The historical evolution of transsphenoidal surgery: facilitation by technological advances

2009 ◽  
Vol 27 (3) ◽  
pp. E8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chirag D. Gandhi ◽  
Lana D. Christiano ◽  
Jean Anderson Eloy ◽  
Charles J. Prestigiacomo ◽  
Kalmon D. Post

Over the past century, pituitary surgery has undergone multiple evolutions in surgical technique and technological advancements that have resulted in what practitioners now recognize as modern transsphenoidal surgery (TSS). Although the procedure is now well established in current neurosurgical literature, the historical maze that led to its development continues to be of interest because it allows a better appreciation of the unique contributions by the pioneers of the technique, and of the innovative spirit that continues to fuel neurosurgery. The early events in the history of TSS have already been well documented. This paper therefore summarizes the major early transitions along the timeline, and then further concentrates on some of the more recent advancements in TSS, such as the surgical microscope, fluoroscopy, endoscopy, intraoperative imaging, and frameless guidance. The account of each of these innovations is unique because they were each developed as a response to certain historical needs by the surgeon. An understanding of these more recent contributions, coupled with the early history, provides a more complete perspective on modern TSS.

2001 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 1-4 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chirag D. Gandhi ◽  
Kalmon D. Post

Over the past century pituitary surgery has undergone multiple revolutions in surgical technique and technological advancements that have resulted in what is now recognized as modern transsphenoidal surgery. Although the procedure is well established in the current neurosurgical literature, the historical maze that led to its development continues to be of interest because it allows us to appreciate better the unique contributions made by the pioneers of the technique as well as the innovative spirit that continues to fuel neurosurgery. The early events in the history of transsphenoidal surgery have already been well documented. Therefore, the authors summarize the major early transitions along the timeline and then further describe more recent advancements in transsphenoidal surgery such as the surgical microscope, fluoroscopy, endoscopy, intraoperative neuroimaging, frameless image guidance, and radioimmunoassay. The story of these innovations is unique because each was developed as a response to certain needs of the surgeon. An understanding of these more recent contributions coupled with the early history provides a more complete perspective on modern transsphenoidal surgery.


Author(s):  
Matthew Bagot

One of the central questions in international relations today is how we should conceive of state sovereignty. The notion of sovereignty—’supreme authority within a territory’, as Daniel Philpott defines it—emerged after the Treaty of Westphalia in 1648 as a result of which the late medieval crisis of pluralism was settled. But recent changes in the international order, such as technological advances that have spurred globalization and the emerging norm of the Responsibility to Protect, have cast the notion of sovereignty into an unclear light. The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the current debate regarding sovereignty by exploring two schools of thought on the matter: first, three Catholic scholars from the past century—Luigi Sturzo, Jacques Maritain, and John Courtney Murray, S.J.—taken as representative of Catholic tradition; second, a number of contemporary political theorists of cosmopolitan democracy. The paper argues that there is a confluence between the Catholic thinkers and the cosmopolitan democrats regarding their understanding of state sovereignty and that, taken together, the two schools have much to contribute not only to our current understanding of sovereignty, but also to the future of global governance.


2011 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. e1
Author(s):  
Fulvio Melia

I have recently had the privilege of being appointed Editor-in-Chief of this very exciting and innovative Open Access Journal, and hereby extend a warm welcome to everyone as we launch Astronomy Studies Development, which will seek to publish high quality, peer-reviewed, original manuscripts in all fields of astronomy and astrophysics, though with a particular focus on mathematical techniques and methodology and innovative ideas for instrumental development and modeling in astronomy and astrophysics. The journal will also seek to publish simulations in all areas, including cosmology, particle astrophysics, accretion, and diffuse media. Our journal will include both full length research articles and letter articles, and its coverage extends over solar, stellar, galactic and extragalactic astronomy and astrophysics, and will report original research in all wavelength bands. Astronomy and Astrophysics are rather mature disciplines, with a history of quality journals over the past century or more. So one may reasonably ask why a new journal such as this is needed. Obviously, I myself have answered this question in the affirmative. After a long career in research and publishing, I have the perspective to provide several good reasons for helping to promote the evolution of publishing in Astronomy and Astrophysics to a place more in line with present technology..........


Author(s):  
Konstantinos I. Kakoudakis ◽  
Katerina Papadoulaki

Abstract This chapter illustrates the process of social tourism development in Greece, from the interwar years until the present day. The chapter first sets the discussion within the context of the country's turbulent political, social and economic background, throughout most of the past century, which has exercised significant influence on the development of Greek tourism in general, and social tourism specifically. It then identifies and presents two main phases of social tourism development, highlighting important initiatives and key players that contributed to the incremental evolution of social tourism programmes in Greece, and also events that impeded their implementation and smooth running. Specific emphasis is given to the past four decades, since this time period has largely shaped the contemporary form of Greek social tourism programmes. Therefore, the chapter explicates the close linkages between the establishment of the modern Greek welfare state in the early 1980s, and the development of social tourism as we know it today. The chapter concludes with a brief discussion on the developmental process of contemporary Greek social tourism over time, and the important socioeconomic implications of its current practice in the aftermath of the Greek financial crisis, and in the midst of the refugee crisis in Europe, and the Covid-19 pandemic.


1975 ◽  
Vol 25 ◽  
pp. 137-156 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. M. Kennedy

Yet another survey of the much-traversed field of Anglo-German relations will seem to many historians of modern Europe to border on the realm of superfluity; probably no two countries have had their relationship to each other so frequently examined in the past century as Britain and Germany. Moreover, even if one restricted such a study to the British side alone, the sheer number of publications upon this topic, or upon only a section of it like the age of ‘appeasement’, is simply too great to allow a compression of existing knowledge into a narrative form that would be anything other than crude and sketchy. The following contribution therefore seeks neither to provide such a general survey, nor, by use of new and detailed archival materials, to concentrate upon a small segment of the history of British policy towards Germany in the period 1864–1939; but instead to consider throughout all these years a particular aspect, namely, the respective arguments of Germanophiles and Germanophobes in Britain and the connection between this dialogue and the more general ideological standpoints of both sides. In so doing, the author has produced a survey which remains embarrassingly summary in detail but does at least attempt to offer a fresh approach to the subject.


Author(s):  
Rachel Hallote

When the artistic canon of the Southern Levant coalesced in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, scholars thought of the region, then Ottoman Palestine, as the locus of the Bible. The small-scale nature of the archaeological finds as well as their relative dearth reinforced a reliance on biblical narratives as a framework for understanding the culture of the region. Moreover, early scholarship did not recognize the complex regionalism of the Southern Levant or the diversity of its populations. Consequently, the artistic canon that developed did not represent the historical and archaeological realities of the region. This chapter examines the history of how the artistic canon of the Southern Levant formed over the past century of scholarship, why various scholars of the early and middle twentieth century included particular items in the canon, and why these now entrenched representations may or may not be helpful to the discipline’s future.


2019 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
pp. 220-225
Author(s):  
Sabrina A. Brody-Camp ◽  
Dane A. Weinert ◽  
Edward D. McCoul

Background Despite a proliferation of technological advances in sinonasal surgery, “cold steel” instruments still comprise the core of the sinus surgeon’s tools of the trade. Many of these implements retain eponyms that recall the legacies of prominent surgeons of the past. Objective This review aims to familiarize the reader with the lives of 10 men who designed and popularized some of the most recognizable sinus instruments, without which the practice of rhinologic surgery would be unrecognizable. Results Ten individuals whose inventions are still used to this day and retain their names: Hartmann, Killian, Freer, Blakesley, Weil, Frazier, Grünwald, Hajek, Takahashi, and Cottle. Conclusion Review of the history of these instruments helps demonstrate how sinus surgery has evolved to where it is today. The men described in this review transformed the practice of rhinologic surgery with their ingenuity and perseverance.


Author(s):  
Changming Duan ◽  
Kristen Sager

Empathy, one of the most studied and most multidisciplinary theoretical constructs, has garnered the attention of scholars from psychology as well as the social and biological sciences. The scholarship of empathy has developed significantly in the past century, with the most notable knowledge emerging in the areas of the neuroscience of empathy and the interplay between race/culture and empathy in recent decades. The positive psychology of empathy also continues to occupy researchers, as the links between empathy and individual and societal health abound. Future empathy research by socially and scholastically responsible scientists must overcome a long history of Euro-ethnocentric biases and integrate social justice into the understanding of this important construct. The scholarship and application of empathy will continue to be an important source of positivity for humans and for society as a whole.


2001 ◽  
Vol 52 (1) ◽  
pp. 83-102 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. H. C. FREND

As in every other branch of learning, the study of the early history of Christianity has undergone massive changes during the last century. This has been due not only to the vast accumulation of knowledge through new discoveries, but to new approaches to the subject, together with the rise of archaeology as a principal factor in providing fresh information. The study of the early Church has as a result moved steadily from dogma to history, from attempts to interpret divine revelation through the development of doctrinal orthodoxy down the ages, to research into the historical development of an earthly institution of great complexity and of great significance in the history of mankind over the past two thousand years.


2020 ◽  
Vol 48 (2) ◽  
pp. 219-225
Author(s):  
Kelsey Cheshire ◽  
Jennifer Stout

Purpose This study aims to explore the question of whether or not librarians can ethically remain politically neutral in the wake of the 45th administration. The authors take a critical look at the American Library Association’s Code of Ethics, as well as the concept of vocational awe, and recommend challenging the “sacredness” of neutrality as a core tenet of the profession. Additionally, the authors describe the history of white privilege within libraries and argue that it is time to actively fight white supremacy and disavow the profession’s history of replicating racist social structures. Design/methodology/approach This study is a researched think piece designed to encourage critical thought about long-held idealistic beliefs in the profession. Findings This study suggests that despite the profession’s history of outwardly valuing “neutrality,” libraries are not and have never been neutral. Libraries have chosen, time and again, to value white privilege and a white frame of reference to the detriment of librarians and patrons of color. Because many librarians also see the profession as upholding “sacred” ideals like neutrality, we fall into the trap of being unable to criticize our own profession and practices and, therefore, are unable to make much needed changes. Research limitations/implications This study is based on the opinions of the authors and on the opinions of authors they have cited. It contains no original quantitative or qualitative research. Originality/value This study challenges the long-held assumptions that the profession has taken for granted over the past century. The authors argue that it is good and necessary to question the Code of Ethics, vocational awe and neutrality with the goal of improving the profession in light of the current cultural and political climate.


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