Journal of Anatomy最新文献

{"title":"The relation between macro- and microscopic muscular alterations of the medial gastrocnemius in children with spastic cerebral palsy.","authors":"C Lambrechts, J Deschrevel, K Maes, A Andries, N De Beukelaer, B Hanssen, I Vandekerckhove, A Van Campenhout, G Gayan-Ramirez, K Desloovere","doi":"10.1111/joa.14260","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/joa.14260","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Children with spastic cerebral palsy (CP) exhibit muscle growth deficits, secondary to the pathological neural input to the muscular system caused by the primary brain lesion. As a result, their medial gastrocnemius is commonly affected and is characterized by macro- and microscopic muscular alterations. At the macroscopic level, the muscle volume (MV), anatomical cross-sectional area of the muscle belly (Belly-CSA), muscle belly length (ML), and the intrinsic muscle quality are reduced. At the microscopic level, the cross-sectional area of the muscle fiber (Fiber-CSA) is characterized by an increased within-patient variability (coefficient of variation), the fiber type proportion is altered, and capillarization is reduced. However, the relationship between the macro- and microscopic muscle characteristics remains unclear, and understanding these connections could offer valuable insights into muscle growth deficits and the potential impact of interventions in children with CP. To address this, the present cross-sectional study examined both macro- and microscopic parameters of the medial gastrocnemius in a single cohort of young ambulant children with CP and age-matched typically developing (TD) peers, and investigated how deficits in macroscopic muscle size correlate with alterations at the microscopic level. A group of 46 children with CP (median age 5.4 [3.3] years) and a control group of 34 TD children (median age 6.3 [3.4] years), who had data on microscopic muscular properties (defined through the histological analyses of muscle biopsies), as well as macroscopic muscle properties (defined by 3D freehand ultrasound) were included. We defined Pearson's or Spearman's correlations, depending on the data distribution. The macroscopic muscle size parameters (MV, Belly-CSA, ML) showed significant moderate correlations (0.504-0.592) with the microscopic average Fiber-CSA in TD and CP. To eliminate the common effect of anthropometric growth at the macro- as well as microscopic level, the data were expressed as deficits (i.e., z-scores from normative centile curves or means) or were normalized to body size parameters. A significant but low correlation was found between the z-scores of MV with the z-scores of the Fiber-CSA (r = 0.420, p = 0.006). The normalized muscle parameters also showed only low correlations between the macro- and microscopic muscle size parameters, namely between Belly-CSA and Fiber-CSA, both in the TD (r = 0.408, p = 0.023) and the CP (ρ = 0.329, p = 0.041) group. Explorations between macroscopic muscle parameters and other microscopic muscle parameters (capillary density, capillary to fiber ratio, and fiber type proportion) revealed no or only low correlations. These findings emphasize that muscle growth deficits in children with CP are not simply a direct consequence of macroscopic muscle size reductions, but rather involve a complex interaction between macro- and microscopic alterations. Understanding these relationship","PeriodicalId":14971,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Anatomy","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-04-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144019266","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"First report of desmatosuchine aetosaur (Pseudosuchia, Aetosauriformes) osteoderms from the Upper Triassic Tiki Formation of India: Their complex internal vascular system, functional significance and biostratigraphy.","authors":"Atrayee Haldar, Sanghamitra Ray","doi":"10.1111/joa.14255","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/joa.14255","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The Late Triassic Tiki fauna from India represents one of the richest and most diverse vertebrate faunal assemblages, essentially known for archosauromorphs, temnospondyls, fishes, lizards, and trace fossils like coprolites. In this paper, we provide a detailed morphological description of isolated lateral osteoderms from a multitaxic bonebed of the Tiki Formation. The osteoderms bear a spike-like eminence formed by two asymmetric flanges, radial ornamentation, and a thick, indented medial margin suggesting that these pertained to a pseudosuchian archosaur. With the purpose of demonstrating the internal anatomy, X-ray microCT was used to reveal a compact diploe structure with a highly vascularised core characterising most archosaurian osteoderms. Such a high degree of compactness with an internal vascular network and open vascular canals can be hypothesised to serve as protection from predation and for thermoregulation. A comparative study with different Late Triassic armoured archosauromorphs revealed morphological resemblance of the osteoderms to lateral osteoderms of desmatosuchine aetosaurs and the aetosauriform Acaenasuchus geoffreyi. A phylogenetic analysis comprising all the Late Triassic archosauromorphs placed the Tiki taxon within Aetosauriformes. However, an additional analysis including all aetosaurs positioned the new taxon deeply nested within Desmatosuchini as sister taxon to Desmatosuchus. Better understanding of the phylogenetic position can only be achieved by recovering more cranial and post-cranial materials. This contribution demonstrates the first occurrence of a Desmatosuchus-like taxon from the Tiki Formation and bolsters the significance of the horizon in global correlation and also contributes to our understanding of the dispersal of aetosaurs or similar taxa in different parts of Pangaea during the Late Triassic.</p>","PeriodicalId":14971,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Anatomy","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-04-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143998419","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The importance of categories. A response to brief communication of Dr. Graham Scarr, \"Commentary on the recent article: Stecco et al. (2025) Towards a comprehensive definition of the human fascial system. Journal of Anatomy. DOI: 10.1111/joa.14212\".","authors":"Carla Stecco, Rebecca Pratt, Laurice D Nemetz, Robert Schleip, Antonio Stecco, Neil D Theise","doi":"10.1111/joa.14259","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/joa.14259","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":14971,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Anatomy","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-04-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143795528","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Response to the recent article: Stecco et al. (2025) \"Towards a comprehensive definition of the human fascial system.\" Journal of Anatomy. DOI: 10.1111/joa.14212.","authors":"Graham Scarr","doi":"10.1111/joa.14258","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/joa.14258","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":14971,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Anatomy","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-04-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143795526","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Computed microtomographic imaging of revascularization during healing of Achilles tendon injury.","authors":"Mert Ocak, Seher Yilmaz, Sefa Burak Çam, Burak Bilecenoğlu, Barış Özgür Dönmez, Petek Korkusuz, Ozan Akkus","doi":"10.1111/joa.14249","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/joa.14249","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Angiogenesis in injured tendons may contribute to regeneration, but quantifying it post-injury has been mostly limited to 2D semi-quantitative histology. This study aimed to develop micro-CT as a 3D tool to quantitatively assess tendon blood vessels in an experimental animal model. Adult male Wistar rats (N = 36) had injuries induced in their Achilles tendons by needle insertion. The study included three post-injury groups: 12 hours post-injury (12H), 3 weeks post-injury (3W), and 8 weeks post-injury (8W). The uninjured left Achilles tendon served as the control for each group. Intravital cardiac perfusion with barium sulfate enhanced contrast between tendon and vasculature. Micro-CT imaging was performed on dissected tendons in proximal, middle, and distal regions to assess total volume, object count, and structural thickness from 3D reconstructions. Control tendons showed region-specific and age-related vascular changes, with a significant portion of blood supply originating from the muscle-tendon junction. Injury-induced vascular changes were detected by 3D micro-CT analysis. The 12H, 3W, and 8W groups exhibited increased total volume, structural thickness, and object volume in all tendon regions compared to controls (p < 0.05). Structure separation was also higher in the middle and distal regions of these groups (p < 0.05). Micro-CT combined with intravital contrast perfusion allows for 3D quantification of Achilles tendon angiogenesis, revealing a significant and sustained increase in vascularity post-injury, making it a valuable tool for studying vascularization during tendon injury and repair.</p>","PeriodicalId":14971,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Anatomy","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-04-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143779736","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Topohistology of dendritic cells and macrophages in the distal and proximal nodes along the lymph flow from the lung.","authors":"Masaya Aoki, Go Kamimura, Aya Harada-Takeda, Toshiyuki Nagata, Gen Murakami, Kazuhiro Ueda","doi":"10.1111/joa.14251","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/joa.14251","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Nodal dendritic cells and CD169-positive macrophages cross-present cancer antigens earlier in the proximal nodes than in the distal nodes along the lymph flow from cancer. We examined topohistological differences between the proximal and distal nodes before the formation of metastasis. Immunohistochemical and morphometric analyses were performed to examine DC-SIGN-, CD68-, and CD169-positive cells in the subcarinal node (proximal) and paratracheal nodes (distal nodes) from 16 patients with lower-lobe lung cancer without metastasis (adenocarcinoma, 11; squamous, 5). Nodes at the same sites from 10 patients with upper-lobe cancer were used as controls. In all nodes, the medullary sinus was filled with CD68-positive and CD169-negative macrophages, most of which showed anthracosis. The proximal node carried a significantly smaller overlap between clusters of DC-SIGN-positive cells and CD169-positive cells relative to the distal node in lower-lobe cancer patients (p = 0.015). Irrespective of the cancer pathology, the tumor size was significantly correlated with the longer subcapsular clusters containing either DC-SIGN-positive cells or CD169-positive cells (p = 0.003, 0.043). A significantly small overlap between these clusters as well as the missing paracortical sinuses was evident in the negative control node outside the lymph flow (p = 0.006). Since DC-SIGN-positive cells and CD169-positive cells, especially composite cells in the overlapped cluster, are likely to be derived from monocytes, larger tumors appeared to accelerate the migration into the subcapsular sinus. In contrast to the suggested active status of the distal node, the proximal node appeared to have already been suppressed. This downregulation reached the level in the negative control node.</p>","PeriodicalId":14971,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Anatomy","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-03-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143730206","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Skull morphology and histology indicate the presence of an unexpected buccal soft tissue structure in dinosaurs.","authors":"Henry S Sharpe, Yan-Yin Wang, Thomas W Dudgeon, Mark J Powers, S Amber Whitebone, Colton C Coppock, Aaron D Dyer, Corwin Sullivan","doi":"10.1111/joa.14242","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/joa.14242","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Unlike mammals, reptiles typically lack large muscles and ligaments that connect the zygoma to the mandible. Dinosaur craniomandibular soft tissue reconstructions, often based on the rationale of extant phylogenetic bracketing, follow this general rule. However, descending flanges from the zygomata of hadrosaurs, heterodontosaurids, and psittacosaurids have been used to argue for a masseter-like muscle in these dinosaur taxa. We examined dinosauriform skulls for osteological indicators of connective tissue entheses on the zygoma and mandible, and subsequently sectioned 10 specimens for histological evidence. Osteological indicators were found on the zygoma in most sampled dinosauriforms, which range from rugosities to large descending processes, and morphologically resemble known muscular and ligamentous entheses. Similarly, rugose features oriented towards the zygoma were found on the mandible in sampled dinosauriforms, many having previously been interpreted as entheses for the adductor mandibulae muscle group. Serial histological sectioning of ceratopsid, hadrosaurid, and tyrannosaurid jugal and surangular rugosities reveals an external cortex rich in collagen fibres, strongly resembling entheseal fibres. Jugal entheseal fibres are usually oriented ventrally towards the surangular, and in hadrosaurids and tyrannosaurids these are parallel to macroscopic striations on the surfaces of the jugal flange. Histological sections of extant chicken buccal regions show similar entheseal fibres in the attachments of the jugomandibular ligament on the jugal and of the adductor musculature on the mandible. We hypothesise a strong connective tissue structure bridging the zygoma and mandible in dinosaurs, termed the 'exoparia'. This structure's size and proximity to the craniomandibular joint would be advantageous in stabilising the mandible relative to the cranium during jaw movement, particularly in dinosaurs thought to process their masticate. A ligamentous or muscular identity for the exoparia cannot be determined with the available data, but the size and shape of the zygomatic entheses in many dinosaurs are more consistent with a muscular attachment. Possible antecedents in non-dinosauriform archosaurs and derivations in modern birds may exist, but the homology of the exoparia is currently unknown. These results highlight the complex soft tissue evolution of dinosaurs and caution against simplified phylogenetic model-based approaches to tissue reconstruction that ignore contrasting osteological signals.</p>","PeriodicalId":14971,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Anatomy","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-03-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143669937","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Epidermal scale growth, allometry and function in non-avian dinosaurs and extant reptiles.","authors":"Nathan James Enriquez, Nicolás E Campione, Christophe Hendrickx, Phil R Bell","doi":"10.1111/joa.14247","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/joa.14247","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Epidermal scales in sauropsids perform a wide array of biological functions, which can relate to their shape and size. Accordingly, growth-related changes in scale morphology may reflect distinct functions between juvenile and adult individuals, such as use in mating interactions. Such patterns are poorly explored in both extant reptiles and non-avian dinosaurs, limiting functional interpretations. Here, we investigate scale growth in the ornithischian ceratopsid Chasmosaurus belli and hadrosaurid Prosaurolophus maximus by comparing scale morphologies between juveniles and adults of each taxon. Scale shape is generally consistent across growth stages in both taxa, and changes in C. belli feature scale length cannot reject isometry. However, there is a greater increase in C. belli feature scale width. In practical terms, the magnitude of these size differences rejects the hypothesis that feature scale morphology played a role in mating interactions, suggesting instead that their size was largely non-adaptive. To contextualise the patterns in the sampled dinosaurs, we assessed scale growth and allometry using an ecologically diverse sample of eight extant reptile species belonging to Crocodylidae, Scincidae, Elapidae and Pythonidae. While isometry is the overall most frequent pattern of scale growth in our sample of extant reptiles, most species demonstrate positive scale allometry in at least one area of their bodies, which is likely a response to changing body proportions. Scale shapes in the studied extant species, as in both dinosaurs, are largely retained through growth. This study provides the first detailed assessment of skin growth in non-avian dinosaurs, supporting morphological stasis in the growth of most of their scales.</p>","PeriodicalId":14971,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Anatomy","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-03-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143656999","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Regional muscle fiber conduction velocity of the fibularis longus in individuals with chronic ankle instability.","authors":"Carlos Cruz-Montecinos, Rodolfo Sanzana-Cuche, Guillermo Mendez-Rebolledo","doi":"10.1111/joa.14244","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/joa.14244","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The fibularis longus muscle, divided into anterior and posterior neuromuscular regions, plays a significant role in eversion strength deficits in individuals with chronic ankle instability (CAI). However, it is unknown whether the muscle fiber conduction velocity (MFCV) of these neuromuscular regions is different between individuals with CAI and those without a history of ankle sprain. This study aimed to compare the MFCV of the anterior and posterior neuromuscular regions of the fibularis longus between individuals with CAI and healthy individuals. A case-control study was conducted. Thirty-five male volunteers were included in the analysis (CAI group: n = 18; No-CAI group: n = 17). High-density surface electromyography (HD-sEMG) was used to record the sEMG amplitude and to calculate the MFCV of the fibularis longus neuromuscular regions (anterior and posterior) during eversion at different contraction intensities. The findings revealed that individuals with CAI exhibited significantly lower MFCV in the posterior region at moderate (30% and 50% maximum voluntary isometric contraction [MVC]) and high (70% and 100% MVC) contraction intensities compared with healthy individuals. Within the CAI group, the posterior neuromuscular region also demonstrated a lower MFCV than the anterior neuromuscular region. These findings indicate that CAI is associated with specific regional electrophysiological changes in the fibularis longus muscle, particularly in the posterior region. Understanding these alterations can inform targeted rehabilitation strategies aimed at improving muscle function and stability in CAI patients. Future research should explore the mechanisms underlying these changes to develop more effective therapeutic interventions.</p>","PeriodicalId":14971,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Anatomy","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-03-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143648715","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Anthropometric-related percentile curves for muscle size and strength of lower limb muscles of typically developing children.","authors":"Ines Vandekerckhove, Britta Hanssen, Nicky Peeters, Tijl Dewit, Nathalie De Beukelaer, Marleen Van den Hauwe, Liesbeth De Waele, Anja Van Campenhout, Friedl De Groote, Kaat Desloovere","doi":"10.1111/joa.14241","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/joa.14241","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Muscle size and muscle strength gradually increase during childhood to meet the demands of a growing body. Therefore, the aim of this investigation was to establish anthropometric-related percentile curves for muscle size and strength in a cohort of typically developing (TD) children. Lower limb muscle size and strength were assessed in a large cross-sectional cohort of TD children with 3D freehand ultrasound (four muscles, n = 153 children with in total 156 measurements, male/female = 85/71, age range: 0.6-17.8 years) and fixed dynamometry (seven muscle groups, n = 153 children, male/female = 108/45, age range: 4.5-16.1 years), respectively. Generalized additive models for location, scale, and shape were used to estimate anthropometric-related, that is, body mass and height, TD percentile curves, and to convert absolute outcomes into unit-less z-scores. The results showed that both muscle size and strength, as well as their inter-subject variation, increased with increasing anthropometric values. The mean z-score of the TD children was approximately 0 ± 1 standard deviation (with the largest range from minimum to maximum of approximately -3 to 3) for all investigated muscle outcomes, confirming the fit of the percentile curves to the TD data. The use of the percentile curves was demonstrated through applications in children with cerebral palsy (CP) and Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). The individual patients with CP and DMD exhibited negative z-scores, indicating muscle size and strength deficits in reference to TD peers. The established anthropometric-related percentile curves for muscle size and strength in a cohort of TD children allow for muscle outcomes to be expressed as unit-less z-scores, independent of body size, and relative to TD peers. This approach facilitates the interpretation of muscle size and strength outcomes, enabling the detection of abnormalities or deficits, monitoring of progression, and evaluation of treatment and intervention effectiveness in TD children, as well as in children with genetic, chronic neurological, or muscular disorders.</p>","PeriodicalId":14971,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Anatomy","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-03-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143648701","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}