We studied the variations in the ventral rami of 152 brachial plexuses in 77 Korean adults. Brachial plexus were composed mostly of the fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth cervical nerves and the first thoracic nerve (77.0%). In 21.7% of the cases examined, the fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth cervical and the first thoracic nerves contributed to the plexus. A plexus composed of the fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth cervical and the first and second thoracic nerves, and a plexus composed of the fifth, sixth, seventh eighth cervical nerves were also observed. The plexuses were classified into three groups according to cephalic limitation, and the plexus of group 2 in which the whole fifth cervical nerve enters the plexus, were observed the most frequent. The average diameter of the sixth and the seventh cervical ventral rami of the plexus was greatest and that of the fifth cervical was smallest. The largest nerve entering the plexus was the sixth or the seventh cervical nerve in about 79% of cases. The dorsal scapular nerve originated from the fifth cervical ventral ramus in 110 cases (75.8%). The long thoracic nerve was formed by joining of roots from the fifth, sixth, and seventh cervical nerves in 76.0% of cases. Also, a branch to the phrenic nerve, the suprascapular nerve, a nerve to the pectoralis major muscle and a nerve to the subscapular muscle arising from the ventral rami of the plexus were observed.

Cranial capacity was measured in Korean adult skulls. The cavity was filled with rice seeds and the volume of the seeds were measured in a graduated cylinder. The results were 1470 +/- 107 (mean +/- standard deviation) in male and 1317 +/- 117 cc in female skulls. These values were in good accordance with those previously reported. In addition, regression formulae were obtained with the product of the length, breadth, and height of the skull as an independent parameter and the measured capacity as a dependent one. With known external measurements, the expected cranial capacity was as follows: when using baso-bregmatic height, male: capacity = 307.5 + 333 x 10(-6) x (length.breadth.baso-bregmatic height) female: capacity = -12.0 + 435 x 10(-6) x (length.breadth.baso-bregmatic height) and, when using auriculo-bregmatic height, male: capacity = 214.6 + 429 x 10(-6) x (length.breadth.auriculo-bregmatic height) female: capacity = 131.6 + 461 x 10(-6) x (length.breadth.auriculo-bregmatic height).

Background Clearly differentiating causes of fever is challenging where diagnostic capacities are limited, resulting in poor patient management. We investigated acute febrile illness in children aged ≤15 years enrolled at healthcare facilities in Butajira, Ethiopia, during January 2012 to January 2014 for the Typhoid Fever Surveillance in Africa Program. Methods Blood culture, malaria microscopy, and blood analyses followed by microbiological, biochemical, and antimicrobial susceptibility testing of isolates were performed. We applied a retrospectively developed scheme to classify children as malaria or acute respiratory, gastrointestinal or urinary tract infection, or other febrile infections and syndromes. Incidence rates per 100 000 population derived from the classification scheme and multivariate logistic regression to determine fever predictors were performed. Results We rarely observed stunting (4/513, 0.8%), underweight (1/513, 0.2%), wasting (1/513, 0.2%), and hospitalization (21/513, 4.1%) among 513 children with mild transient fever and a mean disease severity score of 12 (95% confidence interval [CI], 11–13). Blood cultures yielded 1.6% (8/513) growth of pathogenic agents; microscopy detected 13.5% (69/513) malaria with 20 611/µL blood (95% CI, 15 352–25 870) mean parasite density. Incidences were generally higher in children aged ≤5 years than >5 to ≤15 years; annual incidences in young children were 301.3 (95% CI, 269.2–337.2) for malaria and 1860.1 (95% CI, 1778.0–1946.0) for acute respiratory and 379.9 (95% CI, 343.6–420.0) for gastrointestinal tract infections. Conclusions We could not detect the etiological agents in all febrile children. Our findings may prompt further investigations and the reconsideration of policies and frameworks for the management of acute febrile illness.

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