January 23rd, 2010 by Shadowfax in Better Health Network, Medical Art, True Stories
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An awesome case of pareidolia:
Mind Hacks:
The case of the haunted scrotum. A 45-year-old man was referred for investigation of an undescended right testis by computed tomography (CT). An ultrasound scan showed a normal testis and epididymis on the left side. The right testis was not visualized in the scrotal sac or in the right inguinal region. On CT scanning of the abdomen and pelvis, the right testis was not identified but the left side of the scrotum seemed to be occupied by a screaming ghostlike apparition (Figure 1). By chance, the distribution of normal anatomical structures within the left side of the scrotum had combined to produce this image. What of the undescended right testis? None was found. If you were a right testis, would you want to share the scrotum with that?J R Harding Consultant Radiologist, Royal Gwent Hospital
And I might add that “The Haunted Scrotum” would be a great name for a punk rock band.
*This blog post was originally published at Movin' Meat*
September 3rd, 2009 by scanman in Better Health Network, True Stories
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…
The worst case of pulmonary metastases that I have seen. 40-year-old woman, operated for primary lung malignancy (adenocarcinoma) a year ago. Note the reduced lung volume on the right side.
Further Reading:
June 9th, 2009 by KevinMD in Better Health Network
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The military is learning from the dead.
In the past five years, every soldier who was killed in Iraq and Afghanistan has been given a CT scan. Why? In the hopes of creating a database of war injuries, which can be used to better equip and treat future soldiers.
The effort has already paid dividends. While examining the data, it was noticed that chest tubes used to treat pneumothoraces in the field were too short. The standard tubing would have been appropriate for 50 percent of soldiers, versus longer tubing that would fit 99 percent.
Also, it was because of these “autopsy scans” where it was noticed that many of the troops died from wounds in the upper torso, which could have been prevented with the appropriate body armor. On the basis of these findings, the military rushed more armor plates to Iraq.
It’s an interesting piece, and goes on to discuss the sensitive implications of the findings to family members:
The possibility that a relative burned to death is a particular source of anguish for families, and one area in which CT can outperform an autopsy. In a body damaged by flames, CT can help pathologists figure out whether the burns occurred before or after death. The scans can also tell whether a person found in water died from drowning.
It’s truly remarkable to see how much that can be learned after death.
*This blog post was originally published at KevinMD.com*
June 3rd, 2009 by scanman in Better Health Network
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via other things amanzi: ct scans.
i’m usually quite good at reading ct scans, but this one just left me with one big question mark.
…and like most questions from surgeons to radiologists, this one is half full of it 
*This blog post was originally published at scan man's notes*
