Rectal bleeding secondary to fecal disimpaction: angiographic diagnosis and treatment.

Two cases of bleeding caused by manual disimpaction of fecal material are presented. Angiography played a critical role in the diagnosis and treatment. One case was managed with balloon tamponade, and the other was successfully treated by selective intra-arterial vasopressin infusion, after prior intravenous infusion had been ineffective. A history of fecal disimpaction should suggest the possibility of low rectal bleeding which can be diagnosed and treated angiographically.     

Sonographic standards for normal infant kidney length

Standards for kidney length in relation to size were derived from measures of 34 normal, full-term, healthy infants aged 2-56 weeks. Of six general size variables (age, weight, length, head circumference, abdominal circumference, and C7 to coccyx length), net kidney length correlated best with a combination of infant length and weight. A nomogram has been generated from these data for use by the radiologist.     

Regional dissociated heterochrony in multivariate analysis

Heterochrony, the classic framework to study ontogeny and phylogeny, in essence relies on a univariate concept of shape. Though principal component plots of multivariate shape data seem to resemble classical bivariate allometric plots, the language of heterochrony cannot be translated directly into general multivariate methodology.

We simulate idealized multivariate ontogenetic trajectories and demonstrate their behavior in principal component plots in shape space and in size-shape space. The concept of “dissociation”, which is conventionally regarded as a change in the relationship between shape change and size change, appears to be algebraically the same as regional dissociation — the variation of apparent heterochrony by region. Only if the trajectories of two related species lie along exactly the same path in shape space can the classic terminology of heterochrony apply so that pure dissociation of size change against shape change can be detected.

We demonstrate a geometric morphometric approach to these issues using adult and subadult crania of 48 Pan paniscus and 47 P. troglodytes. On each specimen we digitized 47 landmarks and 144 semilandmarks on ridge curves and the external neurocranial surface. The relation between these two species' growth trajectories is too complex for a simple summary in terms of global heterochrony.     

Therapeutic angiography. Its value to the surgical patient.

Standard angiographic techniques formerly used exclusively as diagnostic modalities have been modified to serve as definitive or adjunctive therapeutic measured. The techniques include transcatheter embolization; infusion of vasoactive drugs, chemotherapeutic agents and radioactive particles; tamponade of bleeding arteries and balloon catheters; extraction of vascular foreign bodies and retained biliary tract stones and transluminal arterial dilation. These techniques have been proved effective and safe when used judiciously.