Faculty Appointment
Assistant Professor of Medical Education, Anatomy; Anatomy Lab Director
Education
M.D. - AUC School of Medicine D.C. - Logan University B.S. - Stony Brook University
Biography
Throughout medical school, Dr. Frank Scali professionally prosected cadaveric specimens, illustrated for textbooks and published multiple novel anatomical findings in the medical literature. He graduated medical school with fifty-four publications, a patent for a medical device, and contributed as a reviewer for journals such as Clinical Anatomy, The Spine Journal, and The Anatomical Record. Dr. Scali is an acknowledged contributor for Gray's Anatomy, Oxford Handbook, and First-Aid for the USMLE. His major teaching interests include Anatomy, Neuroanatomy and board preparation for the USMLE Steps 1 – 3.
Research Interests
- The meningomyovertebral complex and its role in cerebrospinal fluid flow.
- Suboccipital anatomy and its clinical relation to cervicogenic cephalgia.
- Morphology of the retropharyngeal, alar and prevertebral fasciae and their respective spaces.
Research Description
In 2011 Dr. Scali reported a novel anatomical finding – the myodural bridge of the atlantoaxial interspace. This anatomical soft tissue bridge connects suboccipital muscles to the cervical dura mater. It's functional role is to anchor the spinal cord during passive and active cervical spinal movements. In 2015, Dr. Scali led a study involving plastinated specimens revealing analogous soft tissue communications extending from the upper cervical vertebrae and from the base of the skull. These structures coalesce to form a complex tissue network named the meningomyovertebral ligament. Other authors have since isolated similar structures across multiple species in the animal kingdom. In his latest manuscript, Dr. Scali proposed that the meningomyovertebral complex provides a tension monitoring system to prevent dural infolding and aids in the control of cerebrospinal fluid flow. Failure of this system may result in altered cerebral spinal fluid pressure, changes in sensorimotor function, cervicocephalic headaches, and dural related pathologies.