Anatomical study of the unusual origin of a nerve to the mylohyoid muscle and its clinical relevance.

Anomalous patterns in the human body are usually seen in cadaver dissections and during investigations. We have studied 50 cadavers of southern Indian men and women to find the variable origins of the mylohyoid nerve in the infratemporal region. We discovered an unusual origin of the nerve during a routine educational dissection. Here we describe the course of the aberrant nerve and its distributing branches. Awareness of such anatomical variations could help during surgical or dental interventions.

Multiple supernumerary muscles of the arm and its clinical significance.

During routine cadaveric dissection of the flexor compartment of the right arm, multiple supernumerary muscles were observed in a 56-year-old male cadaver. There were three supernumerary muscles took taking origin independently from the humerus distally to the insertion of coracobrachialis muscle. The upper two supernumerary muscles were attached to the common tendon of the biceps brachii muscle and considered as its additional heads. The third supernumerary muscle passed between the biceps brachii and brachialis muscles, then crossed obliquely the brachial artery and median nerve nearing cubital fossa to get inserted in to the radial side of the humeral head of the pronator teres. The clinical significance of the above variations is discussed (Fig. 1, Ref. 16).

An unusual course and entrapment of the lingual nerve in the infratemporal fossa.

The infratemporal fossa is one of the most difficult regions of skull base to access surgically. The presence of the ossified pterygospinous and pterygoalar ligaments makes it more critical and difficult to access, with an occasional entrapment of structures like the mandibular nerve (MN) and its branches. During a routine dissection of an adult male cadaver, an unusual course of the lingual nerve (LN) was found with an entrapment of the nerve between the ossified pterygospinous ligament and the medial pterygoid muscle. Furthermore, all the three branches of the posterior division of the mandibular nerve communicated with each other by two anastomosing branches. The clinical significance of the present variations has been discussed (Fig. 1, Ref. 23).