Between 1850 and 1870, a pathetic patient by the name of Charles Durand meets the famous historian of medicine Charles Daremberg and the dedicated psychiatrist Georges Marchant. Thus, relying upon every day life events, the authors tell the story of French psychiatry for the generation that came after the 1838 law on Mental Patient Care.

History, 19th Century↗

PubMed1989

Retrospective analysis of plate fixation of diaphyseal fractures of the forearm bones.

A total of 133 fractures of the forearm bones treated by stainless steel plating have been reviewed. Technical error is the main cause of non-union. Although a union rate of 94.7 per cent was achieved, closer examination of the material shows that the stability of fixation is important in achieving early consolidation.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1989

[The Anonymus Londinensis and medicine of South Italy].

Can the five doctors from Southern Italy and Sicily, whose theories are described in the famous Anonymus Londinensis (P. Lond. 137), be said to have belonged to an actual 'school of medicine'? Although this article stops short of such a conclusion, it is indicated that, positioned on the fringe of the West's scientific world, they remained aloof from the new medicine, embodied by Hippocrates.

History, Ancient↗

PubMed1988

Endothelial cell adhesion to vascular prosthetic surfaces.

Improving the long term patency of small diameter prosthetic grafts remains an important but elusive objective in vascular surgery. In pursuit of a non-thrombogenic surface, we have cultured human-adult endothelial cells, examined their adhesive properties and their ability to colonize the inner surface of a Dacron graft. To examine cell adhesion, endothelial cells were labelled with 111In-oxine and inoculated onto prosthetic wells previously prepared with either cold insoluble globulin (CIG), 1% gelatin, alginate or left untreated as a control. At 100 min, mean percentage adhesion to CIG and gelatin precoated wells was 86.0 +/- 9.9% (+/- SD) and 81.6 +/- 2.9% respectively, whereas alginate at 57.5 +/- 7.5% and the control well at 48.3 +/- 9.9% showed significantly less adhesion. Further experiments examined the adhesion of Indiumoxine labelled endothelial cells to Dacron graft (2 cm X 6 mm ID) placed in an in vitro arterial circuit. An immediate loss of approximately 20% of the cells occurred within the first 30 s, whereafter, a stable population were adherent to the graft material. By 102 min, 73.4 +/- 1.8% of cells remained attached when exposed to tissue culture medium, but only 64.1 +/- 6.9% after exposure to blood. Cultured human adult endothelial cells adhere most effectively to prosthetic surfaces precoated with CIG or gelatin, and remain attached following exposure to shear forces.

Alginates↗

PubMed1987

Population screening for aortic aneurysms.

Explore the source record for details and available documents.

Aged↗

PubMed1987

Non-invasive endoscopic technique to assess gastrointestinal perfusion.

Changes in mucosal blood flow may occur in many gastrointestinal disorders, but assessment is impossible without a non-invasive in vivo technique. We have compared endoscopic laser Doppler (LD) with oxygen electrode (OE) measurements in a dog isolated colon preparation, using variable perfusion measured with an electromagnetic flow probe. At maximum flow, LD measurements were made at three sites to compare mucosal with serosal readings. Flow rate was varied (1-38 ml/min) and measurements of microcirculatory flux obtained using LD, and of oxygen tension using a serosal OE. A progressive trend towards increasing flux was demonstrated from caecum to rectum-serosa: 46.8 +/- 18.7 V (caecum), 52.6 +/- 17.9 V (mid-colon) and 61.3 +/- 17.6 V (rectum). A parallel trend was observed in mucosal values: 41.1 +/- 18.2 V (caecum), 45.7 +/- 15.2 V (mid-colon) and 54.1 +/- 15.1 V (rectum). At all sites, serosal and mucosal values were not significantly different (Student's t test). LD serosal values correlated significantly with EM flow (r = 0.544, 0.01 greater than P greater than 0.001). A similar linear correlation was found between OE and EM flow (r = 0.65, P less than 0.001). Oxygen tension measurements varied as expected with microcirculatory flux (r = 0.441, 0.02 greater than P greater than 0.01). Endoscopic LD assessment of colonic microcirculation accurately reflects changes in blood flow.

Animals↗

PubMed1986

Splenic conservation after trauma in children.

In this study, we report on the management of 25 consecutive children with splenic injury. In 23 patients, the spleen was preserved (92 per cent) and two were treated by splenectomy. Five splenic injuries occurred in neonates. Four patients (16 per cent) were treated nonoperatively. We demonstrate that operative splenic conservation is usually possible and is a viable option when diagnostic doubt or logistic difficulties preclude safe nonoperative management. Avoidable operations were performed upon two patients (8 per cent). In four (16 per cent), associated intra-abdominal lesions requiring surgical treatment were encountered. In 60 per cent of the patients, extensive extra-abdominal trauma was present.

Child↗

PubMed1985