This study examines the ends of medical intervention and argues that mainstream contemporary medicine assumes that appropriate ends may be discovered (i.e., naturalism), rather than created or decided upon (i.e., conventionalism). The essay then applies these considerations to the problem of the demarcation of the normal from the pathological. I ...

BACKGROUND: The value of diving medicals in preventing incidents is uncertain and there has been only limited evaluation of the fitness to dive guidelines in a sport diving population. OBJECTIVE: To examine the need for routine diving medical examinations in the Scottish Sub-Aqua Club (SSAC) between 1991 and 1998. METHODS: ...

The preparticipation examination (PPE) is a widely practiced method of screening athletes for medical limitations before sports participation. Although the PPE is widely implemented, there is little consistency regarding content or method in providing this important service. This lack of uniformity undermines the overall effectiveness of the PPE. The history, ...

The chain saws that have slashed away at healthcare this past decade, forcing mergers and closures, outsourcing, executive turnover, and more, have turned to the often mind-boggling- and deeply entrenched-array of governance boards. The result is hard won: fewer and smaller boards, fewer committees, and better meetings, analysts say. More ...

OBJECTIVE: To identify possible gender related differences in performance at undergraduate medical examinations in Sri Lanka. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: Results of examinations conducted by the faculty of medicine, University of Kelaniya in 1997 and 1998, and data published by the University Grants Commission (UGC) on final examinations conducted by ...

OBJECTIVE: To document the clinical, clinicopathologic, and pathologic findings in cats with severe sepsis, identify abnormalities unique to this species, and identify criteria that could be used antemortem to diagnose the systemic inflammatory response syndrome in cats. DESIGN: Retrospective study. ANIMALS: 29 cats confirmed to have severe sepsis at necropsy. ...

A vast range of sources, from chronicles, hagiography and the liturgy to medical manuscripts and charters, is at our disposal for the study of health and healing in Italy between the ninth and eleventh centuries. What is needed in order to exploit this material is a methodology for the careful ...

Refractoriness of the generators of the mismatch negativity (MMN) was examined in two experiments in which two deviant tones occurred in a row. In Experiment 1, the size of the MMN elicited by the first deviant was manipulated by using deviants that were close to or far from the standard ...

Remnant-Like Particles (RLP) isolated by an immunoseparation method are heterogeneous in their physical and biochemical properties. The objective of this study was to examine the relation between RLP-triglyceride (RLP-TG) to RLP-cholesterol (RLP-C) ratio and particle size distribution in RLP-C profiles from patients with hyperlipoproteinemia by HPLC. RLP were isolated from ...

The author examines Freud's three written accounts of his forgetting of the name 'Signorelli'. The three texts--a letter to Fliess, an early scientific article and a chapter in 'The Psychopathology of Everyday Life'--contain significant differences that are examined in detail. In describing the incident, Freud made successive changes that were ...

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the present and future supply of veterinarians in California, in light of changing trends in animal ownership. DESIGN: Database analysis. SAMPLE POPULATION: Human and animal populations, including populations of veterinarians, throughout the United States. PROCEDURES: Data on animal and human populations were compiled from a number of ...

The Railroad Retirement Board (Board) hereby amends its disability regulations to discontinue the current policy of conducting continuing disability reviews (CDR's) for medical recovery of disability annuitants in medical improvement not expected (MINE) cases. The Board has found that these reviews have not been cost effective and impose an unnecessary ...

PURPOSE: To determine the effect of a large-scale picture archiving and communication system (PACS) on in- and outpatient utilization of radiologic services. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Data were collected at the Baltimore Veterans Affairs (VA) Medical Center (BVAMC) before and after implementation of an enterprise-wide PACS; the numbers and types of ...

Triage is the sorting and allocation of treatment according to a system of priorities in order to maximize treatment. Placental triage promptly after delivery of the placenta, with documentation of the findings in the medical record, only takes a few minutes, and allows for the identification of abnormal placentas to ...

Medical licensure in the United States demands a dynamic and current means to evaluate the competency of physicians seeking to practice medicine. A systematic measuring tool is required--one that is based on actual patient encounters and how physicians should apply their knowledge and skills to the clinical setting according to ...

The OSH Act requires OSHA to include provisions for medical examinations of employees in its standards. However, the specific test and examinations criteria are not outlined in the OSH Act. Instead, each standard has specific medical surveillance requirements. These are specific to the adverse health effects triggered by exposure to ...

El Al was one of the first international airlines to introduce a medical kit (MK) on board its passenger aircraft. Based on our own experience and considering the recent regulations of the European Joint Aviation Authority (JAA), the items are updated. The design of the kit is arranged so that ...

Rheumatologists are frequently asked to see whiplash patients for an independent medical examination. There are many diagnostic and other assessment issues which arise in the setting of an independent assessment, and which do not usually arise in the usual physician-patient relationship. This article thus reviews aspects of the history, physical ...

OBJECTIVES: This study was designed to describe the variation in marking tendencies among different examiners in an oral examination. DESIGN: Marks awarded in a family practice board examination between 1984 and 1996 were analysed, relating to 5328 examination sessions graded by 94 examiners. Examiners were ranked by the rates at ...

The objective of the study was to provide an insight into the role of the medical examiner in the euthanasia notification procedure in The Netherlands. At the beginning of 1996 a representative group of 116 medical examiners was interviewed. The study found that there was a considerable variation in the ...

Recently there has been increasing interest in the possibility of treating inner ear disorders by application of medication into the middle ear on the premise that it will diffuse through the round window membrane into the inner ear. We examined 202 temporal bones from 117 patients to determine the frequency ...

Based on records kept in the Singapore Mercantile Marine Office, the paper presents the results of a study on deaths due to disease of seafarers on board Singapore ships. Out of a total of 373 deaths, altogether 69 fatalities were attributed to diseases. More than 65% (n=45) of theses deaths ...

Data and Safety Monitoring Boards (DSMBs) are commonly appointed to monitor emerging data from major clinical trials. This paper describes their organization and remit, and their relationship with other trial committees and structures. The operation of formal stopping rules for safety and efficacy by a DSMB is discussed. The duties ...

OBJECTIVE: To determine if scores from first attempts at the United States Medical Licensure Examination step 1 correlated with obstetrics-gynecology examination scores and identified students at risk of failure. METHODS: All students in obstetrics-gynecology clerkships at the University of Illinois at Chicago from July 1995 through June 1998 were studied. ...

BACKGROUND: Non-ulcer dyspepsia (NUD) is one of the most frequently encountered disorders in general practice in Western countries. The prevalence of this disorder in the Japanese, however, has not been fully investigated. This study is designed to clarify the characteristics and prevalence of dyspepsia in the Japanese. METHODS: The subjects ...

Reports of fatalities following liposuction have lead to investigations by state medical boards. The risk of complications and fatalities is clearly different for liposuction under local anesthesia and intravenous sedation. Thousands of patients have been treated with true tumescent liposuction as described by dermatologist Dr. Jeffrey A. Klein, with no ...

Bone is a unique tissue in which to examine mechanotransduction due to its essential role in weight bearing. Within bone, the osteocyte is an ideal cellular mechanotransducer candidate. Because osteocytes reside distant from the blood supply, their metabolic needs are met by a combination of passive diffusion and enhanced diffusion, ...

The South Korean government carried out reforms in the occupational medical examination program over a period of 2 years from 1997 to 1998 in a response to the discontent of workers, who had complained that occupational medical examinations were merely ritualistic and unproductive. The purposes of this manuscript are to ...

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to determine whether United States medical or osteopathic boards have opinions, position statements, or policies on chaperone use, and whether any state laws regulate chaperone use. METHODS: United States Medical and Osteopathic Boards were surveyed by mail to determine whether policies, opinions, positions, ...

The spread of tumour cells to the mandible has been well recognised and invasion of the edentulous alveolar ridge by tumour through accessory foramina has been documented. Tumour infiltration can also occur through the lateral cortical plate, but the number and distribution of accessory foramina on this surface has not ...

This study examined the psychometric aspects of a verbal pragmatic rating scale. The scale contained six pragmatic features (i.e., Conciseness, Lexical Selection, Quantity, Relevancy, Specificity, and Topic Maintenance) based on Grice's cooperative principles. Fifteen right brain-damaged (RBD), 15 left brain-damaged (LBD), and 16 healthy normal control (NC) right-handed adult participants ...

The tasks required for the preservation of the health of rescuers can be accomplished with the creation of a system for medical examinations and rehabilitation that functions with commonly used methodological and organizational principles. Absence of such a common methodological platform often results in the disqualification of members of the ...

A significant number of donor organs emanate from the medical examiner's or coroner's offices, because victims of head injuries from vehicular accidents, falls, assaults, gunshot injuries, and unattended cerebrovascular accidents fall under the jurisdiction of the medical examiner or coroner. Unfortunately, many organ procurement organizations may not fully understand the ...

Chronic sun exposure results in photoaged skin with deep coarse wrinkles and loss of elasticity. We have examined the distribution and abundance of fibrillin-rich microfibrils, key structural components of the elastic fiber network, in photoaged and photoprotected skin. Punch biopsies taken from photoaged forearm and from photoprotected hip and upper ...

In the US, state medical licensing boards have the power to prevent sick doctors from practising if they do not undergo treatment. Every state has a programme for impaired doctors, most including a two-week hospital stay involving intensive psychotherapy. Research on recovery is limited, but some studies have found recovery ...

It has been widely reported that the eyeblink component of the acoustic startle reflex can be modulated by emotionally-toned slide stimuli; pleasant slides reduce eyeblink amplitudes whereas unpleasant slides enhance them. The present study examines the modulation of the acoustic startle reflex by short (2-min) film-clips classified as pleasant, unpleasant ...

This paper describes the experience of doctors at the Medical Foundation for the Care of Victims of Torture, London, in documenting torture as recounted by survivors, mostly refugees from one of 63 countries, and in writing medico-legal reports to support their asylum claims. More than 2000 new patients are seen ...

BACKGROUND: Some overseas medical graduates choose to take the United Examining Board (UEB) examination to achieve UK registration; others have no other option. We have devised a course for overseas doctors who wish to re-qualify via this route. THE COURSE: Eighteen doctors enrolled during 1995-1997; all passed the UEB examination. ...

The spiral bacteria, Helicobacter heilmannii (H. heilmannii), distinct from Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori), was found in the gastric mucosa of a 71-year-old man without clinical symptoms. The endoscopic examination revealed erosive gastritis. Rapid urease test from the antral specimen was positive, but both culture and immunohistological staining for H. pylori ...

Our objective is to facilitate seamen's health education, according to the recommendations of international organisations like IMO (STCW 1995) and EC (Directive 92/29): They recommend a refresher course on first-aid at least every 5 years for persons in charge of medical care on board. In Spain the transposition of this ...

In this article, the author analyzes the influx of breast implant class action lawsuits in the past decade. He discusses the responses of the medical community and the manufacturers as well as the impact the media has had on this issue. The author recounts the steps he took in his ...

The purpose of this study was to determine inter- and intra-examiner repeatability of measurements of interpupillary distance (IPD). Three methods were used: Viktorin's, corneal reflection, and pupillometer. In Experiment 1, an experienced optometrist measured IPD on forty-nine subjects, on two occasions, using each method. In Experiment 2, thirty-five optometrists measured ...

We are at a time when reform in the special medical examination program in keeping with the changing times is desperately needed because the common perception of workers, employers, and medical examination facilities is "special medical examination is merely ritualistic and unproductive." Therefore, we have tried to set forth the ...

OBJECTIVE: To determine the relative frequency of limiting conditions in collegiate preparticipation physical examinations. DESIGN: Prospective recording of physical examinations over a 2-year period. SETTING: West Virginia University Department of Intercollegiate Athletics. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 596 student athletes, including 405 men and 191 women, involved in 22 sports at ...

A survey was carried out using a medical examination format that was prepared by the Malaysian Medical Association. The findings of the survey show that of the 266 cases surveyed, 64 drivers (24% of cases surveyed) are either totally unfit to drive or temporarily unfit to drive heavy goods and ...

The term 'false allegation', when applied to rape and assault, is a difficult concept for forensic medical examiners and the police to comprehend. Reliable evidence about how prevalent these allegations are is hard to obtain. This paper is a transcript of the oral presentation given at the 6th Cross-Channel Conference ...

PURPOSE: To examine the associations between board certification and both physicians' demographics and their performances during medical school and residency. METHOD: Data were prospectively collected for 1,186 medical students in three major specialty areas for the Jefferson Medical College's graduating classes of 1976 through 1985. RESULTS: Older students and underrepresented ...

The development of the legal status of the chiropractic profession often resulted from continual persecution by the medical authorities who held almost exclusive power to license health care providers. While the medical boards may seem to offer an "olive branch" in the legislative wars over licensure in the form of ...

The present review aimed to suggest approaches to prospective medical problems related to the health maintenance of space crews during future manned interplanetary, particularly Martian, missions up to 2-3 years with a possible stay on a planet with gravity different from that on Earth. The approaches are based on knowledge ...

Covariation estimates (CEs) between fear-relevant (FR) stimuli (slides of airplane crash sites) or fear-irrelevant (FI) stimuli (slides of airplanes in flight or mushrooms) and an aversive outcome (electrical shock) were examined in 15 flight phobics (high-fear participants) and 15 non-flight-phobic individuals (low-fear participants) by means of an illusory correlation experiment. ...