Sex determination of a Tunisian population by CT scan analysis of the skull.

It is widely accepted that the estimation of biological attributes in the human skeleton is more accurate when population-specific standards are applied. With the shortage of such data for contemporary North African populations, it is duly required to establish population-specific standards. We present here the first craniometric standards for sex determination of a contemporary Tunisian population. The aim of this study was to analyze the correlation between sex and metric parameters of the skull in this population using CT scan analysis and to generate proper reliable standards for sex determination of a complete or fragmented skull. The study sample comprised cranial multislice computed tomography scans of 510 individuals equally distributed by sex. ASIRTM software in a General ElectricTM workstation was used to position 37 landmarks along the volume-rendered images and the multiplanar slices, defining 27 inter-landmark distances. Frontal and parietal bone thickness was also measured for each case. The data were analyzed using basic descriptive statistics and logistic regression with cross-validation of classification results. All of the measurements were sexually dimorphic with male values being higher than female values. A nine-variable model achieved the maximum classification accuracy of 90% with -2.9% sex bias and a six-variable model yielded 85.9% sexing accuracy with -0.97% sex bias. We conclude that the skull is highly dimorphic and represents a reliable bone for sex determination in contemporary Tunisian individuals.

Superselective embolisation of bilateral superior vesical arteries for management of intractable hematuria in context of metastatic bladder cancer.

Hematuria due to locally advanced or metastatic bladder cancer is a common condition and is often a management problem. Percutaneous embolisation is a mini-invasive option to handle this situation. We report a case of a patient with a metastatic bladder cancer and who presented with an abundant hematuria and severe anemia. After failure of endoscopic resections and "flush" of radiotherapy haemostatic and refusal of cystectomy by the patient, he was treated by superselective embolisation of bilateral superior bladder arteries with excellent immediate results. The technique is safe and effective in the short term. The long-term effectiveness requires further investigation.

Ileal angiodysplasia presentation as a bowel obstruction: A case report.

INTRODUCTION: Angiodysplasia is a common vascular abnormality of the gastrointestinal tract, found in the elderly and most frequently revealed by gastrointestinal bleeding. We report an original case of ileal angiodysplasia in an 83-year-old woman presenting as a bowel obstruction. CASE PRESENTATION: An 83-year-old woman with a medical history of chronic untreated anemia, presented with cardinal symptoms of bowel obstruction. Computed tomography revealed diffuse ileal wall thickening with multiple zones of stenosis, which were aggravated by an ileal perforation and associated with vascular abnormalities compatible with angiodysplasia. Surgery confirmed the imaging findings. A large resection importing one meter of ileum was performed. The pathology report of the resected specimen revealed ischemic lesions of ileum associated with ileal angiodysplasia. The postoperative period was marked by an acute dehydration in the patient who died 3 weeks after surgery. DISCUSSION: Angiodysplastic lesions develop with aging due to chronic low-grade intermittent obstruction of submucosal veins. These lesions are the result of increased contractility at the level of muscularis propria, leading to congestion of the capillaries and failure of pre-capillary sphincters, resulting in the formation of small arteriovenous collaterals. The acquired arteriovenous malformation consisting of multiple shunts with rapid blood flow may result in inadequate oxygenation of a segment of the intestine and lead to ischemia and eventually wall thickening, stenosis and even perforation of the small bowel. CONCLUSION: Angiodysplasia should be kept in the back of one's mind as one of the causes of acute abdomen and bowel obstruction, especially in elderly people suffering from occult gastrointestinal bleeding.

Bilateral Orbital Metastasis of Prostatic Adenocarcinoma.

Despite the high incidence of prostate carcinoma, metastases of the uvea are very rare and bilateral localization is even more. We report here the case of a 77-year-old man diagnosed with a metastatic prostate carcinoma. Two months later, he presented a decreased vision in his right eye and blurred vision in the left eye relevant to metastatic lesion on his right iris and left choroidal metastasis. The urologist should evoke possibility of ocular metastasis in patients with prostate cancer presenting visual disorders.

Vasitis: An Uncommon Diagnosis Mimicking Incarcerated Inguinal Hernia.

Vasitis or inflammation of the vas deferens is a rarely described condition. Clinically, it presents with nonspecific symptoms that can be confused with other more common conditions, especially an incarcerated inguinal hernia. The diagnosis may be suggested by ultrasound or, more precisely, by computed tomography.

Seminal vesicle agenesis: An uncommon cause of azoospermia.

Seminal vesicle malformations are a rare cause of obstructive azoospermia, often associated with other internal genitalia and upper urinary tract birth defects. We report 5 new cases of seminal vesicle agenesis in men presenting with hypospermia and azoospermia. Imaging showed seminal vesicle unilateral agenesis in all patients. The remaining seminal vesicle was hypoplastic in 3 cases, dilated in 1 case and with abnormally thick content in another case. Vas deferens agenesis was observed unilaterally in 2 patients and bilaterally in 2 other patients. No renal malformations were detected. Genetic study showed in all cases a 46 XY karyotype without any microdeletions. A single heterozygous cystic fibrosis transmembrane regulator gene mutation was diagnosed in 1 man, but not found in his partner. Intracytoplasmic sperm injection using sperm from a testicular biopsy was performed in 3 couples, without success.

[The place of MRI in the hepatic tumors]. / Place de l'imagerie par resonance magnetique dans les tumeurs hepatiques.

MRI semeiology of hepatic tumors was assessed with a retrospective study of 132 patients explored between May 1998 and December 2001. MR examinations were acquired with a one Tesla operating system. All images were acquired by a T2-weighted fast spin echo MR and dynamic flash MR with Gadolinium. Hemangiomas demonstrate characteristic signs in most cases, as was described in the literature. However, adenoma, hepatocellular carcinoma and metastases have various and less specific features.

[Splenic abscess: from diagnosis to treatment]. / Les abcès de la rate: du diagnostic au traitement.

Splenic abscess are a rare and severe pathology causing difficulty in diagnosis and treatment. The Clinical presentation usually associated with abdominal pain in the left upper quadrant, fever and splenomegaly. Diagnosis will be confirmed by morphologic examination such as ultra sonography and computed tomography. Percutaneous drainage procedure made in first intention can be used either for curative purpose or to prepare patient for surgery. We report four cases of splenic abscess collected in our departement between 1997 and 2000 in which percutaneous drainage procedure was trial first. Two of them were successful and the others were completed by splenectomy.

[Left paraduodenal internal hernia. A new case report]. / Hernie interne paraduodenale gauche. A propos d'une nouvelle observation.

OBJECTIVE: Remind the clinical and radiological features of the internal left para duodenal hernia. MATERIALS AND METHOD: We report the case of a left para duodenal hernia in a 30 years old woman who suffers of an acute abdominal pain explored by ultra sonography, barium upper gastro intestinal radiography, computed tomography and MRI. RESULTS: CT shows a well limited intra abdominal mass composed of small bowel wrapped in a bag of peritoneum, and moving to the left the mesenteric axis CONCLUSION: Left internal para duodenal hernia is a rare phenomenon and is frequently non diagnosed. Spiral computed tomography allows us now, to make the diagnostic with a good sensitivity in the majority of cases.