Efficacy of silicated calcium phosphate graft in posterolateral lumbar fusion in sheep.

Background Context: Conditions requiring posterior lumbar spinal fusion remain a clinical challenge. Achieving arthrodesis using autogenous bone graft is inconsistent when rigid internal fixation such as transpedicular instrumentation is applied. Synthetic materials, particularly calcium phosphate-based ceramics, have shown promise for spine fusion applications, especially when combined with autograft.

Magnetic resonance imaging of pulmonary lesions in guinea pigs infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

We utilized magnetic resonance imaging to visualize lesions in the lungs of guinea pigs infected by low-dose aerosol exposure to Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Lesions were prominent in such images, and colorized three-dimensional reconstructions of images revealed a very uniform distribution in the lungs. Lesion numbers after 1 month were approximately similar to the aerosol exposure algorithm, suggesting that each was established by a single bacterium.