Stephen W. Gray

Surgical Embryology and Anatomy of the Pancreas

Knowledge of the surgical embryology and surgical anatomy of the pancreas is vital to the general surgeon. This article discusses the entities related to pancreatic surgery. It also highlights some common embryologic anomalies of the pancreas.

The Anatomic Basis of Vascular Compression of the Duodenum

Fluctuation in reported prevalence of this entity and the frequent association with neurosis have produced occasional skepticism as to its objective existence. The authors believe it to be a real disease entity with an anatomic basis best described by the name vascular compression of the duodenum.

The Surgical Anatomy of Hernial Rings

An incarcerated hernia must be reduced before any attempt at repair can be made. The surgical anatomy of the ring in most of the hernias of the abdomen, both internal and external, is described and, in addition, the incision or other procedure required for safe reduction of the hernia.

Empyema in children: A twenty-five-year study

Summary One hundred and thirty-three consecutive cases of acute empyema in children under 14 years of age are presented. They occurred over a twenty-five-year period at the Henrietta Egleston Hospital for Children in Atlanta. Incidence and mortality by age, sex, year, season, and causal organism are discussed. Incidence and mortality are highest for the youngest children and incidence is constantly higher in boys than in girls. Mortality rate bears little relation to incidence except with respect to age. Chemotherapy has reduced incidence to almost the vanishing point since 1947 but has had no effect upon mortality and morbidity once empyema has developed. Relative mortality from staphylococcus and pneumococcus varies so greatly from year to year that little predictive reliance can be placed upon it. Adequate drainage including aspiration and open resection has not been replaced as the treatment of choice. Alert observation, special care, and constant attention are necessary in children under 2 years of age.

Three Varieties of Congenital Diverticulum of the Intestine

The embryogenesis of three varieties of congenital diverticula is described. Of the three, only Meckels diverticulum can be considered common. The other two are rare enough that the possibility of their presence is usually overlooked until revealed at operation or necropsy.

Embryology and Congenital Anomalies

The thymus has claimed more attention from embryologists than have many other organs. After the publication of Haeckel’s Generelle Morphologie, which was influenced by Darwin, in 1866, the pharyngeal region of the embryo was seen as an outstanding example of embryonic recapitulation of the phylogeny of the organism: “The development of the embryo is an abstract of the history of the genus” (Haeckel 1866).