Juvenile psammomatoid ossifying fibroma of the parietal bone and review of calvarial presentations: illustrative case

BACKGROUND Juvenile psammomatoid ossifying fibroma (JPOF) is an uncommon benign fibro-osseous lesion that only rarely presents in the calvaria. OBSERVATIONS The authors reported a case of JPOF in the left parietal bone of a 20-year-old patient and reviewed the 27 other cases of JPOF occurring in the calvaria as reported in the literature. LESSONS JPOF rarely presents in the calvaria, and because diagnosis is a histopathologic one, clinicians should consider this entity when presented with a lytic, expansile mass on imaging. Little is known about the molecular mechanisms driving development of JPOF. MDM2 amplification may play a role, although this was not seen in the case presented herein.

NAI: never actually injured

A female infant presented at 31 days of life following a head injury with concerning features for non-accidental injury. Examination revealed a noticeable depression in the left temporoparietal region with a concave depression of the left parietal bone on CT imaging. After careful consideration of the history and examination findings, along with standard investigations for non-accidental injury, the infant was diagnosed with faulty fetal packing (also known as congenital vault depression). The defect had almost completely resolved by follow-up at 5 months. This case represented a diagnostic conundrum not previously reported in the literature.

Differential diagnosis of the cranial perforations on the Early Iron Age along the Ancient Silk Road in Xinjiang, China

Bioarcheologists and pathologists favor trauma on the skeletons since it could reflect the human activities and interpersonal relationship in the past. In this paper, we present the pattern of two cranial perforations found on an adult male buried in the Xiaoshankou Cemetery, which was part of the Silk Road region, dating back to the early Iron Age. The specimen of interest presents two perforations on his skull, with one perforation located on the anterior part of the left parietal bone, while the other is on the occipital bone near to the lambda. The morphology of the perforations indicates perimortem traumatic lesions, probably produced by a sharp force weapon, possibly arrowhead, through one shot. The interpretation of the penetrating lesions on this cranium offers new perspectives when diagnosing perforations on the skulls in the Xinjiang region. Meanwhile, this study adds literature to the patterns of violence in Xinjiang region as well.

Dural Plasmacytoma Involving Calvarium with Soft Tissue Extension Mimicking Meningioma: A Diagnostic Dilemma

Here, the authors describe a case of 25-year-old man diagnosed with dural plasmacytoma involving calvarium with soft tissue extension. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) revealed extra-axial heterogeneously enhancing soft tissue mass lesion in the left parieto-occipital region with a dural tail mimicking meningioma, destroying the left parietal bone, and bulging into the scalp. Mass was excised and histopathologic examination revealed plasmacytoma with amyloid deposition. There is no recurrence after postoperative radiotherapy and 2 years of follow-up, although the future course is still not certain. The clinician should consider alternative diagnosis other than meningioma prior to proceeding to surgery if the dural-based lesion is involving calvarium and soft tissue extension.

A couple of Observations on a Possible Interpretation of the Úněticean Grave in Holubice, Praha-západ District

The present study is an archaeological and anthropological analysis of a grave pertaining to the Únětice culture and discovered in Holubice, in the Praha-západ district. In the tomb pit the remains of an adult male laid on his right side with his lower limbs sharply bent, had been buried. The skeleton was found to be only partially preserved. Only the frontal bone (os frontale), the major part of the left parietal bone (parietale sin) and a part of the left temporal bone (temporale sin) were preserved. The preserved part of the skull presents signs of a slash trauma including a skull penetration. Even though the bones went through an advanced healing process, the wound had remained open. The nature of the injury indicates that the wound was surgically treated and loose bone fragments were removed. The injury had not been fatal and the individual lived for some time after. The discovered grave is unique not only for its unusual and highly accurately datable grave goods, but above all for standing as proof of the considerable medical knowledge of the people from the Únětice culture.

Evaluation of Bone Healing of Artificial Defects in Laboratory Animals After Covering with Alloplastic Material

Bone defects are commonly seen in clinical practice. They are caused by different types of trauma, infections, congenital malformations and cancers. Current approaches to skeletal reconstructive surgery use biomaterials, autografts or allografts. The aim of this study was to analyze bone repair from histologic point of view. To study the repair of bone defects, we used two batches of Wistar mices (Lat Rattus Norvegicus). The 46 subjects under study were divided into two equal lots. In all subjects, a round defect with a diameter of 5 mm was surgically performed on the right and left parietal bone. In the 23 subjects in group I the defect in the left parietal bone was covered with alloplastic material (Osteoset) and the defect in the right parietal bone was not covered with osteoconductive, osteoinductive or osteogenic materials. Regarding subjects in group study II, none of the surgically created bone defects were covered with alloplastic materials. Euthanasia of the subjects included in the study was performed at 2 and 4 months respectively, at the time of surgery. Euthanasia, bone sampling and assembly for microscopic preparations were done on the same day. The histological analysis of a bone repair shows the direct correlation between the healing process and the addition of alloplastic materials (Osteoset).

Prostate Cancer Presenting with Parietal Bone Metastasis

Bone metastases from prostate cancer are very common. They are usually located on the axial skeleton. However, cranial bone metastases especially to the parietal bone are rare. We report a case of metastatic prostate cancer presenting with left parietal bone metastasis in a patient with no urological symptoms or signs. We should consider prostate cancer in any man above 60 years presenting unusual bone lesions.