"The Penitent Magdalene": Jusepe de Ribera (1591-1652).

Jusepe or Jòse de Ribera (1591-1652), known as Lo Spagnoletto ("the Little Spaniard"), has been a leading painter of the Spanish Baroque movement. In one of the portraits, de Ribera represented a scene in which the Magdalene shows a swelling at the base of the neck suggestive of a thyroid nodule.

'Epidemic' of hand deformities in the French Renaissance paintings of Jean and François Clouet.

This article analyses the nature of the multiple finger anomalies found in portraits by the French Renaissance artistic dynasty, the Clouets. The multiplicity of finger anomalies could be either innocent congenital variants, or pathological and traumatic deformities. In view of the presence of such `beautifying variations' in the works of other Renaissance artists, the authors decided that these features were not the result of an epidemic of deformities, but instead represented a stylistic approach in paintings of this period at the French Court.

Foot deformities in Renaissance paintings. A mystery of symbolism, artistic licence, illusion and true representation in five renowned Renaissance painters.

Although Renaissance artists were skilled in representing normal anatomy, a close look at some paintings reveals anatomical variations in the depiction of the feet of human figures. A systematic review has identified 25 paintings by five artists in which the presumptive medico-artistic diagnosis of congenital or acquired foot deformity seems to be varyingly present. The connection between these five painters and what factors have influenced artists' style in the depiction of such deformities is discussed. The possible iconography and medical-historical meaning of such variations, as well as the possibility of artistic licence and real representation that drove the painters to depict these deformities, is explored and debated.

Closed reduction of the isolated anterior frontal sinus fracture via percutaneous screw placement.

Fractures of the frontal sinus are a common maxillofacial trauma and constitute 5-15% of all maxillofacial fractures. Conventional surgical approaches include the coronal flap, direct cutaneous incision, and endoscopic techniques. Minimally invasive techniques have recently been described for the reduction of the isolated anterior frontal sinus fracture via a closed approach. The medical records and radiological findings of all patients who underwent surgical treatment for anterior frontal sinus fractures from January 2009 to December 2013 at the study hospital in Florence, Italy, were reviewed. The final study sample consisted of 15 patients (13 males and two females) with isolated anterior frontal sinus fractures who were treated with closed reduction using percutaneous screws. The mean age was 32.1 years. The skin incisions healed without any visible scarring, and no depressions of the frontal sinuses were evident in the postoperative period. Computed tomography scans performed at 6 months postoperatively showed adequate reduction of the displaced fragments. This closed technique is a good option for displaced isolated fractures of the anterior frontal sinus. However, the technique is not adequate for complex fractures of the frontal sinus.

Management of gynecomastia: an outcome analysis in a multicentric study.

AIM: Male gynecomastia (MG), the most frequent mammary anomaly in human males, is a clinical disease occurring mainly in adolescence and old age. The aim of this study was therefore to analyze 126 consecutive cases of mixed gynecomastia, in order to assess the incidence of early and late postoperative complications and to evaluate the aesthetic results and the quality of life after surgery. METHODS: From January 1st, 2000, to December 31st, 2006 a total of 126 cases of MG were performed by the Plastic Surgery Units of Siena and Pisa. Patients' average age was 28 years, 111 patients (88%) presented bilateral MG, and 15 (11.9%) had monolateral MG. The prevalent surgical approach was adenomammectomy with periareolar inferior or inverted "Omega" incision, other technique included circumareolar or vertical scar incision and liposuction. Before and one year after surgery, all patients were given a questionnaires to evaluate the motivations leading to the request of a treatment ,the degree of satisfaction related to the result and the improvement of the quality of life. RESULTS: Overall complication rate was 17.72% All patients reported an improvement in their quality of life with an average score of satisfaction of 8.2/10. CONCLUSION: Patients' degree of satisfaction was high, surgery, in fact, has contributed in all cases to improve their quality of life. On the basis of the short operating time and of the few sequele, we suggest to the patients affected by gynecomastia to undergo surgery always and as soon as possible. A separated analysis of the data obtained by the two University Centres show that they overlap in respect to the sample, the employed technique and results.