Political economy of death and the concept of the king's two bodies: The funeral of King Aleksandar Karađorđević I in 1934

Ubistvo kralja Aleksandra uzdrmalo je evropsku javnost pred početak Drugog svetskog rata. Imalo je još veći odjek u kompleksnoj južnoslovenskoj državi. U takvom napetom trenutku, bilo je važno očuvati državno jedinstvo i ispuniti pravni i simbolički vakuum uzrokovan kraljevim ubistvom. Elite su stoga upotrebile stari srednjovekovni koncept dva kraljeva tela. Shodno tome, sahrana kralja Aleksandra dobila je obeležja masovnog spektakla u kome je smrt kralja postala simbol državnog jedinstva.The assassination of King Aleksandar shook the European public at the dawn of WWII. It had even more pronounced effects in the compound South Slavic state. In such a tense moment, it was necessary to preserve state unity and fill the legal and symbolic vacuum caused by the King's murder. Thus, the elites employed the old medieval concept of the king's two bodies. According to this principle, the funeral of King Aleksandar assumed the features of a mass performance wherein the death of the ruler turned into the symbol of state unity

Discovering the 60 years old secret: identification of the World War II mass grave victims from the island of Daksa near Dubrovnik, Croatia

Aim To describe the organization, field work, forensic anthropological examination, and DNA analysis conducted to identify the victims from a World War II mass grave found on the Dalmatian island of Daksa near Dubrovnik (Croatia) in 2009. Methods Excavation of the site was performed according to standard archeological procedures. Basic anthropological examination was made to determine the minimum number of victims, sex, age at death, and height. The bones with pathological and traumatic changes were identified. DNA was extracted from powdered bones and relatives’ blood samples. Y-chromosome and autosomal short tandem repeats (STR) were used to establish the relationship of the remains with the putative family members. Results The remains were found to belong to at least 53 distinctive victims. All were male, mostly with gunshot wounds to the head. DNA analysis and cross-matching of the samples with relatives resulted in 14 positive identifications using the Y-chromosomal STRs and 4 positive identifications using the autosomal STRs. Conclusions This study showed that even in cases of more than 50-year-old, highly degraded human remains from mass graves, Y-chromosomal and autosomal STRs analysis can contribute to identification of the victims

Oslikavanje rezultata liječenja zglobne hrskavice

Postoperative imaging is necessary for assessing the technical success of the procedure and state of the cartilage healing, as well as for identifying potential complication. A plenty of radiological methods are available today in assessing the articular cartilage: radiography, computed tomography and thomositesis, ultrasonography and magnetic resonance. Radiography is the most used radiological modality but with high limitations in evaluation of the articular cartilage repair. Computed tomography and tomosynthesis are useful only after intraarticular contrast media injection (arthrography) and offer the evaluation of the cartilage surface but with the harmful influence of ionizing radiation. Magnetic resonance (MR) imaging provides non-invasive assessment of the entire joint including evaluation of the cartilage changes and lesions as well as the assessment of the repair site and all other joint tissues. Using compositional MR imaging of cartilage we may get information about its molecular status, specifically in regard to its collagen and glycosaminoglycan content. This article is a review of all imaging methods, in cartilage repair evaluation stressing novel imaging methods representing their advantages and limitations in cartilage repair evaluation.U praćenju uspjeha provedenog liječenja hrskavičnih oštećenja, radiološko je oslikavanje neophodno, kako za procjenu statusa zglobne hrskavice, tako i za procjenu tehničkog uspjeha primijenjenog liječenja, ali i za otkrivanje mogućih komplikacija liječenja. Danas nam u tome na raspolaganju stoje brojne radiološke metode: radiografija, kompjutorizirana tomografija i tomosinteza, ultrasonografija i magnetska rezonancija. Radiografija je najviše korištena radiološka metoda, no ima izrazito ograničene mogućnosti u procjeni reparirane hrskavice. Kompjutorizirana tomografija i tomosinteza za prikaz reparirane hrskavice trebaju koristiti intraartikularno primijenjeno kontrastno sredstvo (artrografija), ali sve uz primjenu ionizirajućeg zračenja. Magnetska rezonancija jedina je metoda koja in vivo može prikazati morfologiju hrskavice: njene konture, ali i njen unutarnji izgled. To je metoda koja osim prikaza hrskavice daje informacije o stanju svih struktura u zglobu. Koristeći metode biokemijskog oslikavanja magnetskom rezonancijom možemo dobiti informaciju o kemijskom sastavu same hrskavice i hrskavičnog reparata, prvenstveno sadržaju proteoglikana i mreže kolagenih vlakana. Članak donosi pregled svih radioloških metoda s težištem na modernim metodama oslikavanja uz prikaz njihovih mogućnosti u prikazu reparirane hrskavice

Diagnostics and treatment of osteoporotic vertebral fractures

Osteoporoza je sistemska bolest skeleta karakterizirana smanjenjem koštane gustoće i oštećenjem mikroarhitekture. Moguća posljedica je osteporotska vertebralna fraktura (OVF) koja izaziva akutnu ili kroničnu bol, smanjenu pokretljivost, smanjenu kvalitetu života i povećan rizik smrti zbog smanjene mobilnosti i kardiopulmonalne disfunkcije. Kada se OVF manifestira klinički, osnovno je optimalno liječenje boli (OLB). Iako prirodni tijek u većine bolesnika dovodi do smanjenja bolova u prvih nekoliko tjedana, dio bolesnika ima perzistentnu bol i/ili kolaps kralješka. U bolesnika s perzistentnom boli može se primijeniti intraartikularna injekcija kortikosteroida i anestetika u zigapofizne zglobove bolnog segmenta (IAI). U bolesnika s kolapsom kralješka ili perzistentnom boli nakon IAI preporučuje se primijeniti perkutanu vertebroplastiku (PVP) ili perkutanu balon kifoplastiku (BKP). PVP je minimalno invazivna operacija u kojoj se uz radiološko navođenje u prelomljeni kralježak utiskuje cement. BKP je varijacija iste tehnike u kojoj se prije aplikacije cementa specijalnim balonom stvara šupljina te se cement utiskuje pod manjim tlakom. U kliničkim studijama dokazan je signifikantan učinak PVP-a i BKP-a u poboljšanju kvalitete života i pokretljivosti, kao i smanjenje bolova u komparaciji s OLB-om, ali u komparaciji s metodom IAI učinak nije signifikantan. U nekim studijama uočeno je smanjenje mortaliteta nakon PVP-a i BKP-a, ali zbog lošeg dizajna studija taj učinak nije siguran. U skupini bolesnika s neurološkim deficitom primjenjuju se otvorene kirurške tehnike za zbrinjavanje različitih oblika prijeloma i deformiteta s dugotrajno dobrim kliničkim i radiološkim rezultatima.Osteoporosis is a systemic skeletal disease characterized by low bone mass and microarchitectural deterioration of bone tissue, with vertebral compressive fractures (VCFs) that may occur as a consequence. Vertebral compression fractures (VCFs) can lead to severe acute and chronic pain, impaired mobility, reduced quality of life and an increased risk of mortality due to decreased mobility and pulmonary dysfunction. When painful VCFs do come to clinical attention, they are typically treated with optimal pain management (OPM). Although the natural course of pain due to vertebral fractures decreases within the first weeks in the majority of patients, a number of them remain with persistent pain and/or ongoing vertebral collapse. Facet joint injections are an emerging procedure as possible treatment for a subgroup of patients with persistent pain after VCFs. In case of vertebral collapse or persistent pain after facet joint injections, patients have to be treated with percutaneous vertebroplasty (PVP) or percutaneous balloon kyphoplasty (BKP). PVP is a minimally invasive surgical procedure in which bone cement is injected into a fractured vertebra under radiological guidance using fluoroscopy. BKP is a variation of this approach, in which an inflatable balloon tamp is placed in the collapsed vertebra prior to cement injection, in order to create a cavity allowing low pressure injection. For people with painful osteoporotic VCFs refractory to analgesic treatment, PVP and BKP perform significantly better in unblinded trials than OPM in terms of improving quality of life and reducing pain and disability. It is possible that BKP and PVP may lead to reductions in mortality. In small subgroup of patients with neurological injury related to an osteoporotic fracture, different open surgical techniques were used to suit different fracture patterns, with good clinical and radiological results

Advanced Clinical and Radiological Features of Ankylosing Spondylitis: Relation to Gender, Onset of First Symptoms and Disease Duration

To determine the frequency of advanced clinical and radiological features of AS with reference to gender, onset of symptoms and disease duration. Fifty-seven patients diagnosed with AS were included in this study. Functional evaluation of the musculoskeletal system detected advanced clinical features: rubber-ball phenomenon, flattening of the chest anterior wall, diastasis of rectus abdominis muscle, steel back phenomenon, umbilical extrusion, skiing posture. Conventional radiographs of sacroiliac joints, pelvis and axial skeleton were obtained in order to analyze signs of sacroiliitis, syndesmophytes, vertebral squaring and ligamentous ossification. Statistical significance is found in the distribution of particular advanced clinical and radiological features of AS between men and women: rubber-ball phenomenon (p=0.002), flat chest (p=0.002), diastasis of rectus abdominis muscle (p=0.002), skiing position (p=0.000), syndesmophytes (p=0.009) and ligamentous ossification (p=0.030) in thoracic and lumbar spine. Onset of first disease symptoms (> 20 years of age) is significantly associated with radiological changes in thoracic spine (ligamentous ossification, p=0.015) and cervical spine (vertebral squaring, p=0.032). Longer disease duration (>10 years) is significantly associated with the appearance of particular clinical features: rubber-ball phenomenon, p20 years of age) and longer disease duration (>10 years) are associated with the higher risk of developing particular clinical signs and radiological features in sacroiliac joints and axial skeleton

Slikovne metode kod osteogenesis imperfecta

Osteogenesis imperfecta (OI) is a congenital genetic disorder with skeletal or extra-skeletal manifestations. Phenotypic features and mode of inheritance, clinical features, and radiographic fi ndings make the basis for the currently accepted classifi cation system of OI. The antenatal and postnatal diagnosis of the disease using diff erent radiographic methods (plain radiography, ultrasonography, computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging) is described and characteristic appearances of bone and other deformities are analyzed. Distinctive bone manifestations of OI are illustrated using typical examples. Finally, we give a comment on diff erential diagnosis.Osteogenesis imperfecta (OI) je nasljedni genetički poremećaj koji nije povezan sa spolom, a ima koštane i ne-koštane manifestacije. Fenotipska obilježja i način nasljeđivanja, klinička obilježja i radiografski nalazi čine osnovu za danas prihvaćeni sustav klasifi kacije OI. Opisuje se antenatalna i postnatalna dijagnostika ove bolesti pomoću različitih radiografskih metoda (radiografi ja, ultrazvuk, kompjutorizirana tomografi ja i magnetska rezonancija), uz analizu znakovitih pojavnosti koštanih i drugih deformacija. Osobite koštane manifestacije OI ilustrirane su tipičnim primjerima. Na koncu se nalazi komentar autora o diferencijalnoj dijagnostici kod OI

The Role of MR Imaging and MR Angiography in the Evaluation of Patients with Headache

BACKGROUND: Headache is one of the most common complaint in medical practice and the most often neurological symptom. AIM: The aim of our study was to estimate the frequency of abnormal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) findings in patients with non-acute headache without focal neurological abnormalities. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The results of the MRI and MRA were retrospectively analyzed. As major abnormalities, we took into account tumor, stroke, extraaxial collection, Chiari malformations, and vascular pathology (aneurysm and arterial-venous malformation). RESULTS: Two hundred twenty-five patients fulfilled the criteria. Out of 225 patients with median age of 37 (18–85) years, 78% of the patients were female and 22% were male. In total, we found 8.4% of major abnormalities. On MRI head scan without MRA analysis, we found 50.7% of normal finding, 47.1% of minor abnormalities and 2.2% of major abnormalities. On MRA scan, we found we found 52.9% of normal finding, 40.9% of minor abnormalities, and 6.2% of major abnormalities. CONCLUSION: Our study demonstrates a low but important diagnostic yield of MRI and MRA examination for patients with non-acute headache without focal neurological abnormalities

Neobična manifestacija koštano-zglobne tuberkuloze: prikaz bolesnice

Although osteoarticular tuberculosis is usually presented as monoarthritis of the large, weight-bearing joints (predominantly hip, knee or ankle joint), or in the form of spinal disease, it is rarely seen as oligoarthritis. In this article, we present case history of a female patient with tuberculous oligoarthritis of the right talocrural joint and left talocalcaneal joint. A 77-year-old female patient was admitted to our department due to the symptoms of painful and swollen right talocrural joint and left talocalcaneal joint accompanied with fever, general weakness and night sweating. Laboratory findings, including erythrocyte sedimentation rate, whole blood count, liver and kidney functional tests showed no significant changes. Plain x-rays and magnetic resonance imaging of the affected joints showed demineralization, significant narrowing of joint space, erosions of articular surfaces, numerous calcifications, and ankylosis of both right talocrural and left talocalcaneal joint. Synovial biopsy confirmed the diagnosis of tuberculous arthritis. Our patient underwent triple tuberculostatic therapy with rifampicin, isoniazid and pyrazinamide, which resulted in the resolution of arthritis.Iako se koštano-zglobna tuberkuloza najčešće prezentira kao monoartritis velikih zglobova koji prenose težinu (osobito kukovi, koljena ili gležanj) ili zahvaćenošću kralježnice, rijetko se javlja u obliku oligoartritisa. U ovom članku daje se prikaz bolesnice s tuberkuloznim oligoartritisom desnog talokruralnog zgloba i lijevog talokalkanealnog zgloba. Sedamdeset- sedmogodišnja bolesnica je primljena u našu Kliniku zbog bolova i otekline desnog talokruralnog zgloba i lijevog talokalkanealnog zgloba popraćenog tresavicom, općom slabošću i noćnim znojenjem. Laboratorijski nalazi, uključujući sedimentaciju eritrocita, kompletnu krvnu sliku, jetrene i bubrežne testove, nisu pokazali nikakva odstupanja. Konvencionalni rendgenogrami i magnetska rezonanca zahvaćenih zglobova pokazali su demineralizaciju, značajno suženje zglobnog prostora, erozivne promjene zglobnih površina, brojne kalcifikate i ankilozu desnog talokruralnog zgloba i lijevog talokalkanealnog zgloba. Biopsija sinovije je potvrdila dijagnozu tuberkuloznog artritisa. Kod bolesnice je provedena trojna tuberkulostatska terapija rifampicinom, izonijazidom i pirazinamidom koja je dovela do povlačenja artritisa