Masters Degrees (Anatomy and Histology)

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Browsing Masters Degrees (Anatomy and Histology) by Author "Cilliers, Karen"

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    Description of the cerebral vasculature in a southern African cadaver cohort
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2016-03) Cilliers, Karen; Page, Benedict; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences. Dept. of Biomedical Sciences. Anatomy and Histology.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Few studies give a complete description on the origin, absence, duplication and triplication of the cerebral cortical branches. The anterior cerebral artery (ACA) varies considerably and this complicates the description of the normal anatomy. The most commonly discussed branching types of the middle cerebral artery (MCA) include bifurcation and trifurcation. Branching of the posterior cerebral artery (PCA) has not been adequately described; only the division level of the parieto-occipital (PoA) and calcarine arteries has been discussed. Anomalies of the cerebral arteries have been reported. To the author’s best knowledge, no previous studies have investigated the anatomy of the cerebral arteries in a Western Cape population. Therefore, the aim of this study is to describe the anatomy and anomalies of the cerebral vasculature in a Southern African cadaver cohort. Twenty hemispheres were used for the pilot study and 126 hemispheres for the present study. These 126 hemispheres consisted of 88 males and 38 females, between the ages of 22 and 84. Specimens were distributed over three population groups, namely, coloured (n=76), black (n=38), white (n=10) and unknown (n=2). The arteries were injected with coloured silicone. The external diameter and length of all the cortical branches of the cerebral arteries were measured using a digital micrometre. The diameter and lengths indicated statistically significant differences on the right and left side, between males and females, different population groups and different age groups. The most commonly absent artery was the callosomarginal artery, and the most commonly duplicated artery was the paracentral lobule artery. The origin of the cortical branches was similar to the descriptions in the literature; however, the common trunks and unusual origins were also noted. The branching pattern of the MCA was classified according to the 11 different subtypes described in the literature. Medial bifurcation was most commonly observed. The branching pattern of the PCA was assessed, and in most cases there was additional branching before the division of the calcarine artery and PoA. Anomalies observed in the present study included bihemispheric ACA (19.8%), median ACA (11.6%) and fenestration of the PCA (1.6%). The only anomaly observed in the pilot study was fenestration of the PCA (5.0%). A shorter trunk may play a role in aneurysm formation, and changes in vessel diameter could indicate early signs of several pathological conditions. Aneurysms can be observed at the branching of cerebral vessels, highlighting the importance of a thorough knowledge of the vascular anatomy. The MCA branching subtypes were described, since only bifurcation and trifurcation are usually noted. Furthermore, the branching pattern of the PCA has not been adequately described in previous reports; therefore the possible branching types were defined. Anomalies of the cerebral arteries are usually only mentioned; therefore the bihemispheric and median ACA were fully described (origin, length, diameter and area supplied). Given the important implications that the anatomical variation of the cerebral arteries