New anomalies and pathologies in the caudal region of the lizard’s axial skeleton

2021 ◽  
Vol 325 (4) ◽  
pp. 447-456
Author(s):  
D.A. Gordeev ◽  
D.V. Korost ◽  
N.B. Ananjeva

Currently, more than 58 skeletal anomalies and pathologies are known in the recent Squamata reptiles. In this paper, eight pathologies of a complex nature are described in Agamidae and Lacertidae: Paralaudakia caucasia (Eichwald, 1831) and Lacerta agilis Linnaeus, 1758. Description of tail pathologies was carried out based on the analysis of X-ray images and on the results of computer microtomography. In the specimen of P. caucasia (ЗИН 19116.1) complete ablation of the caudal vertebra was revealed, which provoked the detachment of chevron and the proliferation of soft tissues. In some Agamidae, after pseudoautotomy, partial ablation of the caudal vertebra occurs to promote wound healing. Complete ablation of the distal caudal vertebra has not been previously reported in literature. In females of L. agilis, deformation of the right transverse process of the vertebra with “false bifurcation” without the formation of a cartilaginous tube (VOLSU 98.2), scoliosis, hematoma and callus on the cartilaginous tube were noted, as well as the absence of an autotomy plane in the postpygal vertebra (ZIN 31549). An unusual pathology in L. agilis (ZIN 31549) is the absence of an autotomy plane in the postpigal vertebra and of its anterior neural spine. The loss of the plane of autotomy during ontogeny is characteristic of some Iguanidae, but it has not been previously noted in Lacertidae. The described cases of anomalies expand the spectrum of known pathologies in reptiles.

2017 ◽  
Vol 138 (4) ◽  
pp. 201-207 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jean-Daniel Kün-Darbois ◽  
Léonie Quenel ◽  
Smaïl Badja ◽  
Daniel Chappard

Objectives: Multiple myeloma (MM) is characterized by the occurrence of osteolytic lesions. MM treatment usually involves antiresorptive drugs (mainly bisphosphonates). Case Report: A patient with an MM presented osteolytic lesions of the mandible. Extraction of teeth 45 and 46 was performed 5 years after the diagnosis of periodontitis. Four months later, osteonecrosis of the jaw (ONJ) was diagnosed at the extraction site. X-ray showed an extension of osteolytic lesions on the right side, close to the extraction site, without modification of the lesions on the left side. Two months later, a curettage was performed because of a painful bone sequestration. X-ray showed an extension of the osteolytic lesions on the right side. Results: Histological analysis found a vascularized plasmacytoma of the soft tissues around the ONJ. Analysis of the bone showed mixed lesions with osteonecrotic areas and living bone resorbed by active osteoclasts surrounding a plasmacytoma. The surface area of the osteolytic foci has considerably increased only close to the extraction site. Conclusions: Tooth extraction triggered an ONJ associated with bisphosphonate treatment. However, it also seemed to induce a considerable proliferation of plasma cells at the extraction site; we hypothesize that it is due to the increase in bone remodeling related to the surgical trauma.


2020 ◽  
Vol 48 (2) ◽  
pp. 149-156
Author(s):  
A. V. Zubova ◽  
O. L. Pikhur ◽  
A. V. Obodovskiy ◽  
A. A. Malyutina ◽  
L. M. Dmitrenko ◽  
...  

This study analyzes the earliest known case of surgical extraction of the lower third molars, observed in a cranial series from Pucará de Tilcara fortress (15th–16th centuries AD), northwestern Argentina, excavated in 1908–1910. Crania were transported to the Kunstkamera in 1910 under an exchange project. Traces of dental surgery were registered in the mandible of a male aged ~40. Both third molars had been extracted after the removal of soft tissues and parts of the alveoli. Teeth were extracted by scraping alveolar walls with semicircular movements. The results of scanning electron microscopy, X-ray fluorescence, and X-ray microanalysis suggest that a stone tool was used. The results of macroscopic and CT analysis suggest that the surgery was motivated by the exacerbation of chronic periodontal disease and probably by caries. The left third molar was extracted without complications 2–3 months before the individual’s death. On the right side, the pathological process continued, culminating in osteomyelitis and its complications. The surgeon’s skill notwithstanding, the extraction of the right third molar did not cure the patient, who died, apparently following the destructive stage of acute osteomyelitis complicated by orofacial phlegmon. Our findings suggest that the level of dental surgery practiced in the Inca Empire was ahead of the diagnostic expertise.


2020 ◽  
Vol 26 (4) ◽  
pp. 40
Author(s):  
Helen Olugbeje ◽  
Arthur Fourcade

Introduction: Extramedullar plasmocytoma (EMP) is a plasma cell disease, such as solitary plasmocytoma of the bone and multiple myeloma. It is developed in the soft tissues. Observation: A 79-year-old patient consulted for a painful tumefaction of the gum associated to a radiolucent area on the right side of the mandible on the panoramic x-ray. After surgical enucleation, histological examination showed that the diagnosis was either an IgA extramedullar plasmocytoma or a multiple myeloma. The spreading assessment eliminated the diagnosis of multiple myeloma. The patient was then treated with radiotherapy. Discussion: EMP is a rare tumoral disease. Few cases described oral localisation. The main differential diagnosis, that must be excluded is multiple myeloma. Transformation in multiple myeloma exists. The first intention treatment is radiotherapy of the lesion. Conclusion: EMP of the oral cavity is very rare. After treatment, follow-up is required to detect second localisation or progression in multiple myeloma.


PeerJ ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. e6404
Author(s):  
Femke M. Holwerda ◽  
Mark Evans ◽  
Jeff J. Liston

Four isolated sauropod axial elements from the Oxford Clay Formation (Callovian, Middle Jurassic) of Peterborough, UK, are described. Two associated posterior dorsal vertebrae show a dorsoventrally elongated centrum and short neural arch, and nutrient or pneumatic foramina, most likely belonging to a non-neosauropod eusauropod, but showing ambiguous non-neosauropod eusauropod and neosauropod affinities. An isolated anterior caudal vertebra displays a ventral keel, a ‘shoulder’ indicating a wing-like transverse process, along with a possible prespinal lamina. This, together with an overall high complexity of the anterior caudal transverse process (ACTP) complex, indicates that this caudal could have belonged to a neosauropod. A second isolated middle-posterior caudal vertebra also shows some diagnostic features, despite the neural spine and neural arch not being preserved and the neurocentral sutures being unfused. The positioning of the neurocentral sutures on the anterior one third of the centrum indicates a middle caudal position, and the presence of faint ventrolateral crests, as well as a rhomboid anterior articulation surface, suggest neosauropod affinities. The presence of possible nutrient foramina are only tentative evidence of a neosauropod origin, as they are also found in Late Jurassic non-neosauropod eusauropods. As the caudals from the two other known sauropods from the Peterborough Oxford Clay, Cetiosauriscus stewarti and an indeterminate non-neosauropod eusauropod, do not show the features seen on either of the new elements described, both isolated caudals indicate a higher sauropod species diversity in the faunal assemblage than previously recognised. An exploratory phylogenetic analysis using characters from all four isolated elements supports a basal neosauropod placement for the anterior caudal, and a diplodocid origin for the middle caudal. The dorsal vertebrae are an unstable OTU, and therefore remain part of an indeterminate eusauropod of uncertain affinities. Together with Cetiosauriscus, and other material assigned to different sauropod groups, this study indicates the presence of a higher sauropod biodiversity in the Oxford Clay Formation than previously recognised. This study shows that it is still beneficial to examine isolated elements, as these may be indicators for higher species richness in deposits that are otherwise poor in terrestrial fauna.


2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 ◽  
pp. 1-4 ◽  
Author(s):  
George Galyfos ◽  
Konstantinos Palogos ◽  
Nikolaos Kavouras

We report a case of a 42-year-old male patient who was transferred to our emergency department suffering from a gunshot wound in his left lateral thigh. The patient was haemodynamically stable, and the physical examination of the abdomen and thorax was unremarkable. There was no obvious exit point and there were no other injuries. The radiologic control of the left thigh showed an intact femur and multiple pellets within the adjacent soft tissues. Routine X-ray evaluation of the thorax revealed a small-sized round object of metal density—possibly a migrated pellet—in the proximity of the right heart atrium. Computed tomography imaging confirmed this finding and showed no other cardiac or mediastinal injury. Ultrasonography of the heart was unremarkable as well. The patient was managed conservatively for the discovered pellet, and remained asymptomatic throughout the entire hospital stay, and 6 months after the discharge. Pellet migration or embolism should be suspected in any gunshot victim without a corresponding exit wound or when the signs and symptoms do not correlate with the suspected course of the missile. Conservative management remains the first choice in asymptomatic patients, although close monitoring at first and regular observation after discharge are indicated.


1997 ◽  
Vol 86 (6) ◽  
pp. 1031-1035 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tetsuro Kawaguchi ◽  
Shigekiyo Fujita ◽  
Kohkichi Hosoda ◽  
Yuji Shibata ◽  
Masaki Iwakura ◽  
...  

✓ The authors describe transverse process hyperrotation and unilateral apophyseal joint subluxation as a novel mechanism of rotational vertebral artery (VA) occlusion. The patient, a 56-year-old man, complained of episodic bilateral blindness when rotating his head more than 90° to the right. Plain cervical x-ray films showed spondylotic osteophytes of the right C4–5 uncovertebral portion. Dynamic angiography revealed right VA occlusion at C4–5 and left VA occlusion at C1–2 with head rotation to the right. It was demonstrated on three-dimensional images constructed from computerized tomography scans that C-4 transverse process hyperrotation compressed the right VA against the apex of the C-5 subluxating superior articular process via the inner surface of the transverse process anterior root (processus costarius) rather than the osteophytes. It is also proposed that the true site of occlusion is different from that observed in angiographic studies.


2021 ◽  
Vol 0 ◽  
pp. 1-5
Author(s):  
Vikas Batra ◽  
Nafisa Shakir Batta ◽  
Ankur Gupta

Osteoblastomas are benign neoplasm of the bone that is characterized by clinical and histological similarity to osteoid osteomas. They are larger (>1.5–2 cm) and tend to affect the axial skeleton. Patients typically present commonly in the second or third decades of life with a male predilection. The flare phenomenon in osteoblastoma is a rare but known entity showing florid multifocal periostitis. Few cases have been reported in the literature. Focally aggressive osteoblastomas also present with flare phenomenon mediated by prostaglandin-induced inflammation. We report a strikingly unusual case of an osteoblastoma of the spine in a 23-year-old male patient who presented in our outpatient department with complaints of low backache, weight loss, intermittent stiffness, and fever for the past year. The patient was HLA-B27 positive, diagnosed as ankylosing spondylitis, and clinical symptoms were attributed to sacroiliitis. However, his fever and weight loss, while on treatment, were unexplained. Roentgenogram, computed tomography, and magnetic resonance imaging of the patient depicted a large bone tumor centered at the junction of the right pedicle and transverse process of L5 vertebra, associated with severe reactive marrow edema, periosteal reaction, periostitis, and sclerosis in the posterior vertebral elements also extending into the L4 vertebra. The lesion was suspected to be osteoblastoma with close imaging differential as osteosarcoma. CT-guided biopsy proved osteoblastoma with acute local toxic flare.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-3
Author(s):  
Aravind Reddy Kuchkuntla ◽  
◽  
Nitish Singh Nandu ◽  

Plasmacytomas are localized tumors of monoclonal plasma cells, typically affecting the axial skeleton and present as solitary bone lesions known as solitary bone plasmacytomas (SBP). Another type of plasmacytomas are extramedullary plasmacytomas (EP) that are localized plasma cell neoplasms affecting the soft tissues such as skin, brain lymph nodes etc. These tumors are account for 5-10% of all plasma cell disorders and among these tumors a rare entity is a multiple solitary plasmacytoma (MSP). MSPs are rare and account for only 5% of all SBPs. MSP presents with multiple SBPs with or without EPs with no bone marrow involvement as multiple myeloma. Literature is limited on MSP as it is a rare diagnosis. Here, we present a case of a 64-year-old male who presented with shoulder pain after a fall, found to have an SBP of the right shoulder, SBP of left femur and a left hypopharyngeal EP. The tumors were excised and he was treated with 6 cycles of bortezomib and dexamethasone. After chemotherapy and radiation patient showed good response and remained in remission on follow up.


Author(s):  
S. Edith Taylor ◽  
Patrick Echlin ◽  
May McKoon ◽  
Thomas L. Hayes

Low temperature x-ray microanalysis (LTXM) of solid biological materials has been documented for Lemna minor L. root tips. This discussion will be limited to a demonstration of LTXM for measuring relative elemental distributions of P,S,Cl and K species within whole cells of tobacco leaves.Mature Wisconsin-38 tobacco was grown in the greenhouse at the University of California, Berkeley and picked daily from the mid-stalk position (leaf #9). The tissue was excised from the right of the mid rib and rapidly frozen in liquid nitrogen slush. It was then placed into an Amray biochamber and maintained at 103K. Fracture faces of the tissue were prepared and carbon-coated in the biochamber. The prepared sample was transferred from the biochamber to the Amray 1000A SEM equipped with a cold stage to maintain low temperatures at 103K. Analyses were performed using a tungsten source with accelerating voltages of 17.5 to 20 KV and beam currents from 1-2nA.


Oncoreview ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 180-183
Author(s):  
Arkadiusz Drobiecki ◽  
Marcin Pasiarski ◽  
Agnieszka Stelmach-Gołdyś ◽  
Bartosz Garus

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