Introduction: To propose an operation similar to selective neck dissection (levels II, III and IV) as a method of successful management of second arch branchial anomalies. Materials and methods: We did a prospective study on patients with branchial arch anomalies from the years 2009 to 2013. They underwent minimal radiological workup. All of them underwent a novel surgical procedure similar to ...

Overexpression of Hoxa2 in the chick first branchial arch leads to a transformation of first arch cartilages, such as Meckel's and the quadrate, into second arch elements, such as the tongue skeleton. These duplicated elements are fused to the original in a similar manner to that seen in the Hoxa2 knockout, where the reverse transformation of second to first arch morphology is observed. This co...

The pharyngeal skeleton is a key vertebrate anatomical system in debates on the origin of jaws and gnathostome (jawed vertebrate) feeding. Furthermore, it offers considerable potential as a source of phylogenetic data. Well-preserved examples of pharyngeal skeletons from stem-group gnathostomes remain poorly known. Here, we describe an articulated, nearly complete pharyngeal skeleton in an Earl...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE There is wide discrepancy between common clinical and radiologic presentations of branchial sinuses arising from the pyriform fossa and the theoretic course of third and fourth branchial arch anomalies. The purpose of this study was to revisit the clinical presentations and imaging features of such anomalies in children. MATERIALS AND METHODS A retrospective review of i...

INTRODUCTION This case report addresses dermatorynchus geneae, a seldom-described deformity of the first branchial arch. Two previous case reports discuss this clinical entity, both of them published in the 1970s. Bittmann and Søgaard were the first to report the case of a 1-month-old girl who presented with an unusual 2-cm growth on the skin overlying the zygoma. Histologic analysis of the les...

Members of the basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) family of transcription factors regulate the specification and differentiation of numerous cell types during embryonic development. Hand1 and Hand2 are expressed by a subset of neural crest cells in the anterior branchial arches and are involved in craniofacial development. However, the precise mechanisms by which Hand proteins mediate biological act...

We examined the expression of the neurotrophins (NTFs) and their receptor mRNAs in the rat trigeminal ganglion and the first branchial arch before and at the time of maxillary nerve growth. The maxillary nerve appears first at embryonic day (E)10 and reaches the epithelium of the first branchial arch at E12, as revealed by anti-L1 immunohistochemistry. In situ hybridization demonstrates, that a...

Hox genes are known key regulators of embryonic segmental identity, but little is known about the mechanisms of their action. To address this issue, we have analyzed how Hoxa2 specifies segmental identity in the second branchial arch. Using a subtraction approach, we found that Ptx1 was upregulated in the second arch mesenchyme of Hoxa2 mutants. This upregulation has functional significance bec...

Endothelin-1 (ET-1), a 21-amino acid peptide secreted by the epithelium and core mesenchyme in the branchial arches as well as vascular endothelium, is involved in craniofacial and cardiovascular development through endothelin receptor type-A (EdnrA) expressed in the neural crest-derived ectomesenchyme. Here we show that ET-1(-/-) mutant mice exhibit a homeotic-like transformation of the lower ...

Cells of the cranial paraxial mesoderm give rise to parts of the skull and muscles of the head. Some mesoderm cells migrate from locations close to the hindbrain into the branchial arches where they undergo muscle differentiation. We have characterised these migratory pathways in chick embryos either by DiI-labelling cells before migration or by grafting quail cranial paraxial mesoderm orthotop...