[The differential diagnosis of prescalene soft tissue shadows. A clinical-anatomical contribution].

In CT examination of a female patient of 72 years of age, a prescalenic soft tissue shadow situated unilaterally on the left side was seen. 3D reconstruction revealed a course of the relevant structure that would correspond to a variation of the muscle of the neck. This is presented briefly in the following article and discussed within the framework of soft tissue shadows due to muscular variations.

Magnetic resonance imaging in malignant bone tumours.

Complete removal of the tumour without leaving microscopic disease is vital in the management of bone sarcomas. Magnetic resonance imaging now seems to be the best method of depicting the changes produced by the tumour within the bone and surrounding soft tissues. In order to define its reliability, five cases of primary bone sarcomas (Ewing's sarcoma, osteosarcoma, chondrosarcoma) are described where radiographs, bone scans and magnetic resonance images are directly compared to the pathological findings after resection.

[Magnetic resonance tomography in preoperative analysis of chronic post-traumatic osteomyelitis].

Chronic osteomyelitis in 8 patients was studied preoperatively by magnetic resonance (MR) imaging and in part of them also by computed tomography (CT). Morphologic information about extraosseous and intraosseous changes was important for surgical planning. In long bones CT generally is superior delineating bone structures (sequestra and fragments of devitalized bone in the intramedullary cavity) and MR may be used as an adjunct for localizing extraosseous and intraosseous abscesses.

[Intestinal drug smuggling--a new diagnostic and therapeutic problem].

Since spring 1985 81 persons were examined because of suspected intestinal drug-smuggling (body-packing). 46 patients (57%) had drug-packages in the gastro-intestinal tract, in 35 persons (43%) the suspicion was not confirmed. 26 patients had swallowed the drugs (mostly cocaine) whereas in 20 cases drugs were found in the rectum (mostly heroine).

1.5 T MRI, CT, ultrasonography and scintigraphy in hyperparathyroidism.

The enlarged parathyroid glands of twenty-four patients with primary, and 5 with tertiary, hyperparathyroidism were prospectively studied with MRI, CT, ultrasonography and subtraction scintigraphy prior to surgery. Sensitivities in a prospective study were 63, 60, 53 and 44% for the primary, and 71, 67, 44 and 11% for the tertiary, disease form. On MRI, diseased parathyroids showed the "typical" behaviour of tumours with high signal intensity on T2-weighted and low signal intensity in T1-weighted images.

[1.5 T MRI, arthrography and arthroscopy in the evaluation of knee lesions].

It has been previously demonstrated that MRI can show the knee joint non-invasively and without radiation. Forty-two patients with lesions of the knee were examined using 1.5 Tesla and flexible surface coils.

[Cricopharyngeal myotomy in dysfunction of the pharyngo-esophageal sphincter].

Dysphagia due to upper esophageal sphincter dysfunction is usually diagnosed by cineradiography. If the treatment of an underlying disorder fails to improve swallowing or if the dysfunction is thought to be idiopathic, cricopharyngeal myotomy is considered the treatment of choice. In properly selected cases (i.

Calculation of T2 values versus phase imaging for the distinction between flow and thrombus in MR imaging.

In magnetic resonance (MR) imaging the distinction between vascular signal from flowing blood and thrombus of any nature is often difficult. Even though there are qualitative criteria to identify intravascular signal as coming from flowing blood, these can fail, and no definitive statement can be made on the nature of intravascular MR signal. In this study, the authors compared the effectiveness of T2 calculations with that of phase images in distinguishing thrombus from flow.

MR imaging of large nonferromagnetic metallic implants at 1.5 T.

To evaluate the feasibility of magnetic resonance (MR) imaging in patients with nonferromagnetic metallic implants, we imaged implants in vitro and in 15 patients. Image artifacts both in vitro and in vivo occurred only locally and consisted of image distortions, areas of total signal loss, and lines of high signal intensity. The artifacts were most prominent in areas where the implants exhibited edges or points, but overall image quality was good except for regions lying very close to the implants.

[The importance of x-ray cinematography of deglutition for indicating the need for myotomy of the pharyngoesophageal sphincter].

Fourteen patients were examined one to four years after cricopharyngeal myotomy that had been carried out because of dysfunction of the pharyngo-esophageal sphincter. Twelve patients were examined radiologically. Eleven of the 14 patients were clinically improved or cured.

The hypersplenic spleen. A contractile reservoir of granulocytes and platelets.

Epinephrine-induced mobilization of noncirculating granulocytes and thrombocytes was evaluated in 13 subjects with marked variation in spleen size and correlated with the sonographically recorded contraction of the spleen. The effects of epinephrine on blood granulocyte and thrombocyte counts correlated highly with splenic contraction but not with spleen size. The findings provide further insight into mechanisms of hypersplenism, suggest that the big spleen of hypersplenism mimics the contractile reservoir function of the spleen of certain animals, and point out that the "marginal" granulocyte pool mobilized by epinephrine is not randomly distributed throughout the body.

[Significance of roentgen cinematography in the diagnosis of functional disorders of the pharyngo-esophageal junction].

Dysfunction of the pharyngo-oesophageal sphincter may escape detection by clinical examination, endoscopy, and routine barium studies. Cineradiographic examination of 300 patients with unexplained dysphagia revealed 57 cases of pharyngo-oesophageal dysfunction. In 25 cases an underlying disorder could be found, and 32 cases were considered idiopathic.