Introduction

In medical, surgical, and veterinary sciences, access to vertebral vessels is a relevant task in academic teaching, practicing forensic medicine and forensic clinical anatomy for judicial purposes, scientific experimentation, and basic research. The patented tool allows access to the transverse foramen contents by partially dissecting the transverse process of the cervical vertebrae therefore effectively isolating the vertebral vessels.

Technical features

An accurate anatomical dissection of the vertebral vessels is currently not easy to perform with the available surgical tools since there are no specific instruments devoted to this task. For this reason, there is a very high probability of instrumental injury to vertebral vessels, with the consequent medicolegal issues and interpretative dilemmas regarding the pathophysiologic origin of what is observed.

This surgical tool effectively isolates the vertebral vessels safely and quickly by partially dissecting the transverse process of the cervical vertebrae, allowing a more accurate and precise manipulation and analysis. It was designed for this specific action by a team of university doctors specialized in anatomy and forensics. A prototype is currently under construction.

Possible Applications

• Surgical practice (also veterinary);
• Clinical and surgical teaching;
• Judicial and clinical oriented autopsies;
• Basic research.

Advantages

• Ergonomic and safe entry into the transverse foramen;
• Preservation of the integrity of anatomical structures of the vertebrae;
• Grip cutting system prevents the tool from sliding backwards;
• Anti-wear blades do not require sharpening;
• Bone section easier by the vector distribution of the shearing force.