OBJECTIVE We report on the comparative 3-dimensional (3D) living female pelvic floor geometry in five women, comparing the volume, morphology, and integrity of the levator sling, and pelvic anatomic relationships among study subjects. METHODS Five women of varying ages, parity, continence, and prolapse status were studied. Two-dimensional (2D) imaging of the pelvic floor organs was performed ...

Hypothesis / aims of study Levator ani (LA) muscles which consist of the iliococcygeus, puborectalis, and pubococcygeus muscles are believed to play a significant role in the urethral support system [1]. However the relative importance of the three LA muscle components in contributing to the urethral support function remains unclear. The aim of this study is to specify the contributions of the ...

The effects of castration and dihydrotestosterone (DHT) treatment on levels of skeletal muscle androgen receptor (AR) were examined in three groups of adult male rats: 1) intact normal rats, 2) rats castrated at 16 wk of age, and 3) rats castrated at 16 wk of age and given DHT for 1 wk starting at week 17. All animals were killed at 18 wk of age. Castration caused a decrease (P < 0.05) in the w...

Unilateral blepharoptosis with poor or no levator action can be corrected properly only by suspending the eyelid from the brow or frontalis muscle. This method lifts the eyelid adequately but often results in undesirable asymmetry, since the brow-frontalis lift on one side is so different from the levator lift on the other. Beard offered one solution. He cut the normal palpebral levator muscle ...

The embryologic origin of the omohyoid muscle is different from that of the other neck muscles. A number of variations such as the absence of muscle, variable sites of origin and insertion, and multiple bellies have been reported. However, variations in the inferior belly of the omohyoid muscle are rare. There have been no reports of the combined occurrence of the omohyoid muscle variation with...

OBJECTIVES To develop a 3D computer model of the anterior vaginal wall and its supports, validate that model, and then use it to determine the combinations of muscle and connective tissue impairments that result in cystocele formation, as observed on dynamic magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). METHODS A subject-specific 3D model of the anterior vaginal wall and its supports were developed based...