A. Mueller (Victoria in Australia). - Two Curiosities in Midwifery practice. (Australasian Medical Gaz., 1894, VIII, p. 258). Two rare cases in obstetric practice

1) Congenital cyst, emanating from the spine, as an obstacle to childbirth. In 30-year-olds, I-women in labor, the baby's head sank into the pelvic cavity, the cervix opened, but despite the good contractions, labor was delayed. Examining the pelvis of a woman in labor with his finger to find out the reason for stopping labor, Mueller felt a fluctuating tumor in the lower part of the sacral cavity, the size of a hen's egg. Dr. M .. checked the result of examination of the per rectum and found it more convenient to pierce the tumor with a test trocar from the rectum. In the fluid released from the tumor, the light, straw color turned out to be epithelial, cylindrical cells, indicating that the cyst was congenital (Eulenburg) and communicated with the cavity of the fetal spine. Childbirth ended with forceps, with great effort in the course of half an hour. The postpartum period went well.

Development of sacral vertebrae in human embryos and fetuses

The aim of the study is to define the features of organogenesis and histogenesis of sacral vertebrae in human embryos, which predetermine the anatomical structure of the sacrum in postnatal ontogenesis. Material and methods. The authors studied human embryo serial sections at 17–23 stages from the Carnegie virtual embryological collection, total preparations and serial sections of the lumbosacral region of the fetal spine at 8–20 weeks of gestation without visible developmental anomalies. Histological sections were stained with hematoxylin and eosin; total preparations were stained with alizarin red and alcian blue. In addition, the study included 19 adult sacra from the anatomical collection of the Belarusian State Medical University. Results. It was found that consolidation of the anlages of the upper sacral vertebrae starts at the early stages of embryogenesis by the fusion of their costal-transverse processes. During the first half of intrauterine development, the arch and articular processes of the adjacent vertebrae remain separate from each other. In contrast to other segments of the spinal column, five primary centers of ossification are formed in the anlages of the upper sacral vertebrae

Spinal Structure of Mice Fetus (Mus musculus L.) Treated by Acanthus ilicifolius L. Leaves Extract

Jeruju had various chemical components. This study was conducted on the teratogenic test of jeruju leaf extract to determine abnormalities in fetal mice (Mus musculus L.). This study used a completely randomized design (CRD) method with 20 pregnant female mice divided into 4 groups: 1 group as a control and 3 groups treated with a dose of 3.75 mg/30grBB, 7.5 mg/30grBB, 15 mg/grBB, each with jeruju leaf extract consists of 5 repetitions. The results showed that the doses of 7.5 mg/30grBB and 15 mg/grBB significantly decreased fetal weight and length when compared with controls. This is suspected because there is an active substance in the jeruju leaf extract which is cytotoxic. Anatomically the administration of jeruju leaf extract does not cause abnormalities in the structure of the fetal spine of mice. This is due to the growing fetus taking priority from the many types of nutrients in the mother fluid so that the fetal bone can continue to grow and develop.

2D versus 3D real time ultrasound with live xPlane imaging to visualize aortic and ductal arches: comparison between methods

Background The diagnosis of congenital heart defects is challenging, especially for what concerns conotruncal anomalies. Indeed, although the screening techniques of fetal cardiac anomalies have greatly improved, the detection rate of conotruncal anomalies still remains low due to the fact that they are associated with a normal four-chamber view. Therefore, the study aimed to compare real-time three-dimensional echocardiography with live xPlane imaging with two-dimensional (2D) traditional imaging in visualizing ductal and aortic arches during routine echocardiography of the second trimester of gestation. Methods This was an observational prospective study including 114 women with uncomplicated, singleton pregnancies. All sonographic studies were performed by two different operators, of them 60 by a first level operator, while 54 by a second level operator. A subanalysis was run in order to evaluate the feasibility and the time needed for the two procedures according to fetal spine position and operator’s experience. Results The measurements with 2D ultrasound were performed in all 114 echocardiographies, while live xPlane imaging was feasible in the 78% of the cases, and this was mainly due to fetal position. The time lapse needed to visualize aortic and ductal arches was significantly lower when using 2D ultrasound compared to live xPlane imaging (29.56 ± 28.5 s vs. 42.5 ± 38.1 s, P = 0.006 for aortic arch; 22.14 ± 17.8 s vs. 37.1 ± 33.8 s, P = 0.001 for ductal arch), also when performing a subanalysis according to operators’ experience (P < 0.05 for all comparisons). Feasibility of live xPlane proved to be correlated with the position of the fetal spine and the operator’s experience. Discussion To find a reproducible and standardized method to detect fetal heart defects may bring a great benefit for both patients and operators. In this scenario live xPlane imaging is a novel method to visualize ductal and aortic arches. We found that the position of the fetal spine may affect the feasibility of the method since, when the fetal back is anterior or transverse, the visualization of the correct view of three-vessels and trachea in order to set the reference line properly becomes more challenging. In addition, the fetal spine position influences the duration of the ultrasound examination. Regarding operator’s skills and experience, in our study a first level operator was able to perform the complete 2D and xPlane examination in a lower number of cases compared to second level operators. In addition, the time required for the complete examination was higher for first level operators. This means that this technique is based on an adequate operators’ expertise.