Journal of investigative surgery : the official journal of the Academy of Surgical Research
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Biography Historical Article
John Collins Warren: Master educator and pioneer surgeon of ether fame.
John Collins Warren (1778-1856) represented the apex of surgery and medicine of the first half of nineteenth century Boston. Educated at Harvard College where he obtained a Bachelor of Arts in 1797, he contemplated the idea of a business career prior to setting sail for a traditional medical education at Europe's finest universities. From 1799 to 1802, he attended prestigious medical and surgical lectures in London, Edinburgh, and Paris. ⋯ Morton on October 16, 1846. Outside the operating theatre, Doctor Warren and his colleagues were revered for founding the Massachusetts General Hospital in 1821, and years before, in 1812, Warren and his associates established the New England Journal of Medicine and Surgery. In light of his varied contributions, John Collins Warren is remembered as a dedicated and innovative surgeon, as well as a committed medical educator, able administrator and effective leader.
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Improving the diagnosis of acute appendicitis in order to prevent unnecessary surgery is crucial. This study was intended to identify the role of serum inflammatory markers in patients with preliminary diagnosis of acute appendicitis with a retrospective design. Eighty-five patients with the preliminary diagnosis of acute appendicitis were recruited in this study within the period of November-December 2003. ⋯ Interleukin-10 levels within normal range might be helpful in eliminating the possibility of acute appendicitis. Thus, elevated levels of WBC, IL-6 and CRP might be helpful in confirming a potential diagnosis of acute appendicitis. In addition, normal levels of IL-10 might be of additional help to possibly rule out the diagnosis of acute appendicitis.
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Comparative Study
The effect of vasopressin on organ blood flow in an endotoxin-induced rabbit shock model.
The effects of vasopressin on the vasculature differ from those of other vasopressors, and its effects on the coronary artery remain debatable. This study was undertaken to examine the effects of vasopressin in a rabbit endotoxin-induced shock model and to compare these effects with those of norepinephrine. Thirty rabbits were divided into four study groups: a normal control group (group I, n = 5), a shock control group (group II, n = 5), a vasopressin group (group III, n = 10), and a norepinephrine group (group IV, n = 10). ⋯ Thus, effect of vasopressin on organ blood flow is organ dependent. Vasopressin increased renal blood flow and decreased hepatic arterial blood flow in this endotoxin-induced shock model, whereas norepinephrine did not. However, coronary blood flow was not changed by shock status or vasopressor type.