Granulomatous polyarthritis caused by Talaromyces georgiensis in a dog.

A 6-y-old, 3.5-kg, spayed female Toy Poodle was presented with left forelimb lameness of 2-d duration. Two months before the initial presentation, radiography showed osteolysis of the medial epicondyle of the left humerus, and the left forelimb was amputated. Grossly, the articular villi of the elbow joint were markedly thickened, and the articular cartilage surfaces of the distal humerus and proximal radius had partial erosion. Histologically, granulomatous arthritis and osteomyelitis characterized by the presence of abundant macrophages containing numerous fungi were observed. ITS and ß-tubulin sequences amplified from the isolate from the specimen were 100% and 99% identical to type strain UTHSC D16-145T of Talaromyces georgiensis, respectively. Canine osteoarthritis caused by T. georgiensis has not been reported previously, to our knowledge.

The advantageous direction of jaw movement for releasing TMJ intermittent lock.

The purpose of this study was to clarify which direction of jaw movement is advantageous for releasing TMJ intermittent lock. The subjects included ten patients with TMJ intermittent lock who could not open their mouths fully in habitual opening paths (habitual opening), but could open fully in intentionally winding opening paths (winding opening). The following movements were analyzed: habitual opening, winding opening, lateral border opening to the contralateral side (contralateral opening), lateral border opening to the affected side and anterior border opening. The incisal points in winding opening tended to trace antero-lateral paths that were shifted toward the side opposite the affected joints in comparison with habitual opening. In addition to winding opening, the success rate in releasing locking of contralateral opening was significantly greater than that of habitual opening. The findings demonstrated that contralateral movements directed toward the nonaffected side are advantageous for releasing the intermittent lock. The patients will have a better chance of releasing the intermittent lock by themselves, when opening path shifted to the nonaffected side is recommended as the first choice.