The authors report 17 cases of a right non-recurrent inferior laryngeal n. (NRILN) observed during 15 years of practice of thyroid and parathyroid surgery. In their last two cases, the existence of an aberrant right subclavian a., constantly associated with NRILN, was confirmed by MRI angiography. On the basis of the literature and their own experience, the authors review the incidence of this double anomaly, its embryologic explanation and its anatomic and surgical importance. They stress the diagnostic factors and the therapeutic implications, very different in children and adults, of a particular vascular anomaly whose outcome is little understood.

The authors have studied, on the basis of purely radiologic data, the modifications of the popliteal arterial axis during flexion of the knee. They note the appearance in the sagittal plane of very marked flexures of the upper part of the artery, while the lower part describes a harmonious curve. These modifications take place between two fixed points: a cranial fixed point, represented by the origin of the descending artery of the knee, and a caudal fixed point represented by the origin of the anterior tibial artery. The pathologic importance of these modifications of the course of the artery should not be underestimated when obtaining revascularization by means of an arterial prosthesis.

The vascularization of 70 lacrimal glands was studied by orbital dissection subsequent to injection of the arterial bed with red-dyed latex. The origin, diameter and collateral branches of the lacrimal artery and its anatomical relations were investigated. Three types of lacrimal vascularization were seen. In the type I variety, the lacrimal artery originates from the ophthalmic artery and runs along the margin of the rectus lateralis muscle. In this case, the lacrimal artery is a major source of vascular supply to the muscle. In the type II variety, the lacrimal artery originates from the middle meningeal artery. In this case, the lacrimal artery is only a very modest source of vascular supply to the muscle. The type III variety features two lacrimal arteries vascularizing the lacrimal gland. One of the arteries originates from the ophthalmic, while the other arises from the middle meningeal. In this case, the lacrimal gland is the site of an intraorbital anastomosis between the internal and external carotid systems. The lacrimal gland is innervated by the lacrimal nerve and the lacrimal rami of the maxillary nerve. Preliminary results regarding certain morphological features of the lacrimal nerve are reported in this paper.

Based on the dissection of 30 hemi-mandibles, the authors report a study of the inferior alveolar artery in its intraosseous course. On morphologic considerations they propose a classification of the collaterals into two groups: the principal collaterals destined for the teeth and the bony alveolar tissue and the secondary collaterals destined for the sheath and the nerve as well as the bony tissue around the canal. Loss of the teeth and absorption of the alveolar bone modify the caliber of the inferior alveolar arterial axis, the distribution of its collaterals and possibly its mode of termination. These facts suggest a consideration of the vascularization of the mandible in terms of four sectors. They arrive at practical conclusions that may be drawn from this study in stomatology.

The main neurovascular structures related to the medial wall of the orbit were studied in 70 orbits after injection of the orbital arterial bed with latex dye. The position, anatomical relations and variations of the ophthalmic and ethmoidal arteries and trochlear and nasociliary nerves are described. Some differences were noted in comparison to classical anatomical descriptions, notably regarding the position of the ophthalmic artery which was commonly found to lie medial to the obliquus superior muscle distal to the point where it crosses under the muscle. An important surgical landmark, the lateral orifice of the anterior ethmoidal canal which lodges the anterior ethmoidal artery, was noted and its position described.