BACKGROUND Spinal cord compression and associate neurological impairment is rare in patients with scoliosis and neurofibromatosis. Common reasons are vertebral subluxation, dislocation, angulation and tumorous lesions around the spinal canal. Only twelve cases of intraspinal rib dislocation have been reported in the literature. The aim of this report is to present a case of rib penetration thro...

INTRODUCTION The internal mammary vessels (IMVs) are increasingly the recipients for free flap breast reconstruction (FFBR). Access traditionally entails removing a segment of the third costal cartilage. Despite excellent exposure, some authors have reported localized tenderness as well as a thoracic contour deformity. We introduced the "total rib preservation" technique for IMV exposure after ...

-We describe a system of computer algorithms that finds the rib cage in chest radiographs. Our algorithms link the dorsal and ventral portions of the rib contours such that each rib is identified and can be displayed individually. In a preliminary application of our system to five adult chest radiographs, about 90)o of the ribs were found, and ca. 15% of the computed rib contours were false. Pa...

During embryogenesis, primordial germ cells (PGCs) and somatic gonadal precursor cells (SGPs) migrate and coalesce to form the early gonad. A failure of the PGCs and SGPs to form a gonad with the proper architecture not only affects germ cell development, but can also lead to infertility. Therefore, it is critical to identify the molecular mechanisms that function within both the PGCs and SGPs ...

In this study, the variability of rib head position in a Chinese population in terms of the spinal canal and vertebral body was analyzed using computed tomography (CT). Images from transverse CT scan of the T4 to T12 vertebral bodies of 30 normal individuals were 3-dimensionally reconstructed, and analyzed for measurement of parameters that define the relative anatomic position of the rib head....

Five anesthetized supine beagle dogs were scanned using a fast, multislice computed tomographic X-ray technique to determine the orientation of the ribs at total lung capacity (TLC) and functional residual capacity (FRC). A plane was fit to each rib using a coordinate system in which the z-axis was aligned approximately cephalocaudally and the x-z-plane coincided with the sagittal midplane. The...

The fate of the major outer membrane protein of the gonococcus, RIB, during the adherence, entry, and intracellular processing ofthe bacteria in infected epithelial cells was investigated using post-embedding immunoelectron microscopy. Various domains ofthe RIB molecule were probed at different stages in the infection. These studies revealed that RIB epitope exposure remained unaltered during t...

BACKGROUND Intramedullary fixation of rib fractures with generic Kirschner wires has been practiced for over 50 years. However, this technique has not been advanced to address reported complications of wire migration and cut-out. This biomechanical study evaluated a novel rib splint designed to replicate the less-invasive fixation approach of Kirschner wires while mitigating their associated co...

Simple radiography is the best diagnostic tool for rib fractures caused by chest trauma, but it has some limitations. Thus, other tools are also being used. The aims of this study were to investigate the effectiveness of ultrasonography (US) for identifying rib fractures and to identify influencing factors of its effectiveness. Between October 2003 and August 2007, 201 patients with blunt chest...

AIMS To compare several different instruments used to open the chest wall during necropsy and to assess whether any one type reduced the production of sharp rib ends and thus the potential for receiving an injury. METHODS During the necropsy the pathologist opened the chest wall using two randomly assigned instruments from a selection of hand saw, electric saw, rib shears, and bread knife. Th...