Enhancements of anatomical information in UMLS knowledge sources.

Although anatomical terminology forms a part of biomedical structured vocabularies, available sources lack the requisite granularity, semantic types and relationships for comprehensively and consistently representing anatomical concepts in machine readable form. Thoracic angiology was selected as a proof of concept experiment for in depth representation of symbolic information in gross anatomy through the enhancement of semantic types, concepts and relationships in UMLS. Provided the representation of concepts is comprehensive, hierarchies generated with four types of simple relationships are capable of displaying anatomical information from the systemic view point with sufficient detail to meet the needs of applications in basic science education and in the practice of surgical subspecialties.

Performance evaluation of a distance learning program.

This paper presents a performance metric which uses a single number to characterize the response time for a non-deterministic client-server application operating over the Internet. When applied to a Macintosh-based distance learning application called the Digital Anatomist Browser, the metric allowed us to observe that "A typical student doing a typical mix of Browser commands on a typical data set will experience the same delay if they use a slow Macintosh on a local network or a fast Macintosh on the other side of the country accessing the data over the Internet." The methodology presented is applicable to other client-server applications that are rapidly appearing on the Internet.

Knowledge-based client-server approach to structural information retrieval: the Digital Anatomist Browser.

Structural information can be defined as data and knowledge about biological objects ranging in size from molecules to the whole body. A framework is described for organizing structural information around a well-defined set of terminology and semantic relationships, and for disseminating multimedia structural information by means of a wide-area information server that is accessible over the internet. A Macintosh-based client of this server, called the Digital Anatomist Browser, has been used to teach neuroanatomy for the last 2 years. The client-server approach provides each student unlimited access to a rapidly growing knowledge base of structural biology that, while immediately useful for anatomy teaching, has the potential to be an organizing framework for other kinds of medical knowledge as well.

A network model for wide area access to structural information.

Structural information in medicine is information about the physical body. Recent advances in medical imaging and biotechnology have greatly increased the amount and importance of structural information, and advances in networking envisioned by the High Performance Computing and Communication Initiative (HPCC) will allow this kind of information to be delivered to remote clients over wide area networks. One of the most important factors determining the usability of such a client-server configuration is the time delay between the request for information from the server, and its presentation to the user at the client. In this paper we present a model for predicting the performance of a structural information client based on the ping time, a simple, unobtrusive network measurement. Preliminary results suggest that the relationship between ping time and transfer time for large files is linear, which if borne out by more data, will allow the performance of structural information clients at remote sites to be predicted without the expense of installing them first. At the same time, such a model will be useful for planning improvements to the network in those sites which could most benefit by wide area access to structural information.

[A case of localized pleural mesothelioma].

A case of localized pleural mesothelioma is reported. A 49-year-old man was operated for coin lesion detected on routine chest X-ray. A tumor arose from the visceral pleura of right lower lobe and was pedunculated. Size of the tumor was 4 x 3 x 3 cm. Cut surface of the tumor was solid and yellowish white. Pathological diagnosis was fibrous type of the pleural mesothelioma. The patient is well and has no sign of recurrence for three years. There are 123 cases of localized pleural mesothelioma including our case in Japan. Five in 78 cases which was diagnosed to be benign histologically at operation, had recurrence later. It is important to follow up strictly for long term.

A multimedia Anatomy Browser incorporating a knowledge base and 3D images.

We describe a multimedia program for teaching anatomy. The program, called the Anatomy Browser, displays cross-sectional and topographical images, with outlines around structures and regions of interest. The user may point to these structures and retrieve text descriptions, view symbolic relationships between structures, or view spatial relationships by accessing 3-D graphics animations from videodiscs produced specifically for this program. The software also helps students exercise what they have learned by asking them to identify structures by name and location. The program is implemented in a client-server architecture, with the user interface residing on a Macintosh, while images, data, and a growing symbolic knowledge base of anatomy are stored on a fileserver. This architecture allows us to develop practical tutorial modules that are in current use, while at the same time developing the knowledge base that will lead to more intelligent tutorial systems.

[A case of extraskeletal Ewing's sarcoma of the chest wall].

A case of extraskeletal Ewing's sarcoma arising in the chest wall of a 15-year-old male is reported in this paper. His complaint was chest and back pain. Physical examination and laboratory data disclosed no abnormality. Radiographs and computed tomography revealed chest wall tumor, and resection of the tumor with a portion of the eighth rib was performed. Histologically, there was no involvement of the rib at all. The tumor tissue was composed of solidly packed tumor cells which were uniform in size and shape. Individual tumor cells were small, round-shaped, and had scanty, ill-defined cytoplasm. The diastase-digested, PAS positive material was found in the cytoplasm. NSE (neuron specific enolase) was positive, but EMA (epithelial membrane antigen) LCA (leucocyte common antigen), and keratin were negative. With these results, we got a diagnosis of extraskeletal Ewing's sarcoma. Combination chemotherapy with vincristine, cyclophosphamide, adriamycin, actinomycin D was administered after operation, and there is no evidence of recurrence after 12 months of follow-up.