This is the first known report on the skeletal and muscular systems, and the skin histology, of the pectoral fin of the rare planktivorous megamouth shark Megachasma pelagios. The pectoral fin is characterized by three features: 1) a large number of segments in the radial cartilages; 2) highly elastic pectoral fin skin; and 3) a vertically-rotated hinge joint at the pectoral fin base. These fea...

OBJECTIVE To investigate the association of muscle function and subgroups of low back pain (no low back pain, pelvic girdle pain, lumbar pain and combined pelvic girdle pain and lumbar pain) in relation to pregnancy. DESIGN Prospective cohort study. SUBJECTS Consecutively enrolled pregnant women seen in gestational weeks 12-18 (n = 301) and 3 months postpartum (n = 262). METHODS Classific...

Pectoral fin contact in bottlenose dolphins represents one form of tactile communication. Acoustic communication associated with pectoral fin contact is an additional level of communication that may change or enhance the tactile message between two individuals. In this study, we examine vocalization types associated with pectoral fin contact in a group of captive bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops t...

Bamboo sharks (Chiloscyllium plagiosum) are primarily benthic and use their relatively flexible pectoral and pelvic fins to rest on and move about the substrate. We examined the morphology of the pectoral fins and investigated their locomotory function to determine if pectoral fin function during both benthic station-holding and pelagic swimming differs from fin function described previously in...

The great anatomical diversification of paired fins within the Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes) can be understood as a suite of evolutionary transformations in design. At a broad taxonomic scale, two clear trends exist in the morphology of the anteriorly situated pectoral fins. In comparing basal to more derived clades, there are general patterns of (i) reorientation of the pectoral fin base ...

BACKGROUND Mountain and road bike accidents are particularly common with the increased popularity of the sport. We reviewed the attendances in our emergency department over a 4-year period looking at cycling injuries to detect the level and grade of these injuries and their outcomes. METHOD Royal Blackburn Hospital caters for a population of 550 000. A search through the Hospital information ...

BACKGROUND Shoulder girdle muscles are important for stabilizing the scapula and orienting the glenoid for upper-extremity motion. However, data describing shoulder girdle strength and how it varies with position is lacking. METHODS A series of experiments was conducted to measure isometric strength at three positions each for elevation, depression, protraction, and retraction of the shoulder...

Pectoral fins are one of the major features of locomotor design in ray-finned fishes and exhibit a well-documented phylogenetic transition from basal to derived clades. In percomorph fishes, the pectoral fins are often used to generate propulsive force via oscillatory movements, and pectoral fin propulsion in this relatively derived clade has been analyzed extensively. However, in the plesiomor...

The pectoral spines of Synodontis schall (n = 813) were examined for 24 months. Mean length for the right (3.2 cm) and left (3.1 cm) pectoral spines were not significantly different [P > 0.05]. However, the male and female pectoral spine lengths were significantly different (P < 0.05). A fractured pectoral spine in one of the specimens was shorter than the other. The fracture which could be del...

The pectoral muscle represents a predominant density region in Medio-Lateral Oblique (MLO) views of mammograms, which appears at approximately the same density as the dense tissues of interest in the image and can affect the results of image analysis methods. Therefore, segmentation of pectoral muscle is important in order to limit the search for the breast abnormalities only to the breast regi...