The method is easy to perform and is reproducible.

The azygos lobe is a rare anomaly in broncho-pulmonary segmentation due to an unusual course of the azygos vein. Its radiological aspects are well known but there are few anatomical reports about its bronchial and vascular components. The authors describe the characteristic features in a particular case of the azygos lobe observed in the right lung after studying a fresh specimen and doing a casting of said specimen. This azygos lobe was in a position medial to the right upper lobe and above the hilum. It had the shape of an egg and was 5 cm high, 4 cm wide and 2 cm thick. The azygos fissure was of a vertical form. The lobe was ventilated by the posterior branch of the apical segmental bronchus (B1a). This latter was accompanied by two apical sub-segmental arteries (A1ai, A1aii) and the apical intersubsegmental vein (V1a). The new findings were that: first, the azygos lobe bronchus supplied a part of the right upper lobe; second, the passage of the azygos vein deformed the bronchus of the right upper lobe, and not that of the azygos lobe. This means that it was the right upper lobe, rather than the azygos lobe that was predisposed to the pathology. So, in excising this type of azygos lobe, particular precautions have to be taken to spare the bronchus of the azygos lobe that supplies the right upper lobe.

The variations in the emergence and distribution of the ilioinguinal nerve are the cause of the failures of the ilioinguinal block and the difficulties at interpreting the ilioinguinal nerve syndrome. In order to identify its variations and set reliable anatomical landmarks for performing the ilioinguinal block, we dissected 100 inguinal regions of 51 adult corpses. The nerve was absent in seven cases and double in one case. The ilioinguinal nerve emerged from the internal oblique muscle, passing at 1 +/- 0.8 cm of the inguinal ligament and 3.33 +/- 2 cm of the ventral cranial iliac spine. It appeared behind the inguinal ligament and/or the ventral cranial iliac spine in 19 cases and presented a common trunk with the iliohypogastric nerve in 13 cases. In 47 cases, the nerve appeared in the form of a single trunk. Sixteen modes of division and eight types of predominantly anterior scrotal topographic distribution could be noted. These results show the high variability of the emergence and the sensory distribution of the ilioinguinal nerve. They enable us to propose techniques for ilioinguinal block performance using more accurate anatomical landmarks formed by the inguinal ligament and the ventral cranial iliac spine and a better diagnostic approach of ilioinguinal neuropathies.

The origin, course and mode of termination of the artery of the sinuatrial node was studied in 45 anatomic specimens by injection-dissection. It was solitary in 88.89% of the cases and double in 11.11%. It arose from the right coronary a. in 64.45% of cases, from the left coronary a. in 24.44%, and from both in 11.11%. The side of origin was not significantly influenced by the coronary dominance. When it arose from the right coronary a., the course of the sinuatrial a. varied greatly with its site of origin from the coronary vessel, either from an atrial a. or from one of its collateral branches, and also depended on its relations with the interatrial septum. When it arose from the left coronary a., its course was relatively uniform, except for arteries arising from the inferior atrial aa., which characteristically involve the posterior wall of the left atrium. Three modes of termination were found: precaval, retrocaval, and in a pericaval arterial circle. These observations made it possible to understand the possible origin of disorders of rhythm observed following disturbance of the arterial supply to the sinuatrial node during certain stages of cardiac surgery, particularly during atriotomies and the surgical correction of certain valvular disorders and congenital malformations, which expose the a. of the sinuatrial node.

The esogastric anastomotic fistula,occurring after the replacement of esophagus by the stomach, is a post-operative complication always feared and awaited. Apart from other causes, there exist the anatomical dispositions notably the vascular and technical factors that stress this potential risk despite certain advantages of esophagogastroplasty. The goal of our study was to study the arterial distribution of the gastric transplants in order to identify the better modalities of their making. We used 39 stomachs taken from fresh cadavers of autochtone subjects. After a modeling treatment using three different techniques, they were subjected to a radiographic opacification of the right gastro-epiploic artery with sulphate of barium follow by an x-rays in incidence full-face (25 kv, 10 mAS). It was a matter of 15 entire stomachs (E.E.) with denudation of the small curvature, of 12 wide gastric tubes (W.T.) prepared according to the Akiyama technique modified and of 12 narrow tubes (N.T.) tubulized according to the Marmuse method. We studied the anastomotic type of the gastro-epiploic arterial circle according to the classification of Koskas, the collateral branches of the arterial circles of the gastric curvatures, the antral and corporeal anastomosis of these circles and the distribution anastomotic at the level of the summit of the anastomotic. Only 28 pieces (15 E.E., 8 W.T. and 5 N.T.) were able to be the object of a complete angiographic exploitation. The anastomosis of the arterial circle was type I in 64.1% of the cases, type II in 15.4% of the cases, type III in 15.4% of the cases and type IV in 5.1% of the cases. The average number of collateral branches originating from gastro-epiploic arterial circle was respectively 24, 17 and 22 for the E.E., the W.T. and the N.T. Only the two first ones presented collateral branches being borne of the small curvature circle. Fifty per cent of the N.T. did not possess any antral or corporeal anastomosis between the two arterial circles; some of them were even for a quarter of the W.T. In the case of gastric tubulization there existed an irrigation defect of the summit of the plasty for a third of the N.T. and a quarter of the W.T., despite a constant intramural bridge anastomosis between the two gastro-epiploic arteries. The usage of the entire stomach must be recommended for gastric oesophagoplasty; but when the operative indications require a resection of the small curvature it is preferable to use a wide gastric tube whose diameter respects the two left third of the initial width of the organ.