Beads but no collar; the significance of an asymptomatic rib bone healing pattern in infants.

When a long bone, such as a rib, is broken, the position of the break can be seen in the following weeks by a temporary collar of a collagen based material (callus) which holds the broken ends together during the repair process. However in infants a different pattern is sometimes found at autopsy, in which the repair material occurs as widely spaced "beads" along the shaft of the rib. The consistency of the bead material corresponds to the progress of repair in the normal way, but there is no focal region as would be expected in a clean break or greenstick fracture.

The nature of shaken baby syndrome injuries and the significance of a "Lucid Interval".

Background: The possibility of shaking an infant sufficiently violently to cause brain damage by head rotational acceleration remains controversial and the nature of the anticipated injuries poorly defined. Animal studies of whiplash injuries have revealed two modes of injury; subdural haemorrhage (SDH) and cortex surface injury (CSI). CSI can be induced without SDH with a suitable whiplash impulse, suggesting independent mechanisms.

Raised venous pressure as a factor in multiple sclerosis.

It is hypothesised that the inflammatory condition seen in MS and the progressive myelopathy that is being successfully halted by obliteration of dural arteriovenous fistulas (DAVFs), may actually be two sides of the same coin. Excessive venous hypertension can stretch vein walls sufficiently to separate the tight junctions between endothelial cells forming the blood-brain-barrier (BBB). Colloids, etc.

Determinants of flow along arterio-arterial anastomoses in monochorionic placentae by dynamic computer modelling of chorionic plate vasculature.

Objectives: To investigate anatomical and physiological determinants of inter-fetal transfusion along arterio-arterial (AA) anastomoses in monochorionic placentae.

Methods: A computer model of chorionic arterial vasculature was constructed in QuickBASIC using data collected from experimentation and the published literature. After validating the model, the influence of various physiological and anatomical variables on anastomotic flow rates was examined.

Kaiser Wilhelm syndrome: obstetric trauma or placental insult in a historical case mimicking Erb's palsy.

Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany (1859) developed a weak and noticeably short left arm during childhood, commonly attributed to nerve damage caused by the use of excessive force during his difficult breech delivery, Erb's palsy. However, Wilhelm's mother had a severe fall when about four months pregnant and the child was reported to be very thin at birth, suggesting intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR). Wilhelm blamed the British doctor for his deformity, and formed an enmity, which ultimately led to the 1914-1918 world war.

Characterization of first trimester fetal erythroblasts for non-invasive prenatal diagnosis.

Isolating fetal erythroblasts from first trimester maternal blood offers a promising non-invasive alternative for prenatal diagnosis. The aim of this study was to characterize the biological properties of first trimester primitive erythroblasts to facilitate their enrichment from first trimester maternal blood. Primitive erythroblasts were the predominant cell type until 12 weeks gestation, after which time their numbers declined steeply; 100% were epsilon-globin-positive versus <0.