Bilateral variations in the formation of median nerve (Mn) and the recurrent course of its communications with musculocutaneous nerve (MCn) are very rare. These bilateral anomalies were observed during a routine dissection of the upper limbs of an adult male cadaver in the Department of Anatomy, PGIMER, Chandigarh. On both the sides, Mn was formed by the union of three roots. There was an additional lateral root on both sides. On the right side it was a contribution from the lateral cord and on the left it arose from the anterior division of the middle trunk. On the left side the lateral cord was formed distal than usual in relation to the second part of the axillary artery. On the right side a communicating branch arising from the additional lateral root followed a recurrent course and divided into two to unite separately with medial root of median, while on the left side a single communicating branch from an additional lateral root united with the medial root of median. Recurrent course of the communicating branch between lateral root of median and medial root of median has not been reported earlier. On the right side the MCn after piercing the coracobrachialis gave another communicating branch, which joined the Mn at the level of insertion of deltoid.

The pterygospinous bar when present medial to the foramen ovale may not have much clinical significance but when the bar is present just below the foramen ovale, it may cause a compression of the mandibular nerve and its branches and may also obstruct the passage for the transoval approach to the neighbouring regions.

Articular cartilage degeneration seen in osteoarthritis is primarily the consequence of events within the articular cartilage that leads to the production of proteases by chondrocytes. 22 osteoarthritic cartilage specimens were obtained from patients with primary osteoarthritis (46-81 years) undergoing total knee replacement. 12 age-matched (41-86 years) and 16 young (16-40 years) non-osteoarthritic control cartilage specimens were obtained from the cadavers in the department of Anatomy and from patients undergoing lower limb amputation in Trauma center of PGIMER, Chandigarh. 5 μ thick paraffin sections were stained for osteocalcin, osteopontin, osteonectin and alkaline phosphatase to analyze their expression in hypertrophied chondrocytes and osteoarthritic cartilage matrix and to compare the staining intensity with that of normal ageing articular cartilage. Immunohistochemical staining of tissue sections revealed moderate to strong cytoplasmic staining for all four stains in all the specimens of the osteoarthritic group compared to age-matched control. The immunohistochemical scores were significantly higher in the osteoarthritic group for all four stains. The features of the osteoarthritic articular cartilage were markedly different from the non-osteoarthritic age-matched articular cartilage suggesting that osteoarthritis is not an inevitable feature of aging.

No abstract

Objective. Articular cartilage shows changes with age that are considered to be the most important factors in the development and progression of osteoarthritis. The studies on age changes in articular cartilage have been traditionally based on individual observations but this approach is limited by its subjectivity and bias, yielding considerable variability. So the present study was conducted to observe various age related changes in morphology of femoral articular cartilage using computerized morphometric analysis. Design. The articular cartilage specimens were divided into two groups according to age: group 1 (n = 16) below 40 years (16–40 years) and group 2 (n = 12) above 40 years (41–86 years) of age. 5 μm thick paraffin sections were stained with H&E and analyzed using Image Pro Express image analysis software for quantitative analysis of articular cartilage. Various parameters, that is, total thickness of the cartilage, area of lacunae in each zone, area of subchondral cavities, and number of chondrocytes per 10,000 μm2 area in each zone were measured. Results. Significant difference with age was found in the total thickness and area of lacunae in zone 3. Conclusions. Not much difference is observed in articular cartilage morphology with age. So ageing is not the only risk factor in development of osteoarthritis.