scholarly journals Origins of eponymous instruments in spine surgery

2018 ◽  
Vol 29 (6) ◽  
pp. 696-703 ◽  
Author(s):  
Morenikeji Buraimoh ◽  
Azam Basheer ◽  
Kevin Taliaferro ◽  
Jonathan H. Shaw ◽  
Sameah Haider ◽  
...  

Every day, spine surgeons call for instruments named after surgical pioneers. Few know the designers or the histories behind their instruments. In this paper the authors provide a historical perspective on the Penfield dissector, Leksell rongeur, Hibbs retractor, Woodson elevator, Kerrison rongeur, McCulloch retractor, Caspar pin retractor system, and Cloward handheld retractor, and a biographical review of their inventors. Historical data were obtained by searching the HathiTrust Digital Library, PubMed, Google Scholar, Google Books, and Google, and personal communications with relatives, colleagues, and foundations of the surgeon-designers. The authors found that the Penfield dissectors filled a need for delicate tools for manipulating the brain and that the Leksell rongeur increased surgical efficiency during war-related laminectomies. Hibbs’ retractor facilitated his spine fusion technique. Woodson was both a dentist and a physician whose instrument was adopted by spine surgeons. Kerrison rongeurs were developed in otology to decompress bone near the facial nerve. The McCulloch, Caspar, and Cloward retractors helped improve exposure during the emergence of new techniques, i.e., microdiscectomy and anterior cervical discectomy and fusion. The histories behind these eponymous instruments remind us that innovation sometimes begins in other specialties and demonstrate the role of innovation in improving patient care.

2004 ◽  
Vol 11 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 151-158 ◽  
Author(s):  
Georges Chapouthier

The history of the neurochemistry of mnesic processes can be divided into two main periods: the first (1946-1978) was inspired by the results of molecular genetics, providing evidence for storage of hereditary information in the DNA of genes. Therefore, the chemical bases for memory were investigated in the macromolecules of the brain. Such attempts were relatively unsuccessful, which led to a second period (starting in 1978) with the research emphasizing, in a less ambitious way, the role of the molecular correlates of mnesic processes, in particular in the main transmitter systems of the brain.


2019 ◽  
pp. 193-200
Author(s):  
Andrzej Zieliński ◽  
Jolanta Rudowska

In the last decade, the number of tetanus cases in Poland has not exceeded 20 cases. Since 1984, neonatal tetanus has not been reported. OBJECTIVE OF THE WORK. The aim of the study is to present the data of epidemiological surveillance of tetanus in 2017 in a historical perspective, taking into account the role of protective vaccination and a reference to activities for the elimination of neonatal tetanus on a global scale. MATERIAL AND METHODS. The material of the study are individual reports on tetanus sent to the Department of Epidemiology, NIZP-PZH and the bulletin “Infectious diseases and poisoning in Poland in 2017. The historical data is based on earlier Polish and foreign studies. RESULTS. In 2017, 11 cases of tetanus were reported. Four men and seven women got sick. One man died in the age > 69. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS. Tetanus is an infectious disease acquired in the environment and associated with wound pollution. Few cases of illness in Poland are associated with non-compliance with recommendations for booster vaccinations.


Endocrinology ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jariel Ramirez-Virella ◽  
Gina M Leinninger

Abstract The small peptide Neurotensin (Nts) is implicated in myriad processes including analgesia, thermoregulation, reward, arousal, blood pressure and modulation of feeding and body weight. Alterations in Nts have recently been described in individuals with obesity or eating disorders, suggesting that disrupted Nts signaling may contribute to body weight disturbance. Curiously, Nts mediates seemingly opposing regulation of body weight via different tissues. Peripherally-acting Nts promotes fat absorption and weight gain, while central Nts signaling suppresses feeding and weight gain. Thus, because Nts is pleiotropic, a location-based approach must be used to understand its contributions to disordered body weight and whether the Nts system might be leveraged to improve metabolic health. Here we review the role of Nts signaling in the brain to understand the sites, receptors and mechanisms by which Nts can promote behaviors that modify body weight. New techniques permitting site-specific modulation of Nts and Nts receptor- expressing cells suggest that, even in the brain, not all Nts circuitry exerts the same function. Intriguingly, there may be dedicated brain regions and circuits via which Nts specifically suppresses feeding behavior and weight gain vs. other Nts-attributed physiology. Defining the central mechanisms by which Nts signaling modifies body weight may suggest strategies to correct disrupted energy balance, as needed to address overweight, obesity and eating disorders.


2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. T15-T21 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erwan Donal ◽  
Elena Galli ◽  
Amedeo Anselmi ◽  
Auriane Bidaut ◽  
Guillaume Leurent

In this review, we discuss the central role of the imager in the heart team in the successful application of current guidelines for heart valve diseases to daily practice, and for improving patient care through new approaches, new techniques and new strategies for dealing with increasingly complex cases. This is an opportunity to emphasize the importance of having good imagers and the value of continuous learning in a modern heart team. It is essential to employ technological improvements and to appropriately adapt guidelines to the patients we see day to day.


Author(s):  
J.E. Johnson

Although neuroaxonal dystrophy (NAD) has been examined by light and electron microscopy for years, the nature of the components in the dystrophic axons is not well understood. The present report examines nucleus gracilis and cuneatus (the dorsal column nuclei) in the brain stem of aging mice.Mice (C57BL/6J) were sacrificed by aldehyde perfusion at ages ranging from 3 months to 23 months. Several brain areas and parts of other organs were processed for electron microscopy.At 3 months of age, very little evidence of NAD can be discerned by light microscopy. At the EM level, a few axons are found to contain dystrophic material. By 23 months of age, the entire nucleus gracilis is filled with dystrophic axons. Much less NAD is seen in nucleus cuneatus by comparison. The most recurrent pattern of NAD is an enlarged profile, in the center of which is a mass of reticulated material (reticulated portion; or RP).


1969 ◽  
Vol 21 (02) ◽  
pp. 294-303 ◽  
Author(s):  
H Mihara ◽  
T Fujii ◽  
S Okamoto

SummaryBlood was injected into the brains of dogs to produce artificial haematomas, and paraffin injected to produce intracerebral paraffin masses. Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and peripheral blood samples were withdrawn at regular intervals and their fibrinolytic activities estimated by the fibrin plate method. Trans-form aminomethylcyclohexane-carboxylic acid (t-AMCHA) was administered to some individuals. Genera] relationships were found between changes in CSF fibrinolytic activity, area of tissue damage and survival time. t-AMCHA was clearly beneficial to those animals given a programme of administration. Tissue activator was extracted from the brain tissue after death or sacrifice for haematoma examination. The possible role of tissue activator in relation to haematoma development, and clinical implications of the results, are discussed.


2009 ◽  
Vol 150 (46) ◽  
pp. 2101-2109 ◽  
Author(s):  
Péter Csécsei ◽  
Anita Trauninger ◽  
Sámuel Komoly ◽  
Zsolt Illés

The identification of autoantibodies generated against the brain isoform water channel aquaporin4 in the sera of patients, changed the current diagnostic guidelines and concept of neuromyelitis optica (NMO). In a number of cases, clinical manifestation is spatially limited to myelitis or relapsing optic neuritis creating a diverse. NMO spectrum. Since prevention of relapses provides the only possibility to reduce permanent disability, early diagnosis and treatment is mandatory. In the present study, we discuss the potential role of neuroimaging and laboratory tests in differentiating the NMO spectrum from other diseases, as well as the diagnostic procedures and therapeutic options. We also present clinical cases, to provide examples of different clinical settings, diagnostic procedures and therapeutic decisions.


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