The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of different dosages of ethanol on ovarian morphology and function. Holtzman rats, 20 days old, were divided into groups as follows: The rats in Group I were autopsied at 20 days of age, and those in Group II were placed on ad libitum chow and water diet; the rats in Groups III and V were fed on a liquid diet containing 2.5% or 5% ethanol respectively; Groups IV and VI were pair-fed controls to Groups III and V, respectively. Rats in Groups II, III, IV, and VI were maintained on the diets for 50-55 days and killed at late proestrus-estrus, while the animals in Group V did not exhibit estrous cycles and were killed on day 55 of treatment. The average increase in body weights of rats in Groups II, III, and IV was significantly greater than the increase in body weights of rats given 5% ethanol or their pair-fed controls. In the rats treated with 5% ethanol, vaginal opening was significantly delayed from the controls, estrous cycles were absent, ovarian weights were similar to those of the 20-day-old rats, ovaries contained corpora lutea of only one estrus, uteri weighted less than controls, and histologically, the uteri and vaginae were similar to those of 20-day-old rats. However, in the rats treated with 2.5% ethanol, all of the parameters were similar to those of the controls. The average serum alcohol level for the rats on the 5% ethanol diet was 249 mg%; the serum alcohol levels were at the lower limit of detection for the rats on the 2.5% ethanol diet. The data show that ovarian function was suppressed in the rats that received the 5% ethanol but not in rats on the 2.5% ethanol diet.

This study examined the occurrence rate of ten lower extremity anatomical variants occurring over a 6-year period from 1988 to 1994 in a sample range of 166 to 279 cadavers at the University of Osteopathic Medicine and Health Sciences. Literature review of these anomalies shows similar findings for all presented structures with the exception of two. The peroneus quartus muscle was found to be significantly less prevalent than previous studies have indicated. This difference may be attributed to the larger sample size used in this study or differences of interpretation of the definition of the peroneus quartus muscle. Additionally, the flexor digitorum brevis tendon to the fifth digit was found to be absent much more than Sarrafian reports in a total sample size of 926. The importance of these anatomical variants, both in surgery and while using advanced diagnostic imaging such as computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging, should be realized by the podiatric physician. Awareness of these variants will decrease confusion when considering treatment options.

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