth erupt in Nigerians with some constancy between the age of 15 and 21. The wisdom teeth fail to erupt in 5% of the individuals.

Anthropometric study of male external genitalia of 320 healthy Nigerian adults.

Five basic measurements of the male external genitalia were studied in 320 healthy male medical students belonging to the various parts of Nigeria (West Africa). Their ages range from 17 to 23 years. The measurements were as follows: average length of the penis (81.6 +/- 0.94 mm); circumference of the penis (88.3 +/- 0.02 mm); circumference of the scrotum (212.6 +/- 2.48 mm); length of right testis (46.8 +/- 0.54 mm); width of right testis (32.4 +/- 0.37 mm); length of left testis (46.0 +/- 0.53 mm); and width of left testis (31.4 +/- 0.36 mm). The size of the genitalia increases with the increase in age in younger year groups. The adult stages of genitalia development are reached at the age of 21 years in 89.0% of the individuals. The growth of the genitalia is continued with the increasing height and weight, but this growth slows down after attaining a definite height and weight.

Variations in the articular facets of the adult cuneiform bones.

This study was carried out on 300 adult cuneiform bones (100 each of medial, intermediate and lateral cuneiform bones) for variations in their articular facets. The bones under study are from the Department of Anatomy, University of Jos, Nigeria. In each group, 75 were male and 25 female bones. The difference in the incidence of various patterns of articular facets in the different cuneiform bones between males and females as well as between right and left sides was found to be statistically significant.

A cephalometric study of 500 adult male medical students of Uttar Pradesh.

Various measurements of the head and face were made on 500 male medical students of the S.N. College, Agra (India) and the possible indices were calculated. The regression lines were calculated between the nasal index and the upper facial index as well as between nasal index and the total facial index. A significant correlation was found between the above three indices. A formula was derived, by which if one index is known the other can be calculated.

Eruption age of teeth in Nigeria.

Present study was carried out on 1,022 boys and 646 girls of various age groups. In this study, an attempt has been made to estimate the eruption age of teeth in various age groups, ranging from 6 to 23 years in Northern Nigerian population. From the data collected a mean have been provided for the eruption age of each tooth. The differences noticed in the eruption ages between boys and girls are not very marked. However, a few points of interest may be mentioned. The lateral incisor, first premolar and Canine erupt earlier amongst girls. The first molar and the central incisor seem to erupt earlier among boys than girls. The teeth of the lower jaw erupt before those of the upper jaw. The Nigerian's wisdom teeth erupt with some constancy between 14-21st years. The third molar tooth fails to erupt in 5% individuals. The second premolar was absent in 0.5% populations.

Incidence of the metopic suture in adult Nigerian skulls.

This study was carried out on 206 adult Nigerian skulls for the incidence of the metopic suture. Metopism was present in 3.4% of cases, and a metopic suture (complete or incomplete) was observed in 34.97% of the skulls. The metopic suture was present in the lower part of the frontal bone, in various shapes, in 30.10% of cases. The most common shape observed was linear type (24.27%). Inverted U-shaped, and wide side to side excursion, were found in 0.49% of cases of each kind, these being the least common form of the suture. The incidence in the upper, upper middle and lower middle parts of the frontal bone was 0.49% in each type.

To study the intrarenal vascular segments of human kidney by corrosion cast technique.

A study of the intrarenal arterial pattern of kidney by corrosion cast method has been carried out on 100 kidneys obtained from post mortem bodies. The abnormal origin of renal artery is rare and observed only in 2% cases. The renal artery divides extrarenally in about 68%, intrarenally in about 18% and at the hilum in 14% cases into anterior and posterior divisions. In very rare cases (2%) both the divisions arise separately at one point from abdominal aorta. Alternatively renal artery may not divide into anterior and posterior divisions but continues as anterior division and divide into upper, middle and lower segmental arteries in 1% cases. The branching pattern of anterior division shows 5 different variations grouped in 5 groups. The branching pattern of posterior division shows 3 different patterns. Vary rarely (1%) the posterior division is absent. Origin of apical segmental artery shows many variations and are grouped into 7 types. Origin and intrarenal branching pattern of upper, middle and lower segmental arteries shows many variations. Presence of accessory renal artery is a rare occurrence (about 2%). As there is no constant arterial segmental patterns of the kidney, it may often not be possible to forecast beforehand the type of partial nephrectomy which might or might not be possible in a particular case. Hence, for practical purposes, attempts at grouping and classification of variable arterial pattern seen is hardly of much significance. Very often, the decision to perform a segmental resection of the kidney shall have to be taken on operation table by surgeon after exploration of kidney or before operation by angiography. But it may of importance for surgeon to be acquainted with different types of cases unsuitable for segmental resection and this will put the surgeon on guad to exercise greater cautions.

The anatomical basis for the inguinal hernia.

The inguinal regions of 100 adult cadavers were dissected. 20 male cadavers had inguinal hernia. The pubic arch was in a low position in 80 percent of the cases, a very large percentage and much greater than in any other population. The origin of internal oblique muscle from the inguinal ligament was away from the pubic tubercle and its lower fibres did not cover the deep inguinal ring in the indirect inguinal hernia cases. Most of the inguinal hernias were noticed on the right side.

The position, length and arterial supply of vermiform appendix.

The arterial blood supply, position and length of appendix were studied in 100 Indian (Uttar Pradesh region) cadavers. In 39% more than one appendicular artery was demonstrated. The retrocaecal and retrocolic positions of the appendix were by far the commonest (58%). Incidence of postilial position was also fairly common (10%). The average length of the appendix was found to be 9.5 cm in the male and 8.7 cm in the female. The prevalence of the retrocaecal and retrocolic positions may partly explain the incidences of appendicitis.

Study of diaphyseal nutrient foramina in human long bones.

A study was done to determine the number, size, direction, exact site and position of the nutrient foramina in human long bones. The position of all nutrient foramina observed was on the flexor aspect and was more or less around a fixed area, but the exact spot varied considerably. Two foramina were much more frequent in the femur, clavicle and humerus than in the other long bones. Three and four nutrient foramina have also been observed in few femora, clavicles and ulnae. Absence of a foramen has been observed in few humeri and radii. Variations have been observed in the direction of nutrient foramina only in lower limb bones. The nutrient foramina in long bones have been described as being directed towards the elbow and away from the knee. Our observations support this assumption except in 0.5% femora, 3.5% tibiae and 9.5% fibulae. Periosteal, muscular and vascular theories are discussed for the normal and abnormal direction of the foramina; the vascular theory offers the best explanation of all reported anomalies as well as of the normal fashioning of the nutrient canals.

A metrical study of laryngeal cartilages and their ossification.

This study was carried out on the laryngeal cartilages of 150 postmortem/dissection room specimens of adult age groups, ranging from 16 to 55 years in both the sexes. The age, height, sex and profession (in known postmortem cases) were noted. Various measurements of the laryngeal cartilages were taken from the inner surface. From the present study we can conclude that the various measurements in the laryngeal cartilages were more marked in male than the female except of the thyroid angle and the length of the superior horn. The thyroid angle on an average in male was 78 degrees +/- 10 degrees and in female 106 degrees +/- 14 degrees. There was no correlation with total body height. The presence of cuneiform cartilage, cartilago-triticea and corniculate cartilage is not constant, they were seen more commonly in females than in males.

Incidence of squatting facets on the talus of Indians (Agra region).

230 adult Indian tali (from Agra region) were studied for the incidence of squatting facets. Extension of medial articular facet was observed in all the cases. Medial extension of trochlea was observed in 37% of cases; lateral extension of trochlea in 71.6% of cases, lateral squatting facets in 43.5% of cases and medial squatting in 8.6% of cases. The present data are compared with that of other workers.