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Masters Degrees (Anatomy)

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Browsing Masters Degrees (Anatomy) by Author "De Gama, Brenda Zola."

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    An anatomical investigation of the sympathetic and parasympathetic contributions to the cardiac plexus.
    (2011) De Gama, Brenda Zola.; Satyapal, Kapil Sewsaran.; Partab, Pravesh.; Lazarus, Lelika.
    The cardiac plexus is “formed by mixed autonomic nerves” that are “described in terms of superficial and deep components, with the superficial located below the aortic arch and anterior to the right pulmonary artery, and the deep located anterior to the tracheal bifurcation (above the division of the pulmonary trunk) and posterior to the aortic arch” (Standring et al., 2008). This investigation aims to review and update the medial cardiac contributions of the cervical and thoracic sympathetic chains to the cardiac plexus and also the contributions from the vagus nerve and its counterpart, the recurrent laryngeal nerve. This study involved the macro and micro-dissection of 100 cadaveric sides of adult and fetal material. The number of ganglia in a cervical sympathetic chain varied from 2 to 5 in this study. This study confirms previous reports on the location of the two components of the cardiac plexus. The origin of the sympathetic contributions to the cardiac plexus in this study were either ganglionic, interganglionic or from both the ganglion and interganglionic chain of the respective ganglia. The superior cervical cardiac nerve had an incidence of 92% while the middle cervical cardiac nerve had an incidence of 65% in the specimens studied. This study also records a vertebral cardiac nerve that arose from the vertebral ganglion in 39% of the cases. The inferior cervical and cervicothoracic cardiac nerves had incidences of 21%, respectively. This investigation records the thoracic caudal limit of the sympathetic contributions to the cardiac plexus as the T₅ ganglion. The findings in this study indicate the importance of understanding the medial sympathetic contributions and their variations to the cardiac plexus as this may assist surgeons during minimal surgical procedures, sympathectomies, pericardiectomies and in the management of diseases like Reynaud’s Phenomenon and angina pectoris (Kalsey et al., 2000; Zhang et al., 2009).
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    The morphology and morphometry of the digastric muscle in a predomantly fetal South African population.
    (2019) Guambe, Khayelihle.; Satyapal, Kapil Sewsaran.; De Gama, Brenda Zola.; Pillay, Pamela.
    Introduction: The digastric muscle is a suprahyoid muscle made up of two muscle bellies namely, the anterior and posterior bellies. These bellies originate from the digastric fossa of the mandible and the mastoid notch of the temporal bone respectively and insert via a common intermediate tendon (IT) onto the hyoid bone. This study aimed to investigate and document the morphology and morphometry of the digastric muscle in cadaveric specimens in the South African population. Materials and methods: Macro-and micro-dissection was conducted on 40 fetuses (26 males, 14 females) between a gestational age range of 22-31 weeks old and 10 adults (8 males, 2 females) between the age range of 33-84 years old. Results: In fetuses, the anterior belly inserted via a narrow and broad belly onto the body, lesser – and greater horns of the hyoid bone. The posterior belly originated from the mastoid notch of the temporal bone as well as the lateral surface and tip of the mastoid process. Trifurcation of the posterior belly was reported in 2.5% of the cases. The IT location varied as it travelled on the superior and inferior border of the stylohyoid muscle in 5% and 2.5% of the specimens, respectively. In adults, the anterior accessory bellies were documented as they occurred unilaterally (20%) and bilaterally (30%). Conclusion: The fetal morphology reflected anatomical variations in the digastric muscle that have not been previously documented compared that of the adults. Comprehensive understanding of these anatomical variations may be of surgical relevance during corrective surgery and radiological imaging of the head and neck.
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    Perceptions of academics and postgraduate students towards the use of plastinated specimens and their public exhibitions.
    (2020) Bailey, Denvon Nathal.; Pillay, Pamela.; De Gama, Brenda Zola.
    Background – The global scarcity of cadavers and prosected specimens for teaching, learning and research has led to plastinated specimens (plastinates) becoming a valuable tool in bridging this gap. Over the last decade, plastinates have been incorporated into the teaching and learning of iross anatomy within anatomy departments as a supplementary tool to cadaveric dissection. A paucity of information exists regarding the views of academics and postgraduate students on the use of plastinates for anatomy teaching and learning. This study aimed to investigate the perceptions of academics and postgraduate students on the use of plastinates in anatomy education and public exhibitions. Methods – Qualitative and quantitative methods of data extraction were employed using a questionnaire on a purposively sampled group of anatomy academics and postgraduate students at the Discipline of Clinical Anatomy, School of Laboratory Medicine and Medical Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) for data collection. Quantitative data from the questionnaire were analysed using descriptive statistics and the Mann-Whitney test (p < 0.05 considered statistically significant) to determine significant differences between sub-groups. To assess the perception on the use of plastinates for education and exhibitions, the quantitative responses of participants were grouped and then categorized into three categories i.e. good (10-7), average (6-4), and bad (0-3). Qualitative data from the questionnaire responses were analysed by the content analysis method to reflect emanating themes. Results- Questionnaires were completed by 43 of 62 participants (response rate 69%) i.e. seven academics and 36 postgraduate students completed the questionnaire. Academics (57.1%) and postgraduate students (63.9%) had a good perception on plastgnate use for education. Most academics (85.7%) and postgraduate students (94.4%) made use of plastinates for anatomy education. Various features of plastinates were highlighted, such as their ease of use, durability and ability to view structures clearly in three-dimensions (3D), which aids in understanding for students. However, ethical concerns were highlighted by academics (57.2%) and postgraduate students (55.6%) on the use of plastinates in public exhibitions. Conclusion: Positive reactions of academics and postgraduate students were generally noted, plastinates were found to support anatomy teaching and learning. This reflects that plastinates may become vital for anatomy instruction in South Africa and their more inclusive use is recommended.