Metastatic Leptomeningeal Carcinomatosis From Primary Lobular Breast Cancer Found in a Medical School Cadaveric Dissection.

Leptomeningeal carcinomatosis (LC) is an uncommon sequelae of metastatic cancer affecting the pia and arachnoid mater. It has been postulated that recent improvements in cancer patient survival time have increased the frequency of LC and other rare metastatic conditions that patients previously would not have lived long enough to experience. LC carries a universally poor prognosis with a mean survival of between two to four months if treated; however, the recent increase in incidence has allowed for further research into the condition and potential treatments.

Conflicting dermatome maps: educational and clinical implications.

Sensory testing is a common noninvasive method of evaluating nerve function that relies on the knowledge of skin dermatomes and sensory fields of cutaneous nerves. Research to determine the extent of the dermatomes was conducted in Europe during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Experiments performed on cadavers, monkeys, and human patients prior to 1948 resulted in the creation of similar but somewhat different dermatome maps.