Surgical treatment of septic arthritis of proximal joints and treatment of bone sequestra in cattle

Septic arthritis is a common cause of severe lameness in cattle, most commonly the distal interphalangeal joint is involved. Septic arthritis of proximal joints (fetlock, carpal, tarsal, stifle etc.) in cattle had been reported on a much lower frequency. Septic arthritis is caused by direct inoculation of bacteria into the joint (primary infection) or from spread of periarticular infection (secondary infection) or by haematogenous spread. Traumatic arthritis is not as common as septic arthritis and involves predominantly the larger proximal joints. Up to now, the diagnosis of bovine arthritis has been based on careful clinical examination, radiography, arthrocentesis and macroscopic, cytological and microbiological examination of the synovial sample.However, during the last 20 years, ultrasonography has proved to be of paramount importance for soft tissue differentiation in bovine orthopedics, adding important information to the clinical findings.

Retropharyngeal superficial angiomyxoma

Objective:To describe the first published case of superficial angiomyxoma with an epithelial component occurring in the retropharynx.Method:Case report of a patient with swallowing difficulties caused by a rare case of superficial angiomyxoma in the retropharynx.Results:Superficial angiomyxoma is a distinct entity among the dermal myxomatous lesions. Superficial angiomyxoma is poorly circumscribed, and local recurrence is common unless the tumour is excised with clear margins. Distinctive histological features include a myxoid mass composed of spindle and stellate-shaped cells and occasional multinucleated cells. There is prominent vasculature and a mixed inflammatory infiltrate in the stroma, particularly by neutrophil polymorphs. Epithelial structures are seen in about one-third of cases. A case of retropharyngeal tumour with morphological features of superficial angiomyxoma is reported. The tumour cells, including multinucleated ones, were negative for soft tissue differentiation markers. The inflammatory cells included lymphocytes, histiocytes and neutrophil polymorphs.Conclusion:This case demonstrates that a cutaneous type of angiomyxoma with epithelial-lined structures can occur in deep soft tissue, such as the retropharynx.

Noise Power Spectra and Low Contrast Resolution in Multiplanar Reformations

Low contrast imaging is of vital clinical importance and thus an important aspect of CT image quality. For example, soft plaque imaging, ground glass lung opacities, and soft tissue differentiation all depend upon excellent low contrast resolution. A primary factor in determining low contrast resolution is noise.