Re-enchanting the body: overcoming the melancholy of anatomy.

I argue here that Weberian disenchantment is manifest in the triumph of instrumental reason and the expansion of analytic enquiry, which now dominates not simply those sciences upon which medicine depends, but medical practice itself. I suggest ways that analytic enquiry, also referred to here as anatomical reasoning, are part of a particular ideology-a way of seeing, speaking about, and inhabiting the world-that often fails to serve the health of patients because it is incapable of "seeing" them in the moral sense described by Iris Murdoch and others. I use the work of James Elkins and Wendell Berry to call for the recovery of a way of seeing the human body as both other and more than an object of scientific enquiry and social control.

Testicular sarcoidosis masquerading as testicular carcinoma.

We present a case of a 27-year-old man with a history of weight loss. A chest x-ray demonstrated hilar lymphadenopathy and he was treated with anti tuberculosis treatment. He noticed a painless left scrotal swelling and a scrotal ultrasound scan raised the possibility of testicular cancer. He underwent an orchidectomy and histology confirmed a testicular sarcoidosis. He was commenced on steroid treatment.

Clinical results of linezolid in arthroplasty and trauma MRSA related infections.

AIM: To analyse the management of patients treated with linezolid for orthopaedic infections. METHODS: Twenty-two patients with orthopaedic related infections receiving a course of linezolid were reviewed retrospectively. Patients were classified into either post trauma, post arthroplasty and non trauma related infections. A diagnosis of infection was based on clinical findings, positive microbiological specimens, and positive signs of infection on radiological imaging and raised inflammatory markers. Pathogens isolated, inflammatory markers both at presentation and at final follow up, length of linezolid treatment, adverse drug reactions, concomitant anti-microbial therapy, length of hospital stay and any surgical interventions were recorded. RESULTS: Infections were classified as post arthroplasty (n = 10), post trauma surgery (n = 8) or non-trauma related infections (n = 4). Twenty patients (91%) underwent surgical intervention as part of their treatment. The number of required surgical procedures ranged from 1 to 6 (mean = 2.56). Mean total length of stay per admission was 28.5 d (range 1-160 d). Furthermore, the mean duration of treatment with linezolid of patients who had resolution of symptoms was 31 d (range 10-84 d). All patients within this group were discharged on oral linezolid. Pathogens isolated included methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus, coagulase negative staphylococci, coliforms, enterococcus, Staphylococcus epidermidis, streptococcus viridans, Escherichia coli, group B streptococcus and pseudomonas. An overall 77% of patients demonstrated resolution of infections at follow-up, with mean C-reactive protein reducing from 123 mg/L to 13.2 mg/L. CONCLUSION: This study demonstrates that the use of linezolid offers excellent efficacy in orthopaedic related infections when used alongside appropriate surgical management.