Combined surgery for left Subclavian artery revascularization and CABG was performed in a 74-year-old man with diabetes mellitus. The preoperative coronary angiogram showed critical stenoses in all three major branches, and arteriography revealed obstruction at the left proximal subclavian artery. Severe atherosclerotic calcification was acknowledged circumferentially in the ascending aorta and in the aortic arch. For this patient axillo-axillary crossover bypass grafting was performed first using and expanded PTFE graft, followed subsequently by off-pump CABG using all in situ grafts (right internal thoracic artery-left anterior descending artery (RITA-LAD), left internal thoracic artery-diagonal branch (LITA-diagonal branch), gastroepiploic artery-right coronary artery (GEA-RCA)). Postoperative recovery was smooth, with disappearance of significant pressure difference between both arms (preoperatively, 46mmHg). An angiogram on the 7th postoperative day showed a widely patent axillo-axillary bypass graft along with good flow of all three coronary grafts, in which LITA was visualized well through the axillo-axillary bypass graft. For complex atherosclerotic disease of the proximal aorta and incipient portion of neck vessels associated with severe coronary sclerosis, this technique is a suitable option.

We have previously reported that the thoracolumbar posterior nerve root shows a tortuous epidural course, based on studies of human fetuses near term. For comparison with the cervical nerve, examinations were conducted using frontal, sagittal and horizontal sections of cervical vertebrae from 22 fetuses at 30–38 weeks of gestation. The cervical nerve root showed a short, straight and lateral course near the zygapophysial joint. Multiple rather than single bundles of the cervical posterior root seemed to account for the majority of sensory nerve fibers innervating the upper extremity. Fasciculation of rootlets was evident near the thoracolumbar spinal cord, whereas it was seen in the dural pocket at the nerve exit from the dural sac although both sites were subdural. As in the thoracolumbar region, the nerve sheath was continuous with the dura mater and independently surrounded each of the anterior and posterior roots. Radicular arteries were few in the cervical region. In 2 of the 22 fetuses (31 weeks and 33 weeks), there was a segmental, unilateral abnormality of nerve rootlet fasciculation where the dorsal root ganglion was located lateral or peripheral to the intervertebral region. Long nerve roots running inferiorly are a necessary adaptation to the delayed and marked growth of the thoracolumbar vertebral column.In children, the cervical nerve roots are likely to be affected by movement or dislocation of the vertebrae. The segmental abnormality of the cervical nerve root may be linked to rare variations in the brachial plexus.

Medical students at Kurume University begin practical training in clinical skills in their fourth year. At that time, students use the skills laboratory to improve their clinical skills. Medical education resources in the skills laboratory include simulators for emergency resuscitation and heart diseases, wireless stethoscopes, and videotapes. All students use the skills laboratory for 2 months, and its usefulness was evaluated with questionnaires after practical training. More than 50 % of students approved of their practice in the skills laboratory. However, some students were unsatisfied because they were unable to make effective use of the simulators. In the future, an improved skills laboratory will be necessary to improve practical training in the clinical skills for medical students.

We analyzed the scores of objective structured clinical examinations (OSCEs) and written examinations administered to fourth-year medical students after practical training in clinical skills and to fifth-year medical students after clinical training and scores of graduation examinations taken by sixth-year medical students. Correlations were analyzed among the scores of 96 students who had taken all 3 examinations during a 3-year period. Mean scores on examinations in the fourth, fifth, and sixth years were compared between sixth-year students who did or did not graduate and between graduating students who did or did not pass the national examination for medical practitioners in Japan. Significant correlations in the scores were found between 1) OSCEs and written examinations for fourth-year students versus those for the fifth-year students; 2) OSCE and written examinations for fourth-year students versus graduation examination scores for the sixth-year students; and 3) OSCE and written examinations for fifth-year students versus graduation examination scores for sixth-year students. In addition, the mean scores in the fourth and fifth years were significantly higher for sixth-year students who graduated and passed the national examination than for students who did not graduate or who graduated but failed the national examination. These results suggest that the practical training in clinical skills given to fourth-year students and the clinical training given to fifth-year students strongly affect the overall evaluation of the ability of sixth-year students and success on the national examination.

Since students who would like to study Kampo medicine more have no opportunity to communicate each other in Northern Japanese Universities, we newly started joint study conferences held by medical students in 2013. The objectives of this paper are to report on these annually held student-based Kampo study conferences in the Hokkaido and Tohoku areas, and the ways each university studies Kampo medicine. In the conference, the students reported on their club activities. Then they studied the history of Kampo medicine and simulation of abdominal diagnosis, and performed group work on case reports together. The number of student participants in these conferences has tripled over 3 years from 18 to 58 (for a total of 111 participants). All members were satisfied with the content. And this reflects medical students' need for a wider perception of Kampo medicine, rather than a limited one gained in their university club activities. We hope this conference will play a major role in other nationwide student-based Kampo study conferences in the years to come.

Objective: In our previous study, we revealed that articles on "dangerous drugs" in weekly magazines are inadequate and incomplete with respect to scientific validity, and that there may be many aspects that need to be improved. Next, the extent to which medical professionals, including doctors, pharmacists, and nurses, received consultations by patients owing to such media reports and what countermeasures are implemented requires clarification. In the present study, as a first step, we performed a questionnaire survey of community pharmacists to clarify the occurrence of such consultations.Methods: A questionnaire survey was conducted among 698 community pharmacists. The survey was conducted over 10 days from December 8 to 17, 2021.Results: Out of the 698 community pharmacists, 545 responded (response rate: 78.1%). Of these, 323 (59.3%) had experienced consultations from patients owing to media reports on the dangers of drugs. Of the 323 respondents, 215 (66.6%) had experienced these consultations less than five times. In contrast, 83 respondents (25.7%) reported more than 10 such consultations. Of the 545 respondents, 190 (34.9%) responded that they routinely perform measures to deal with media reports on the dangers of drugs. The most common routine measure was the "regular checking of various media sources (including preparation of responses when receiving consultation requests)."Conclusion: Our results indicated that more than half of the community pharmacists had experienced receiving consultations from patients, although only approximately 30% were adopting routine measures. This suggests that community pharmacists have been affected to some extent by these media reports, and that further countermeasures need to be implemented.