Anatomical variations of the left renal vein have been investigated and reported bv anatomists as well as pathologists and surgeons for more than two centuries. Knowledge of such anatomical variations of the left renal vein is of extreme importance to the surgeon during surgical procedures involving the kidneys, abdominal aorta and retroperitoneal regions.

Forensic identification is easy if an entire human body is available with minimal decomposition. Once decomposition has set in or when parts of the body are missing, identification becomes difficult or at times impossible using classical methods. In such situations DNA has proved to be useful for identification and increasingly, forensic studies utilize DNA profiles of individuals to establish identity.

Medical Ethics deals with the moral principles which guide members of the medical profession in their professional dealings with each other, their patients and also the state. Dental surgeons registered with the Sri Lanka Medical Council are expected to abide by the principals of ethics accepted and practiced by the Sri Lanka Medical Council. The doctor-patient relationship is the central focus of ethics in Medicine and Dentistry. Reasons for this are that ethics has to do with actions involving help or harm to others. In Medicine and Dentistry the doctor is the agent and the principal recipient is the patient. Control of the relationship results from the power of the doctor, and ethical standards help guide this power. Most interactions in the health care delivery system have over a long period evolved, some aspects of these interactions are the, doctor-patient relationship providing continuity, privacy, development of mutual responsibility and others. There are rapid changes in the extension of this relationship that bear on these interactions in significant ways making it more complex, like third party payers, insurance, policies of professional groups, private practice, medical institutions, etc. The image of doctor-patient relationship has to be well established and improved in our country for well being of our society.

Mammals have a heterodont dentition, which has evolved from the homodont dentition of reptiles. The most primitive type of dentition is Incisor (I) 3/3 Canine (C) 1/1 Pre Molar (PM) 4/4, and Molar (M) 3/3, per quadrant seen in insectivores. All the other groups of mammals have a modified condition. The dentition of man is I 2/2 C 111PM 2/2 and M 3/3. Moreover, mammales are diphyodont, with a much simpler deciduous dentition & a more complex permanent dentition. In most mammals teeth replacement is vertical. However, in elephants, the replacement of incisors (tusks and tuches) is vertical, but that of premolars & molars is horizontal. Different dentitions of different groups of mammals have arisen mainly because of their different food habits. In certain animals, some teeth are highly specialized for particular functions, such as carnassial teeth in carnivores.