The Levator Claviculae Muscle Presenting as a Neck Mass.

The levator claviculae muscle is an uncommonly encountered muscle variant, occurring in 1% to 2% of the human population. Most accounts of the levator claviculae muscle have been reported in association with routine cadaveric examination and as an incidental finding by computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance (MR) imaging. We report a case of this variant muscle presenting as a soft-tissue mass within the neck of a young male.

Solid pseudopapillary tumor of the pancreas.

Solid pseudopapillary tumor is a rare tumor accounting for 1-2% of exocrine neoplasms involving the pancreas. This typically benign tumor is predominately found in young females of non-Caucasian descent between the second and fourth decades of life. Despite the reported increasing incidence of this neoplasm, many physicians are unfamiliar with this tumor, which may lead to uncertainty of diagnosis and treatment.

Identification of the sentinel node by ultrasonography in patients with breast cancer.

Background: Identification of the sentinel node (SN) in patients with breast cancer is done by tracking a radioactive tracer, a vital dye, or both, as the marker(s) reach the axilla. Replacing this method with ultrasonographic (US) recognition of the SN could eventually spare patients the need for systemic anesthesia, permit minimally invasive outpatient biopsy of the node, and allow the formulation of a precise therapeutic plan before a definitive surgical procedure.

Methods: Eighty-eight axillae of 84 patients with a histologic diagnosis of breast cancer were studied by injecting the subareolar area of the affected breast(s) with technetium 99 and an iron preparation before the planned surgical procedure and SN biopsy.

The effect of skull volume and density on differentiating gray and white matter on routine computed tomography scans of the head.

Increased volume and density of the skull makes computed tomography differentiation of gray and white matter (GM and WM, respectively) more difficult. The purpose of this investigation was to study the effects of skull volume and bone density on GM and WM differentiation. A total of 21 patients with thick skulls and 22 controls were included in this study.