Diagnosis and differentiation of branchial cleft anomalies rest on higher imaging modalities such as computed tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). However, anatomical knowledge and meticulous characterization of anomaly on high resolution ultrasonography (HRUS) can clinch the diagnosis in most cases. Anomalies of the second branchial cleft account for 90% of the developmental ab...

In Hoxa-2(-/- )embryos, the normal skeletal elements of the second branchial arch are replaced by a duplicated set of first arch elements. We show here that Hoxa-2 directs proper skeletal formation in the second arch by preventing chondrogenesis and intramembranous ossification. In normal embryos, Hoxa-2 is expressed throughout the second arch mesenchyme, but is excluded from the chondrogenic c...

VACTERL (vertebral anomalies, anal atresia, cardiac defect, tracheoesophageal fistula, renal anomaly, limb anomalies) is an association of anomalies with a wide spectrum of phenotypic expression. While the majority of cases are sporadic, there is evidence of an inherited component in a small number of patients as well as the potential influence of nongenetic risk factors (maternal diabetes mell...

.............................................................................................................................. i Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................... ii

Introduction The mylohyoid muscle in the floor of the mouth forms part of the oral diaphragm. It also forms the floor of the submental triangle, the sides of which are formed by anterior bellies of the digastric muscles. There are a number of reports which suggest variations of the digastric muscle to be more frequent in comparison to variations of the mylohyoid muscle [1, 2]. The present repor...

Platelet-derived growth factors (PDGF) regulate cell proliferation, survival, morphology, and migration, as well as deposition and turnover of the extracellular matrix. Important roles for the A form of PDGF (PDGF-A) during connective tissue morphogenesis have been highlighted by the murine Patch mutation, which includes a deletion of the alpha subunit of the PDGF receptor. Homozygous (Ph/Ph) e...

Chondrichthyans (sharks, skates, rays and holocephalans) possess paired appendages that project laterally from their gill arches, known as branchial rays. This led Carl Gegenbaur to propose that paired fins (and hence tetrapod limbs) originally evolved via transformation of gill arches. Tetrapod limbs are patterned by asonic hedgehog(Shh)-expressing signalling centre known as the zone of polari...

Branchial cleft cysts are congenital anomalies that most commonly arise from a failure of fusion the second branchial arch during embryonic life. They usually present as swelling in lateral side neck, below mandible. In this article, we case 28-year-old female patient with right cyst measuring 7 × 6 5 cm, who presented an asymptomatic, rapidly growing mass anterior triangle neck abutted externa...