Sunday 16 October 2011

Cutting and dissecting instrument

 Knife Handle and Scissors

Left to right : #7, #3, #4


  • 7 handle with 15 blade (deep knife) - Used to cut deep, delicate tissue.   
  • 3 handle with 10 blade (inside knife) - Used to cut superficial tissue.
  • 4 handle with 20 blade (skin knife) - Used to cut skin.

Left to right : Straight mayo , curve mayo , Metzenbaum

1. Straight Mayo scissors - Used to cut suture and supplies.  Also known as: Suture scissors.


2. Curved Mayo scissors - Used to cut heavy tissue (fascia, muscle, uterus, breast).  Available in regular and long sizes.




3. Metzenbaum scissors - Used to cut delicate tissue.  Available in regular and long sizes.


Wednesday 13 July 2011

Excitable tissue : Nerve

Motor neuron with myelinated axon

Myelin, a protein-lipid complex that is wrapped around the axon, outside the CNS myelin is produced by Schwann cells, glia like cells found along the axon. Myelin forms when Schwann cell wraps its membrane around an axon up to 100 times. The myelin sheath envelops the axon except at its ending and at the nodes of Ranvier. In CNS of mammals most neurons are myelinated but the cells that form the myelin are oligodendrocytes rather than Schwann cells. Unlike schwann cell which forms the myelin between two nodes of Ranvier on single neuron, oligodendrocytes send off multiple processes that form myelin on many neighboring axons


Top : Relation of Schwann cells to axons in peripheral nerves. On left is unmyelinated axon adn on the right is myelinated axon. Note that the cell membrane of the Schwann cell has wrapped itself around and aroun axon.
Bottom : Myelination of axon in central nervous system by oligodendrogliocytes sends processes to up to 40 axons.


Functional organization of neurons. Non conducted local potentials are integrated in the receptor zone, and action potentials are initiated at a site close to the receptor zone (arrow). The action potentials are conducted along the axon to the nerve endings, where they cause release of synaptic transmitters.