Category
JFL, Lower Atrium
Description
Over 200,000 people per year die due to physician error. While there has not been a study specifically aiming to link iatrogenic deaths to ignorance of anatomy, physicians can agree that anatomy is at the center of everything they do. Medical students must take cadaver lab their first semester because a deep understanding of human anatomy is paramount to every medical specialty, especially surgery. Documenting anatomical variations is crucial to reducing intraoperative complications due to ignorance. Variations in basilic vein anatomy are benign, but rare and infrequently documented. In a donor dissected in BIOM 513 in Fall 2024, variation of the basilic vein was observed bilaterally. The basilic vein in the left arm had various branching in the forearm. Rather than one main basilic vein draining into the median cubital junction, we noted three veins of similar size draining into the same area. Similar anatomy was observed in the right arm, but the branching veins were notably smaller. In our research, similar basilic vein variation has only been documented in one other case, observed during a surgery. While this variation may seem trivial, it is imperative to document variations found in anatomical structures to ensure that future physicians have the resources when making decisions for their patients. Previously rare variations have become increasingly more common. For example, the bovine arch variation of the aortic arch, which is where the left common carotid artery and brachiocephalic artery share a common trunk, is found in 27% of the population and has a strong correlation to thoracic aortic aneurysm, aortic dissection, or aortic rupture, all of which can be deadly if not diagnosed and treated in a timely manner. Therefore, it is important to document anatomical variation to improve physician anatomy training and reduce iatrogenic complications.
Undocumented Basilic Vein Variations in Cadaveric Donors: A Case Study
JFL, Lower Atrium
Over 200,000 people per year die due to physician error. While there has not been a study specifically aiming to link iatrogenic deaths to ignorance of anatomy, physicians can agree that anatomy is at the center of everything they do. Medical students must take cadaver lab their first semester because a deep understanding of human anatomy is paramount to every medical specialty, especially surgery. Documenting anatomical variations is crucial to reducing intraoperative complications due to ignorance. Variations in basilic vein anatomy are benign, but rare and infrequently documented. In a donor dissected in BIOM 513 in Fall 2024, variation of the basilic vein was observed bilaterally. The basilic vein in the left arm had various branching in the forearm. Rather than one main basilic vein draining into the median cubital junction, we noted three veins of similar size draining into the same area. Similar anatomy was observed in the right arm, but the branching veins were notably smaller. In our research, similar basilic vein variation has only been documented in one other case, observed during a surgery. While this variation may seem trivial, it is imperative to document variations found in anatomical structures to ensure that future physicians have the resources when making decisions for their patients. Previously rare variations have become increasingly more common. For example, the bovine arch variation of the aortic arch, which is where the left common carotid artery and brachiocephalic artery share a common trunk, is found in 27% of the population and has a strong correlation to thoracic aortic aneurysm, aortic dissection, or aortic rupture, all of which can be deadly if not diagnosed and treated in a timely manner. Therefore, it is important to document anatomical variation to improve physician anatomy training and reduce iatrogenic complications.
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Graduate