Introduction: Spondylodiscitis (SD) is an uncommon but important infection. The aim of this work was to study the risk factors, bacteriological features, clinical, laboratory and radiological findings of SD, and to shed light on the initial treatment. Methodology: A total of 107 patients who underwent treatment for SD were evaluated. The diagnosis of SD was defined by clinical findings, complete blood count, C-reactive protein (CRP), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), serum tube agglutination (STA) test, Ziehl-Neelsen staining, culture, histopathology, and radiological methods such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and computed tomography (CT) scans. Results: Of the 107 cases, ranging between 17 to 83 years of age, 64 (59.8%) were male. Twenty-seven (25.2%) patients had diabetes mellitus. Laboratory investigations revealed elevated CRP in 70 (65%) patients, elevated ESR in 65 (61%) patients, and elevated white blood cell (WBC) counts in 41 (38.3%) patients. Thirty-six (33.6%) patients were identified as having brucellar SD, and 5 (4.7%) patients were identified as having tuberculous SD. A total of 66 (61.6%) patients were determined to have pyogenic SD. The most frequently isolated microorganism was Staphylococcus aureus. Antibiotic therapy was given intravenously to all pyogenic SD patients. Conclusions: The incidence of SD has increased as a result of the higher life expectancy of older patients with chronic debilitating diseases and the increase of spinal surgical procedures. In patients with low back pain, SD should be considered as a diagnosis. For effective treatment, it is important to determine the etiology of the disease.

Jarcho-Levin syndrome (JLS) is a congenital disorder consisting of various vertebral and costal anomalies. Congenital heart defects, abdominal wall malformations, urogenital and anal abnormalities, multiple skeletal anomalies, upper limb anomalies, spina bifida, and inguinal, umbilical and diaphragmatic hernias can be seen as components of JLS. Spina bifida appears to be a common finding in reported JLS cases. We retrospectively reviewed the medical records, plain X-rays and MRIs of patients with spina bifida between 2010 and 2014 and discussed the results.

Human tail might be the most interesting cutaneous sign of neural tube defects. From little cutaneous appendixes to 20-cm-long taillike lesions were reported in the literature. They may occur connected to an underlying pathology such as lipoma or teratoma, but most of the time, they conceal an underlying spinal dysraphism. Many classifications about human tails have been suggested in history, but the main approach to these lesions is, independent of the classification, always the same: investigating the possible spinal dysraphism with concomitant pathologies and planning the treatment on the patient basis.

Objective Brucellosis is a zoonotic disease which has a significant presence in endemic areas. The most important factors on the delay of the diagnosis and treatment are the vagueness of the systemic features and the inadequacy of laboratory and imaging methods to distinguish the disease from other pathological conditions.