A case of cephalothoracopagus in sheep in Trinidad and Tobago

A case of cephalothoracopagus in sheep complicated with several defects of skeletal, cardiovascular, respiratory, gastrointestinal, and urogenital systems is reported.

A comparative study of pregnancy outcome in teenage girls and mature women

The objective was to compare the pregnancy outcome of teenage girls and mature women. The design was a retrospective study of births from January to December 1990, based on the antenatal clinic and labour ward, University Hospital of the West Indies, Jamaica. Teenage mothers, 13 to 19 years old, and a control group of mothers, 22 to 23 years old, were selected from the records of 2,394 live, singleton births between 200 and 305 days' gestation. The main outcome measures were birth weight, crown heel length, head circumference: length ratio, ponderal index and placental weight. The results showed that in the teenage group, weight body mass index at booking, haemoglobin concentration in each trimester, and minimum haemoglobin level during pregnancy were lower than in the control group. Systolic blood pressure in the first and the second trimesters was lower than in controls, but there was no significant difference in the third trimester nor in the delivery systolic blood pressure. Babies of teenage mothers had lower birth weights and smaller head circumferences than the babies of the control group, but there was no significant difference between the groups in crown heel length, ponderal index, head circumference: length ratio, and placental weight. These data support the hypothesis that teenaged girls are not physically mature and, as a consequence, their offspring have lower birth weights and smaller head circumferences (AU)

Computerised tomography of the head and neck - abstract

The main advantage of computerised tomography (CT) over conventional radiography is the supreme ability to distinguish radiologically between different soft tissue densities, while simultaneously producing images with extremely sharp bony detail. With each succeeding generation of scanners have come faster scanning times, increased capability in software and the ability to RECONSTRUCT images on different planes from data stored in the computer. It is now possible to visualise and magnify minute, complex anatomical areas such as the middle ear - areas not previously clearly visible by conventional radiography. Close co-operation between the otolaryngologist and the radiologist is mandatory - the one to define the problem, the other to apply the most relevant technology to visualise it. With such co-peration, the otolaryngologist is better able to define submucosal spread of inflammatory or malignant disease in the head, sinuses and neck, and/or the extent of lymph node metastasis in the neck. Fractures involving the skull, facial skeleton and orbit, or the cartilaginous framework of the larynx in acutely traumatised patients, may now be easily visualised by CT scanning and the extent of displacement accurately assessed. This is a distinct advantage in planning and executing treatment. Patients with vertigo or migraine headaches, common symptoms in ENT practice, can now be safely evaluated with the aid of CT scan (AU)

Body size of contemporary groups of pre-school children studied in different parts of the world

Comparisons are made among means for measures of body size on 160 samples of 4-year-old children. The samples assembled were drawn mainly between 1950 and 1960 in Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, North and South American, the West Indies, and the Malay Archipelago. Variables examined are standing height; sitting height; body weight; width, depth, and girth of head; chest circumference; hip width; lower limb length; and girth of calf. At age 4 years, contemporary populations of children are found to differ as much a 7 inches in mean height and 13 pounds in mean weight. There is moderately strong, positive association of height and weight averages among coeval groups. (AU)

Suppurative soft tissue infection of the head and neck

Antibiotics have modified the frequency and severity of seosis in the head and neck and continue to play the major role in therapy. Surgical treatment is of importance in decompressing sepsis in closed spaces in order to abort the additional tissue destruction which occurs from avascularity, in limiting the spread of infection and in terminating infection once suppuration has occurred. To be effective surgical intervention must be properly timed. Incisions should be large enough to accomplish adequate drainage and should be so placed as to minimize the resultant scarring. An understanding of the surgical anatomy of this area is essential in the management of these problems. Mention has been made of spread to the carotid sheath and down this sheath into the mediastinum. Carotid arterial and internal jugular venous thrombosis as well as suppurative pericarditis have been illustrated with case reports. The possibility of fatal haemorrhage from carotid arterial erosion has been mentioned. Suppurative infection in the head and neck is potentially lethal. The dangers of suppuration involving the face and lips have been re-emphasized and the possibilities of cavernous sinus thrombophlebitis and bilateral central retinal artery thrombosis have been recorded. Crepitant non-clostridial cellulitis has been discussed and attention has been drawn to the dangers of sub-aponeurotic infection of the scalp. The association of suppurative thyroiditis with carcinoma of the larynx has been once more recorded (AU)

Head and neck burn reconstruction

Two major aspects of burn face reconstruction is discussed: (10) reconstructive techniques usable in facial reconstruction and (2) several guiding principles underlying the application of such techniques