ABSTRACT
Progressive systemic sclerosis (PSS) is a connective tissue disorder of unknown etiology and pathogenesis characterized by fibrosis of the skin (scleroderma) and variable involvement of several organ systems including the gastrointestinal tract, lungs, heart, and kidneys. Calcinosis cutis is a frequent finding, commonly seen in the soft tissues of the fingertips and over the knees and elbows. Calcifications may also occur in areas of muscle necrosis and have been reported in articular synovium. This report describes a patient with PSS in the form of subcutaneous calcifications and scleroderma who was noted to have extensive paraspinous and intraspinal calcific deposits, causing severe narrowing of the spinal canal. The radiographs of 66 patients with PSS seen at Northwestern Memorial Hospital of soft tissue calcifications.
Subject(s)
Calcinosis/diagnostic imaging , Scleroderma, Systemic/diagnostic imaging , Spinal Diseases/diagnostic imaging , Female , Humans , Middle Aged , Radiography , Spinal Stenosis/diagnostic imagingABSTRACT
Epiglottitis, a rapidly progressive, potentially lethal, cellulitis involving the epiglottis and larynx, is a medical emergency with the rapid onset of airway compromise. Diagnosis is established by lateral neck radiography and visualization of the inflamed epiglottis and supraglottic tissues by laryngoscopy. The case presented here demonstrates the CT features of acute adult epiglottitis.
Subject(s)
Epiglottitis/diagnostic imaging , Laryngitis/diagnostic imaging , Acute Disease , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Tomography, X-Ray ComputedABSTRACT
The acute effect of localized nerve compression has been detected electrophysiologically in isolated rat tail nerve by utilizing a special stimulus pattern, a STIF (Stimulus Train of Increasing Frequency), which shows the highest frequency that the most sensitive axons in a compound potential can transmit through the compressed region. The same method also detected recovery after release of compression. Overlap of waveforms at high frequencies of stimulation required special techniques to permit unequivocal measurements. The best endpoint at which to detect the acute nerve compression in these experiments was found to be that frequency at which only a few fibers were blocked. The method was also effective when part of the nerve was completely blocked by the compression, and was more sensitive than measure of change in latency of a single response.