The Yale Journal of Biology and Medicine is a quarterly journal reviewed and edited by Yale biomedical faculty and students. http://info.med.yale.edu/yjbm/ Copyrighted 2007. All Rights Reserved Mon, 15 Dec 2008 11:25:39 -0500 Mon, 15 Dec 2008 11:15:17 -0500 FeedForAll v2.0 (2.0.2.9) unlicensed version http://www.feedforall.com Lymphatic vessels are believed to be absent in the colon above the level of the mucularis mucosae. However, in our experience, lymphatic vessels are sometimes identifiable within the lamina propria in the setting of inflammation and neoplasia. http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=2553648 08A0D3E5-3981-49BF-B341-D6A3E22B9F85 Mon, 15 Dec 2008 11:15:17 -0500 A log splitter is a gasoline- or diesel-powered machine that uses a hydraulic-powered cutting wedge to do the work of an axe. Log-splitter injuries that do not result in amputation of digits or limbs are uncommon and not well described in the literature. We present a unique case of a patient who sustained a log-splitter injury that resulted in thrombosis of the radial artery and avulsion laceration of the ulnar artery leading to acute hand ischemia, in addition to scapholunate ligament disruption leading to a DISI deformity. In this case, thrombolytic therapy was contraindicated and surgical revascularization was the best possible treatment option. Our case illustrates the pitfalls of using this modality in a crush injury, since the use of thrombolytics in this instance would have resulted in severe hemorrhage. An important clinical caveat is the potentially misleading arteriographic diagnosis of thrombosis and/or spasm. http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=2553649 2B64E606-2EF5-46E2-99AE-CDE915FA33EF Mon, 15 Dec 2008 11:15:16 -0500 In 1949, the establishment of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) resulted in the cessation of mainland China’s diplomatic ties with Western countries. Only after U.S. President Richard Nixon’s visit to China and the signing of the Shanghai Communiqué in 1972 were Sino-American diplomatic relations formally established. Academic exchanges between the PRC and the United States then began. Formed in 1966, the Committee on Scholarly Communication with the PRC (CSCPRC) had, since 1973, facilitated many U.S. scholars’ visits to China by acting as liaison with its Chinese counterpart (mainly Chinese Academy of Science) and providing economic support. Between 1973 and 1978, several American delegations traveled to China on scientific and academic exchanges concerning matters such as acupuncture anesthesia, herbal pharmacology, paleanthropology, insect control, and plant studies. The American Schistosomiasis Delegation (ASD) was among the exchange groups [1]. The CSCPRC began discussing a study tour on schistosomiasis with the PRC Scientific and Technical Association in May 1973; a trip took place from April 8 to May 2, 1975. http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=2553650 EF9AD891-BC32-4B1A-8350-0AE41146B340 Mon, 15 Dec 2008 11:15:15 -0500 The United States is on the verge of a public health crisis. For decades, all 50 states have required that parents vaccinate their children against various diseases, including polio and measles, as a prerequisite to enrolling them in public schools [1]. While virtually all states have tailored their immunization statutes to exempt those with religious (and sometimes philosophical) objections to vaccines from these requirements [2], widespread use of these exemptions threatens to undermine many of the benefits of mandatory vaccinations, such as preserving “herd immunity” [3]. Since it is unlikely that state governments will eliminate such exemptions outright, society must consider other methods of providing incentives for vaccination and compensating those who have suffered due to a disease outbreak caused by a community’s loss of herd immunity. http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=2553651 07AE7940-97E1-4C3D-AABE-F4F62CDF538E Mon, 15 Dec 2008 11:15:15 -0500 Health is a collective experience. Disease and physical maladies afflict humans across all geographical, cultural, or temporal contexts. Medicine, on the other hand, has never represented a shared set of values. Sick and suffering individuals understand their own bodies in culturally specific ways, relying on their local traditions and beliefs when they seek medical assistance. http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=2553652 A1506286-7DD8-445E-8D84-EF736FCB7232 Mon, 15 Dec 2008 11:15:14 -0500 I considered snapping a picture on my camera phone of the Dunkin’ Donuts sign at the Tegucigalpa airport, marveling at how American culture had managed to spread its tentacles all the way to Honduras. As we loaded our luggage into six enormous pickup trucks, 10 percent personal belongings and 90 percent supplies for our brigades, I waited for the moment when it became clear that I had entered the Third World. http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=2553653 48594E6D-4B67-4746-8B8F-459EA7A2466D Mon, 15 Dec 2008 11:15:13 -0500 On my first day in Uganda, I went to the hospital early to join the team on rounds. I wore my bright white coat, wrinkled from the long trip, and my stethoscope was looped around my neck. I wanted to learn some clinical medicine and hoped that my modest research project might yield useful data for my Ugandan advisors. The team gathered around a patient’s bed. The young man, called Emmanuel, sat silently with his legs buried in the folds of a red blanket. I watched Dr. Sadigh’s hands deftly percuss his lung fields, outlining an area of consolidation in the right lower lobe. http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=2553654 5F29A2F9-ED30-461B-8C9C-2E5FF4B125BA Mon, 15 Dec 2008 11:15:06 -0500