Background: The vertebral artery originates from the subclavian artery and is divided into four segments. The aim of this study is to investigate the anatomical variations in the course and branches of the vertebral artery. Materials and methods: A research was performed via Pubmed database, using the terms; "variations of vertebral artery AND cadaveric study", “variations of vertebral artery AND cadavers” and "anomalies of vertebral artery AND cadavers". Results: A total of 24 articles met the inclusion criteria, 13 of them referring to variations of the origin of the vertebral artery, 9 to variations of the course and 3 to variations of its branches. On a total sample of 1192 cadavers of different population, origin of the left vertebral artery directly from the aortic arch was observed at 6.7%. In addition, among 311 cadavers, 17.4% were found with partially or fully ossified foramen of the atlas for the passage of the vertebral artery, while the bibliographic review also showed variants at the exit site of the artery from the transverse foramen of the axis. Conclusions: Despite the fact that variations of both the course and the branches of vertebral artery are in most cases asymptomatic, good knowledge of anatomy and its variants is of particular importance for the prevention of vascular complications during surgical and radiological procedures in the cervix area. Background: The vertebral artery originates from the subclavian artery and is divided into four segments. The aim of this study is to investigate the anatomical variations in the course and branches of the vertebral artery. Materials and methods: A research was performed via Pubmed database, using the terms; "variations of vertebral artery AND cadaveric study", “variations of vertebral artery AND cadavers” and "anomalies of vertebral artery AND cadavers". Results: A total of 24 articles met the inclusion criteria, 13 of them referring to variations of the origin of the vertebral artery, 9 to variations of the course and 3 to variations of its branches. On a total sample of 1192 cadavers of different population, origin of the left vertebral artery directly from the aortic arch was observed at 6.7%. In addition, among 311 cadavers, 17.4% were found with partially or fully ossified foramen of the atlas for the passage of the vertebral artery, while the bibliographic review also showed variants at the exit site of the artery from the transverse foramen of the axis. Conclusions: Despite the fact that variations of both the course and the branches of vertebral artery are in most cases asymptomatic, good knowledge of anatomy and its variants is of particular importance for the prevention of vascular complications during surgical and radiological procedures in the cervix area.

Three-dimensional (3D) printing is a newly established concept in Orthopaedics compared to other industries. Surgical applications of 3D printing and tissue engineering have been investigated since the early 2000s, almost two decades after Charles Hull had patented the first device currently in use for additive manufacturing, also known as rapid prototyping or more commonly 3D printing, and whose initial formal appellation was stereolithography (SLA). Despite technological progress, substantial principles have largely remained unaltered. Training directly on patients and on cadavers is considered the "gold standard" for learning and developing suitable surgical qualifications. However, restrictions concerning patient’s safety, ethical dilemmas, lack of availability and more, have to be taken into account. Thus, 3D representations can be utilized as an educational tool both for patients to improve their understanding towards their condition and also medical students, residents and surgeons in order to comprehend complex anatomical structures and practice their surgical manoeuvres in order to be prepared and more confident in theatre.

Since December 2019, the world has been facing the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic crisis. The rapid and effortless spread of the virus has led the World Health Organization to adopt unprecedented large-scale preventive measures. Our aim is to investigate the impact of COVID-19 on the mental health of medical students, and to evaluate their awareness and aptitude for contributing to the fight against COVID-19 contagion. PubMed electronic database was employed for the research using the following terms: "medical students and COVID-19", "mental health of medical students and COVID-19", "knowledge of medical students and COVID-19", "preventive behavior of medical students and COVID-19". Twenty-one articles were included; ten assess the knowledge of medical students on COVID-19, seven present whether they demonstrate appropriate preventive behavior according to global guidelines, seven examine the impact of the pandemic on their mental health, five examine their role on the side of trained healthcare workers. Some articles combine more than one of the above mentioned domains. Medical students seem to demonstrate an adequate level of knowledge upon COVID-19 and implement proper strategies to prevent its spread. Further training is essential to improve some aspects in this field. Social media has proven to be the optimal source of information for medical students, which is incompatible with their future careers as doctors. The pandemic had a negative impact on medical students, expressed as fear regarding the virus spread; nevertheless, many have felt the need to assist healthcare systems under appropriate precautions.

Objective. The objective of the current study was the examination of possible variants of the celiac trunk. Methods. An advanced review of the literature search was undertaken by means of the PubMed database and Google Scholar, searching for new studies published up to October 2022. Additional articles provided useful information in relation to the aim of this review. Hence, articles that met the inclusion criteria were included in this review and the collected data were organized into a table. Results. The search of the literature retrieved 10 articles that referred to the anatomical variations of the celiac trunk. According to the available literature, the most common anatomical variations are: hepatosplenic trunk where the left gastric artery originates from the abdominal aorta, hepatosplenic trunk, where the left gastric artery originates from the splenic artery, and hepatogastric trunk and splenic artery origin from the superior mesenteric artery. Many other anatomical variations of the celiac trunk may exist, such as tetrafurcation, pentafurcation and hexafurcation, that refer to the division of the celiac trunk into four, five or six branches, respectively, and should be reported as they can affect surgical approaches and the development of the appropriate treatment strategy in patients. Conclusion. Every visceral surgeon, interventional radiologist and abdominal imager should be familiar with these variants.

The therapeutic advances during the last two decades have rendered multiple myeloma a chronic disease and, thus, it is important to identify patient subgroups which may have extremely favorable outcomes and optimize their treatment. The current study aimed to evaluate the clinical and disease characteristics of patients with very long follow‐up (minimum 15 years), to identify those with very long survival (> 15 years) and those with very long disease remissions (> 15 years) after frontline treatment diagnosed at a single center from 1994 to 2009. Among 323 consecutive, unselected patients, the calculated 15‐year and 20‐year cumulative survival rates were 18% and 14%, respectively. Forty‐nine survived for more than 15 years. Furthermore, the calculated 15‐year and 20‐year cumulative PFS rates for the 323 patients were 9% and 7%, respectively; 25 (8%) patients were identified as long‐term progression‐free survivors. Younger age (≤ 65 years), good performance status (ECOG PS 0–1), low/intermediate risk stratification (ISS 1 or 2), absence of adverse cytogenetic abnormalities, autologous transplantation and achievement of CR to initial therapy were significantly associated with prolonged PFS. Importantly, all patients who were in complete response with negative minimal residual disease at 15 years remained at the same disease status at last follow‐up. In conclusion, among patients treated with either conventional chemotherapy or with first‐generation novel agents (thalidomide, bortezomib, or lenalidomide), about 15% were long‐term survivors and 8% remained in long‐term remission for more than 15 years without maintenance treatment.