Excessive shortening at the fracture site on the anteroposterior radiograph in the femoral neck fracture of Garden stages I and II can be used to predict poor outcomes from in situ osteosynthesis.

Fast magnetic resonance imaging quantified the effect of an abdominal belt on the abdominal geometric changes during the Valsalva maneuvers with the patient in a supine position.

The external muscle layer of the mammalian esophagus consists of striated muscles. We investigated the contractile properties of esophageal striated muscle by comparison with those of skeletal and cardiac muscles. Electrical field stimulation with single pulses evoked twitch-like contractile responses in esophageal muscle, similar to those in skeletal muscle in duration and similar to those in cardiac muscle in amplitude. The contractions of esophageal muscle were not affected by an inhibitor of gap junctions. Contractile responses induced by high potassium or caffeine in esophageal muscle were analogous to those in skeletal muscle. High-frequency stimulation induced a transient summation of contractions followed by sustained contractions with amplitudes similar to those of twitch-like contractions, although a large summation was observed in skeletal muscle. The results demonstrate that esophageal muscle has properties similar but not identical to those of skeletal muscle and that some specific properties may be beneficial for esophageal peristalsis.

Ultrasonographicaliy, the femoral component and the tibial plate of total knee prostheses are strongly echogenic, while the high-density polyethylene insert is hypoechoic. This study evaluated the influence of mediolateral and anteroposterior stability after total knee arthroplasty (TKA) on range of motion using realtime monitoring with ultrasound. Mediolateral stress translation, which is increased by horizontal resection of more bone at the ends of the femur or tibia for easy prosthesis implantation, was examined on coronal scans at the level of the collateral ligaments. Anteroposterior drawer was examined on sagittal scans at the level of the patellar tendon. Mediolateral translation (0-10 mm; mean 2.24 mm) did not correlate with range of motion, white anteroposterior drawer (2-10 mm, mean 5.05 mm) correlated well with range of motion. These ultrasonographic findings suggest that horizontal over-resection of the ends of the femur and tibia contributed to joint laxity, which would not result in better ROM. Rollback and sliding of the femoral component on the tibia, which is believed to be correlated with anteroposterior drawer, may be important in achieving better range of motion and obtaining excellent results in TKA.

We report an unusual case of a giant femoral abscess caused by postoperative osteomyelitis after treating a fracture of the femoral shaft. The patient ignored it until the abscess began to interfere with knee flexion, but no symptoms of inflammation such as fever, pain or abnormal laboratory values were found. Within the marrow cavity, many plasma cells produced immunoglobulins G and M, and the level of these substances in the abscess fluid connected to the bony focus were higher than the serum levels. It was concluded that the inflammation in this case signified a peculiarity in a primarily chronic process.