Exploration of the injured brachial plexus is very hard due to the close approximation with other vital structures and the anatomic complexity. It is essential to identify the exact level and type of traumatic brachial plexus injury (BPI) to decide the appropriate surgical approach for the injury and to infer the postoperative prognosis. However, it can be difficult to image the brachial plexus because of the anatomic properties. The purpose of this study is to analyze the diagnostic value of MRI according to various planes of the level and the type of the traumatic BPI. In sixty patients with traumatic BPI, whose diagnosis was confirmed by clinicopathological and surgical findings, the preoperative MRI films were reread retrospectively. Brachial plexus injuries were divided into two groups of preganglionic BPI and postganglionic BPI, and then postganglionic BPI was divided into 3 subgroups of Zone I, Zone II and Zone III by major adjacent structures such as scalenus anterior muscle and pectoralis minor muscle. The accuracy of MRI was investigated with the confirmed diagnosis on axial, sagittal and coronal planes. In preganglionic BPI, the accuracy of MRI was 96% on axial plane and it was statistically significant compared to sagittal and coronal planes. In postganglionic BPI, the accuracy of MRI was 100% on sagittal plane and 86% on coronal plane in Zone I, but it was not significant statistically. In Zone II and III the accuracy of MRI were 89% and 80% on sagittal plane, and 61% and 60% on coronal plane, but it was not significant statistically. In conclusion, the MRI can provide useful guidance to diagnose preganglionic and postganglionic BPI. Axial imaging is considered better for preganglionic lesion and sagittal imaging for postganglionic BPI, but it demands further study on larger number of subjects with traumatic RPI.
Brachial Plexus* ; Diagnosis ; Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging* ; Prognosis ; Retrospective Studies

No abstract available.

A case of vesicorectal fistula, which occurred in 23 year-old male Korean soldier due to external violence was presented and literature was briefly reviewed.
Fistula* ; Humans ; Male ; Military Personnel ; Violence ; Young Adult

A clinical observation of the bladder and urethral injuries was made in the army hospital from Jan. to Dec 1968. The results were obtained as follow; 1. The bladder and urethral injuries were 2.3% of all patients treated in the hospital in the last year. 2 The bladder and urethral injuries were 23 cases of the automobile accidents, excluding 3 cases of expulsive injuries and 2 cases of falling accidents 3. The bladder and urethral injuries associated with fracture of pelvic bone were 32.1%, especially 80% in the pubic ramus fracture. 4. The incidence of urethral injury was higher than bladder injury. 5. The complications were urethral stricture (80%). impotence and etc.
Automobiles ; Erectile Dysfunction ; Hospitals, Military ; Humans ; Incidence ; Male ; Pelvic Bones ; Urethral Stricture ; Urinary Bladder*

No abstract available.

A case of epidermal cyst arising from the frenulum of the penis in an eighteen year-old male was presented with review of literatures.
Epidermal Cyst* ; Humans ; Male ; Penis*

The antepartum death of one fetus in twin pregnancy is a rare obstetric complcation. If one fetus in twin pregnancy died in uterus remote from term and another fetus did not, the dead fetus will be compressed between the uterine wall and the membrane of living fetus, becomes a fetus compressus or fetus papyraceous. The primary maternal threat when the fetuses undelivered is disseminated intravascular coagulation. Concern for the surviving fetus after death of its co-twin is balanced between the risks of preterm birth and those involving exposure to events in utero that may threaten its well-being. Recently we experienced a case of twin pregnancy complicated by the death of one fe- tus, we report this case with concerned literatures.
Disseminated Intravascular Coagulation ; Fetal Death* ; Fetus ; Humans ; Membranes ; Pregnancy, Twin* ; Premature Birth ; Twins* ; Uterus

No abstract available.
Child* ; Humans ; Infant*

In order to assess the efficiency of Percoll gradient centrifugation(PGC) as a method of sperm selection, we have examined morphological characteristics of spermatozoa from 40 teratozoospermic patients attending the Infertility Clinic of Inchon Gil Gerneral Hospital. Patients were divided into three groups according to percentage normal morphology in the fresh sample : group A(n=5), < 5% normal morphology : group B(n=21), 5~14% normal morphology : and group C(n=14), > 14% normal morphology. Morphology slides were perpared using Diff-Quik staining techniques and evaulated by Kruger strict criteria, under oil immersion at a magnification of X 1000, specific defects, head, neck and tail were assesed individualy. The results were as follows. 1. Following PGC, sperm samples with enhanced morphology were recovered for all groups. 2. For group A, PGC did not select a sample with significantly improved morphological characteristics. 3. Usually, sperm defects affected by PGC was head and neck. No significant difference was found for tail abnormality. In conclusion, Percoll gradient centrifugation is an efficient sperm preparation technique when the semen sample exhibits teratozoospermia, especially head or neck abnormality. However, in sample with < 5% normal form or tail abnormality, There is not significant improvement following PGC.
Centrifugation* ; Equidae ; Head ; Humans* ; Immersion ; Incheon ; Infertility ; Neck ; Semen ; Spermatozoa*

The increasing number of patients with depression is a serious social issue in contemporary Korean society. To fully understand the pathophysiology of depression, this paper reviewed how depression affects the decision making process of humans. Various recent studies in behavioral economics, mathematics, medicine, and neurobiology have shown how humans make decisions and how emotional disturbances, such as depressive disorder, affect this process. There has been great progress in behavioral economics during this decade, and numerous experiments have been designed to evaluate decision making process in humans. In general, economic decision making is evaluated using the Iowa Gambling Task, and social decision making is assessed using the ultimatum game. Numerous research studies have analyzed the performance and reaction of patients with depression in these games. As a result of the advancement of neurophysiology, research has successfully identified the part of the brain that causes the specific results of tests being conducted on patients with depression. Meanwhile, computational neuroscientists have established decision making models based on bayesian framework. These models also match with the neuroanatomy. Although a large part remains unclear, researchers look forward to achieving a better understanding in depression by analyzing the distinct patterns of responses that patients under depression show in the experiment of behavioral economics.
Affective Symptoms ; Brain ; Decision Making* ; Depression* ; Depressive Disorder ; Economics, Behavioral ; Gambling ; Humans ; Interdisciplinary Studies ; Iowa ; Mathematics ; Neuroanatomy ; Neurobiology ; Neurophysiology