Primary cardiac osteosarcoma in a 42-year-old woman

We describe here a 42-year-old woman who was admitted to hospital with a pedunculated mass in her left atrium. She was diagnosed with a primary cardiac osteosarcoma with special immunohistochemical characteristics. Echocardiography and computed tomography can be used to differentiate cardiac osteosarcomas from routine intracardiac tumors. The patient was treated by surgical removal of the mass. Two years later, she has shown no evidence of disease recurrence. We discuss primary osteosarcomas in the cardiac cavity and their management

Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) is an advanced imaging technique used to map certain brain functions preoperatively—the information obtained is used to assess risk and operative feasibility while helping to guide the surgical approach. fMRI has been validated for motor mapping, language lateralization, and to a lesser extent language localization (due, in part, to the evolution of our understanding of language function). This chapter aims to provide an insight into preoperative fMRI beginning with brain physiology to a discussion of recent advancements while providing tips on how to approach post-processing and image assessment