Sequestration of the lung arising from the circumflex coronary artery.

Sequestration is an unusual pulmonary malformation. Systemic blood supply is commonly from the thoracic aorta, but arteries may occasionally arise from other sites including the abdominal aorta or the intercostal vessels. We report a rare form of sequestration with origin from the circumflex coronary artery. Knowledge of uncommon vascular origins, particularly from coronary arteries, is important to avoid injury and possible ischemia, infarction, exsanguination, or death.

MR imaging of the spinal cord in 23 subjects with ALD-AMN complex.

Twenty-three subjects from two family groups with the adrenoleukodystrophy (ALD)-adrenomyeloneuropathy (AMN) complex were examined with MR imaging at 1.5 T to determine the presence and extent of brain and spinal cord abnormalities. Nineteen individuals were identified as having ALD or AMN, or as having carrier status on the basis of pedigree analysis and/or evaluation of serum very-long-chain fatty acids. In addition to the expected intracranial white matter changes for this disorder, decreased spinal cord diameter was found in seven (30%) of the 23 subjects. In three of these cases, atrophy was limited to the thoracic spinal cord, while atrophy of both the cervical and thoracic cord was identified in four patients. Two patients who did not have MR imaging of the spine were found to have spinal cord atrophy at autopsy. The finding of decreased spinal cord diameter on MR examinations in individuals who are heterozygous for ALD-AMN, in patients with ALD or AMN, and in asymptomatic ALD-AMN patients may represent a new anatomic marker for the variable clinical presentations of this condition. In addition to cranial MR examination, MR imaging of the spine may be indicated in patients with suspected ALD or AMN, or in women with carrier status.

Ocular hazard of metallic fragments during MR imaging at 0.06 T.

The hazard of magnetic resonance (MR) imaging at low field strength (0.06 T) was examined by using both in vitro and in vivo animal experiments. Ferromagnetic fragments, 0.25-2.2 mm in diameter, were placed in vitreous humor obtained from excised cow eyes and in rabbit eyes. The magnetic field strength at which motion occurred was measured for each fragment size. Two types of motion, rotation and translation, were observed. The authors found that fragments that could not be seen on plain radiographs did not appear to move enough to be a significant ocular hazard during MR imaging at a field strength of 0.06 T.

Arteriography with portable DSA equipment.

Fifty-one arteriograms were obtained outside of the radiology department with portable digital subtraction angiographic equipment. Thirty-five studies were performed in the emergency room, 12 in the operating room, and four in the intensive care unit. There was a significant decrease in the time interval from arrival in the emergency room to arteriogram completion for examinations performed in the emergency room with portable equipment, compared with those performed in the radiology department. One of the 51 examinations yielded questionable results and was repeated with the conventional screen-film technique. Accurate angiographic diagnoses can be obtained by means of portable equipment in a variety of hospital locations.