Phrenology between anthropology and neurology in a nineteenth-century collection of skulls.

The University of Padua has many legends about its cultural heritage. One of these concerns a collection of eight skulls still preserved in the Hall of Medicine at Bo Palace, near the old anatomy theatre built in 1545. It is said that some famous professors of the University donated their bodies to medical science, and the skulls were from these bodies. From multidisciplinary research, both historical and anthropological, we have discovered that Francesco Cortese, Professor of Medicine and Rector of the University, started this personal collection of colleagues' skulls, although they had not donated their bodies to science, so that he could make his own detailed phrenology study.

Occupational markers and pathology of the castrato singer Gaspare Pacchierotti (1740-1821).

Following the birth of modern opera in Italy in 1600, the demand for soprano voices grew up and the prepuberal castration was carried out to preserve the young male voice into adult life. Among the castrati, Gaspare Pacchierotti was probably one of the most famous. The remains of Pacchierotti were exhumed for the first time in 2013, for a research in the reconstruction of his biological profile, to understand the secrets behind his sublime voice and how the castration influenced the body. All the findings discovered, through anthropological and Computed Tomography analyses, are consistent both with the occupational markers of a singer and with the hormonal effects of castration. The erosion of cervical vertebrae, the insertion of respiratory muscles and muscles of the arms can be an effect of the bodily position and exercise during singing. The hormonal effect of castration were related to osteoporosis and to the disorders of spine.

Situs inversus with dextrocardia in a mummy case.

A mummy of a young woman, who died due to tuberculous peritonitis and salpingitis, is conserved in the Pathological Anatomy Museum of the University of Padua. It was found at autopsy to have situs inversus of viscera with dextrocardia, apparently in the absence of other congenital defects. A 64-section scanner computed tomography (CT) on the specimen was carried out to investigate the internal condition of organs. The CT revealed the presence in the heart of a muscular ventricular septal defect and of calcific deposits on visceral pericardium and aortic wall, in keeping with sequelae of previous tuberculous pericarditis.

Diego Rivera's fresco and the case taken from Morgagni's De sedibus.

The fresco by Diego Rivera (1886 to 1957) on the history of cardiology was displayed at the "Instituto Nacional de Cardiología" of Mexico City at the time of inauguration on April 14, 1944. Some of the most important masters of the Padua Medical School were depicted, namely Vesalius, Harvey, and Morgagni. There is a vivid description of the anatomoclinical method introduced by Giovanni Battista Morgagni (1682 to 1771), when he was professor of Theoretical Medicine first and then of Anatomy at the University of Padua (1711 to 1771). By reading Morgagni's De sedibus, we found the case of aortic syphilitic aneurysm that corresponds perfectly with the one represented in Diego Rivera's mural. In the Museum of Pathological Anatomy of the Padua University, an anatomical specimen that displays the same lesion is preserved, and we have performed a computed tomography scan to analyze the state of the heart and aneurysm, thus finding diffuse calcific deposits of aorta and pericardium. In conclusion, in Diego Rivera's fresco the clinicopathologic method of Morgagni is well represented and the case of syphilitic aneurysm, reported by Morgagni in his De sedibus, depicted.

Imaging of soft-tissue tumors.

The objective of this review is to highlight the major imaging characteristics of the main soft-tissue sarcoma histotypes observed in the group "Sarcomi" of the Istituto Oncologico Veneto in the last 5 years. A literature review was performed using PubMed and textbooks. Radiological imaging can guide the diagnosis for the subset of lesions that have typical clinical and imaging features. Soft-tissue tumors are common in clinical practice and a systematic clinical and imaging approach may guide the diagnosis.

Structured reporting using a shared indexed multilingual radiology lexicon.

PURPOSE: A system for creating structured reports (SRs) using a standardized radiology lexicon was developed and tested to facilitate automated translation of content and multidisciplinary international communications. METHODS: A database of radiology terms, RadLex developed by the Radiological Society of North America, was used to create a shared indexed multilingual radiology lexicon. A diagnostic workstation for generating structured reports (OpenEye) was implemented with a "RadLex manager" function for adding new words to the lexicon in both English and Italian. Sample reports of examinations included in the Medical Imaging Resource Center (MIRC) radiology imaging database of clinical cases were prepared using this system. The system was evaluated for teaching purposes and scientific dissemination. RESULTS: The OpenEye system was able to manage the glossary to create new SRs and manually translate existing reports containing freely worded descriptions. The OpenEye system provides instant translation from Italian into English and enables clinical cases to be published in the MIRC, while making them accessible for consultation on an international scale. CONCLUSION: The SR is advantageous compared with a freely worded report in terms of clarity and completeness of the content. Creating SRs for each clinical case enables rapid and focused analysis at multidisciplinary meetings. All our cases have been included in the MIRC database as part of a broader-based European Project for research on soft tissues sarcomas (CONTICANET).

Imaging of facial soft tissues in multislice computerized tomography: a new geometric method of analysis and its statistical validation.

OBJECTIVE: The main purpose of this preliminary study was to propose an original analysis of facial soft tissues' depth to detect their topographic variability, which causes are intrinsic (depth) and extrinsic (bone shape and reciprocal correlations with soft tissues themselves). To check the utility and accuracy of the method in recognizing measures' differences, other aims were comparison of two different groups of people and statistical validation. STUDY DESIGN: The study sample was composed of 100 consecutive patients (56 females and 44 males) undergoing a routine CT scanning. The images, obtained through the reference plane of the palate, were post-processed on a PC workstation. A goniometer construction was superimposed and centered on the posterior nasal spine, where a grid of eighteen rays was developed to calculate the superficial soft tissues' depths of the face. To test the validity of the method, three of the rays were measured twice, by the same as by another observer. Step-by-step procedures were attained to get maximum standard in measures' reliability. RESULTS: Superficial soft tissues' depths were obtained and sex differences were analyzed (Student's t and Wilcoxon rank-sum test). The statistical reliability was proven with Bland-Altman statistics and the upper 95% limit of agreement was 1.459 mm for intraobserver repeatability and 1.886 mm for interobserver reproducibility. Validation of the method was proven by intraclass correlation coefficient (0.99 both for repeatability and reproducibility) and mean differences (respectively 0.6% and 0.4%). CONCLUSION: The method appeared easy to be applied, reliable and not observer dependent, so suitable for study single as multiple patients with CT images. Future analyses shall be possible.