Laryngeal electromyography: a proposal for guidelines of the European Laryngological Society.

Although recognized as a valuable diagnostic tool for more than 60 years, many laryngologists do not routinely use laryngeal electromyography (LEMG). This may be due to a persisting lack of agreement on methodology, interpretation, validity, and clinical application of LEMG. To achieve consensus in these fields, a laryngeal electromyography working group of European neurolaryngologic experts was formed in order to (1) evaluate guidelines for LEMG performance and (2) identify issues requiring further clarification. To obtain an overview of existing knowledge and research, English-language literature about LEMG was identified using Medline. Additionally, cited works not detected in the initial search were screened. Evidence-based recommendations for the performance and interpretation of LEMG and also for electrostimulation for functional evaluation were considered, as well as published reports based on expert opinion and single-institution retrospective case series. To assess the data obtained by this literature evaluation, the working group met five times and performed LEMG together on more than 20 patients. Subsequently, the results were presented and discussed at the 8th Congress of the European Laryngological Society in Vienna, Austria, September 1-4, 2010, and consensus was achieved in the following areas: (1) minimum requirements for the technical equipment required to perform and record LEMG; (2) best practical implementation of LEMG; (3) criteria for interpreting LEMG. Based on this consensus, prospective trials are planned to improve the quality of evidence guiding the proceedings of practitioners.

Ibn Abi Ussaibea "Oyoun aI-Anbaa Fi Tabaqat al-Attiba" a selected review of this Index of Physicians and their Works; (from early Greeks to his time in Egypt).

Muwaffaq-al-Deen abu-al-Abbas Ahmad ibn Abi Ussaibea (1203-1270) was born in Damascus. He started his brilliant career in his birth place then moved to Cairo where he worked and excelled for the rest of his life. His learning was intensified by the scholarly contacts of the intellectual leaders of the day. In this study we review The Index of Physicians-Oyoun al-Anbaa Fi Tabaqat al-Attiba--(Sources of Information in the Classes of Physicians) of ibn Abi Ussaibea.The biographies in this book do not just cover physicians only but also the learned people of his day whose knowledge and expertise covered medicine, astronomy, mathematics, philosophy, and botany. For this reason the book of ibn Abi Ussaibea represents an indispensable source of the scientific and philosophical achievements of the Arabic/Islamic civilization.