Background: A large number of staff and students live off-campus (cannot be accommodated on campus) because of limited space. Most of them live in houses where there are no clean, safe drinking water and poor or no drainage system. The investigation was carried out by screening blood samples of patients who attended the Ahmadu Bello University Clinic (Sickbay) and Jama'a hospital in Samaru, Zaria to determine the occurrence of malaria and typhoid parasites in the area. Materials and Methods: Blood samples were collected with new disposable syringes from 264 patients during the period of study of 3 months. Blood films were stained with Giemsa stain, air- dried, treated with immersion oil, and examined under high-power objective of the microscope. Malaria parasites were identified based on their ring forms. The Widal test was used to detect the presence of Salmonella antibodies in the patient's serum. Result: Majority of the people screened 143 (84.1%) adults were not infected while 27 (15.9%) had malaria parasites in their blood stream. Only 20 (21.3%) of the children screened were positive for malaria parasites. Two Plasmodium parasites, Plasmodium falciparum and P. vivax were detected in the blood samples. Plasmodium falciparum was found to be significantly higher than P. vivax. More adults from age 19 and older had typhoid pathogens (57.0%) in their blood samples than children who were 18 years and younger (21.2%). A small but significant proportion (15.2%) of those screened were co-infected with malaria and typhoid. Conclusion: Malaria and typhoid are diseases of poverty that are still endemic in developing countries. It requires the combined effort of the government at all levels, the scientific community and co-operation of every member of the society to conquer these re-emerging diseases.

Introduction: Palm prints and toe prints are epidermal ridges that form early in fetal life and are unique to each individual. This means that they can be used for personal identification in criminal investigations. They are useful in diagnosis since recurring abnormal patterns are often seen in a variety of genetic syndromes. Materials and Methods: In this study, the palm prints of 170 young Yoruba students consisting of 75 males aged between 8 years and 19 years, and 95 females aged between 7 years and 18 years were used for the measurement of the ADT angle, AB ridge count (ABRC), and total ridge count (TRC) after informed consent. The patterns were obtained using the ink method and these were taken on white duplicating paper. The ridges were counted using hand lens and needle while the ADT angles were measured with a protractor. Results: The finding of higher values of ABRC (70.77), TRC (123.07), and the average ADT angle (40.42) in female Yorubas compared with males were 68.31, 122.39, and 39.29, respectively, and is in conflict with the results of most of the studies documented in other scientific journals. Conclusion: Our study without a doubt confirms that anthropometric dissimilarities subsist based on sex. The data submitted herein can provide useful information to the forensic investigators and scientist in solving cases especially when it involves individuals from the Yoruba ethnic group.

Introduction: The histological view of the stomach presents an adaptation favoring the diets of each particular animal. The histoarchitectural organization, including the distribution of connective tissue fibers, provides a useful interpretation of the adaptative mechanisms adopted by the guts of different animals in coping with their diets. The rat is a mammal; the lizard, a reptile; and the toad, an amphibian. Their modes of diet are different and, as such, the organs involved in their diets show variation. Materials and Methods: We aimed to make a comparative study of the stomachs of the three types of animals in relation to their diet. Five adult Wistar rats, five adult agama lizards, and five adult cane toads of the same sex were used for this investigation. Result: The results revealed a sharp contrast in the histology of the stomachs among these vertebrates. A cursory look into the morphology of the stomach with regard to its shape and size also revealed significant differences. Conclusion: All of these observations on the histomorphologic pattern of the stomachs of these vertebrates suggest an adaptation in coping with their respective diets.

Background: Growth assessment is useful in monitoring children's growth. It often reveals their physical characteristics, health and nutritional status, and infers their biological well-being. The present study was conducted to evaluate the physical growth status of schoolchildren and adolescents in Ebonyi State, Southeast Nigeria. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study design was followed, which involved a random sampling of 1,620 subjects (849 males and 771 females) selected from schools in urban and rural communities of the state. Anthropometric measurements included height and weight; the body mass index (BMI) was also assessed and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) 2000 reference standards was used for comparison. Results: The median weight values of the urban subjects (males and females) tend to be higher than the CDC reference standard. The median weight of the rural females compared fairly while the rural males deviated below the reference standard at the age of 10-18 years. Compared to the CDC standards, the median height of the urban and rural subjects tends to be higher during childhood; the urban subjects at the age of 15-18 years deviated below the reference standard while the rural subjects deviated below the reference standard from the age of 13 years. The median BMI values of the urban females were higher than the standard; the urban males and rural females were almost identical to the reference chart. In contrast, the median BMI values of the rural males were below the standard. Conclusion: The age-matched increase in the anthropometric parameters evaluated indicates a normal growth pattern, and there was a marked difference in the anthropometric parameters and growth performance of urban schoolchildren and adolescents compared to their rural counterparts. The growth patterns of schoolchildren and adolescents in Ebonyi State appeared comparable to the CDC growth reference charts.

Variations of teeth have always been of enduring interest to clinical practitioners, academicians, and laboratory scientists. Apart from requiring thorough diagnoses and due considerations during treatment planning and procedures, such variations are of great interest to the dental anthropologist in tracing population movements and forensic viewpoints. The present series of case reports describes a rare developmental feature termed "paramolar tubercle," encountered in otherwise normal young adults. Mentioned in the literature in a few case reports, not much is known about this entity. Thus, the purpose of our case report is to increase awareness and stimulate discussion of these structures and their importance. In addition, paramolar tubercles are clinically relevant, as they influence treatment modalities in different dental disciplines and, further, may affect the prognosis of treatment. This case report also includes cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) imaging taken for one patient to evaluate the utility of such an imaging modality in knowing the precise structure and nature of these anomalies.

Neural variations of the brachium constitute a significant anatomical and clinical entity. Variations in median and musculocutaneous nerves are common, whereas the absence of the musculocutaneous nerve (McN) is very rare. The present report is on the absence of the McN observed in the right upper extremity of a middle-aged Nigerian male cadaver during routine educational dissection in the Department of Anatomy, Ebonyi State University, Nigeria. We observed three separate branches from the median nerve innervating the coracobrachialis muscle, biceps brachii, and brachialis muscles. The muscles that are usually innervated by the McN were innervated by the median nerve in this case. Also, the longest and more distal of these branches (branch to brachialis muscles) pass between the biceps and the brachialis muscle. In the cubital fossa, it lies at the lateral margin of the biceps tendon where it continues as the lateral cutaneous nerve of the forearm. The presence of this anomaly should be considered during surgical interventions and clinical investigations of the arm as this may help plan a surgical procedure in the region of axilla and the arm, traumatology of the shoulder joint, and plastic and reconstructive repair.