E.G. Salter

Anatomy of the cranial nerves in medieval Persian literature: Esmail Jorjani (AD 1042-1137) and The treasure of the Khwarazm shah.

ESMAIL JORJANI WAS an influential Persian physician and anatomist of the 12th century who did most of his writing after his seventh decade of life. Jorjanis comprehensive textbook of medicine, Zakhirey-e Khwarazmshahi (The Treasure of the Khwarazm Shah) was written in approximately AD 1112 and is considered to be the oldest medical encyclopedia written in Persian. This was an essential textbook for those studying medicine during this time. We describe the life and times of Jorjani and provide a translation and interpretations of his detailed descriptions of the cranial nerves, which were written almost a millennium ago. Medieval Persian and Muslim scholars have contributed to our current knowledge of the cranial nerves. Some of these descriptions, such as the eloquent ones provided by Jorjani, were original and have gone mostly unknown to post-Vesalian European scholars.

Indirect inguinal hernia of the urinary bladder through a persistent canal of Nuck: case report

We report a 79-year-old female cadaver found to harbor an indirect inguinal hernia involving the urinary bladder. Further investigation revealed a patent canal of Nuck. The authors describe this rare finding in an adult and review the pertinent literature regarding such herniation. We believe this to be the first report of an indirect inguinal hernia involving the urinary bladder in a cadaver. This also seems to be the first description of such a hernia via a patent canal of Nuck in an adult.