No abstract

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) accounts for the leading cause of mortality worldwide and it has a strong association with age. Aging brings about structural and functional changes in vessels, culminating in CVD. This study aims at determining and comparing the structural age changes in the two great vessels of heart, ascending aorta (AA) and pulmonary trunk (PT).Human ascending aorta and pulmonary trunk samples were obtained during autopsy from 55 individuals of different age group. After processing, they were stained with eosin haematoxylin and special stains to identify connective tissue fibres and smooth muscle cells. Thickness of each tunic of the vessel wall, full wall thickness, quantity of smooth muscle cells and severity of fragmentation of elastic fibres were detected.In all age groups, PT was thinner than AA. Average full wall thickness of AA was greatest in the sixth decade of life while that of PT in the fourth decade. Elastic fibres were long, straight and arranged in a lamellar pattern in tunica media of both the vessels in fetal life. They underwent fragmentation from first decade of life in PT and from third decade in AA. Grade5 fragmentation was noticed only in PT. Degeneration of smooth muscle cells occurred in both the vessels with age, but was very little in PT.Both the great vessels showed degenerative changes with advancing age, but after the first decade of life, the changes were very less in PT when compared to AA.

BACKGROUND External carotid arteries account for a major share of arterial supply of head and neck regions. As variations are frequently observed in the branching pattern of external carotid artery, surgeons, radiologists and anaesthetists often encounter difficulties in various procedures of head and neck. The purpose of this study is to describe the variations in the branching pattern of external carotid artery as observed in South Indian population which definitely reduces its iatrogenic injuries associated with surgical and radiological procedures of head and neck. METHODS This is cross-sectional descriptive study. Bilateral neck dissection was done on twenty-two formalin fixed cadavers to study the branching pattern of external carotid artery during a period of two years in the Department of Anatomy in Government Medical College, Alappuzha. Common carotid, external carotid and internal carotid arteries were dissected. All the branches of external carotid artery were traced and the variations were noted. The distance between carotid bifurcation and point of origin of individual branches of external carotid were measured and statistically analyzed. RESULTS In the present study along with normal branching pattern of external carotid artery, variations like origin of superior thyroid artery from common carotid artery and also from carotid bifurcation were seen. A common linguofacial trunk and direct origin of superior laryngeal artery from external carotid artery were also observed. CONCLUSIONS Prior knowledge of the variations will be helpful to surgeons and anaesthetists while dealing with these vessels during procedures of head and neck regions. KEYWORDS External Carotid Artery, Carotid Bifurcation, Superior Thyroid Artery, Linguofacial Trunk