Background: Spontaneous migration of retained intracranial bullet fragments is an increasingly recognized phenomenon. However, such migration is usually limited in extent, since it occurs along the bullet tract or cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) spaces. Transhemispheric migration through an intact cerebral hemisphere has not been previously reported.
Observations: A 20-year old man sustained a gunshot wound (GSW) to the head with a left parieto-occipital entry point, resulting in retained bullet fragments within the anterior right frontal lobe. The patient developed medically refractory intracranial hypertension, necessitating a left decompressive hemicraniectomy. He exhibited a favorable postoperative course, with gradual neurologic recovery, and was ultimately discharged to a rehabilitation facility. Notwithstanding, serial head CT scans during the first 2 weeks revealed gradual transhemispheric migration of bullet fragments from the right frontal pole to the right occipital pole, traveling through largely intact, uninjured brain tissue.
Lessons: Transhemispheric migration of bullet fragments via intact brain tissue may rarely occur. While the exact mechanisms underlying this phenomenon remain unclear, potential factors may include: bullet weight, CSF pulsations, dissection through white matter tracts, and biomechanical effects of large skull defects. Bullet migration does not necessarily delay or prevent neurologic recovery.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.clineuro.2021.106607 | DOI Listing |
Sci Rep
December 2024
Department of Biology, University of Oxford, Mansfield Road, Oxford, OX1 3SZ, UK.
Long-distance migrants must optimise their timing of breeding to capitalise on resources at both breeding and over-wintering sites. In species with protracted breeding seasons, departing earlier on migration might be advantageous, but is constrained by the ongoing breeding attempt. Here we investigated how breeding timing affects migratory strategies in the Manx shearwater (Puffinus puffinus), a trans-hemispheric migratory seabird with large temporal variation in the onset of breeding.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFProc Biol Sci
October 2024
Department of Biology, University of Oxford, Mansfield Road, Oxford OX1 3SZ, UK.
Large-scale climatic fluctuations, such as the El Niño-Southern Oscillation, can have dramatic effects on ocean ecosystem productivity. Many mobile species breeding in temperate or higher latitudes escape the extremes of seasonal climate variation through long-distance, even trans-global migration, but how they deal with, or are affected by, such longer phased climate fluctuations is less understood. To investigate how a long-lived migratory species might respond to such periodic environmental change we collected and analysed a 13 year biologging dataset for a trans-equatorial migrant, the Manx shearwater ().
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBiol Lett
November 2023
Department of Ornithology, Max Planck Institute for Biological Intelligence, Seewiesen 82319, Germany.
In many animals, males compete for access to fertile females. The resulting sexual selection leads to sex differences in morphology and behaviour, but may also have consequences for physiology. Pectoral sandpipers are an arctic-breeding polygynous shorebird in which males perform elaborate displays around-the-clock and move over long distances to sample potential breeding sites, implying the need for physiological adaptations to cope with extreme endurance.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMov Ecol
September 2023
Bird Ecology Lab, Instituto de Ciencias Marinas y Limnológicas, Universidad Austral de Chile, Valdivia, Chile.
Background: Long-distance migratory birds spend most of their annual cycle in non-breeding areas. During this period birds must meet their daily nutritional needs and acquire additional energy intake to deal with future events of the annual cycle. Therefore, patterns of space use and movement may emerge as an efficient strategy to maintain a trade-off between acquisition and conservation of energy during the non-breeding season.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMov Ecol
July 2023
Institute for Chemistry and Biology of the Marine Environment (ICBM), University of Oldenburg, 26129, Oldenburg, Germany.
Background: For many migratory species, inexperienced (naïve) individuals reach remote non-breeding areas independently using one or more inherited compass headings and, potentially, magnetic signposts to gauge where to switch between compass headings. Inherited magnetic-based migration has not yet been assessed as a population-level process, particularly across strong geomagnetic gradients or where long-term geomagnetic shifts (hereafter, secular variation) could create mismatches with magnetic headings. Therefore, it remains unclear whether inherited magnetic headings and signposts could potentially adapt to secular variation under natural selection.
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