Peritonitis caused by a giant trichobezoar ventriculi – a case report

Summary Bezoars are the most common foreign bodies of gastrointestinal tract. They contain swallowed hair, different fibres, seeds, nut shells, sweets or drugs. Clinical manifestations vary, depending on the location and size of bezoar, from “no symptoms” to “acute abdomen” syndrome. In this case report, the authors describe a giant trichobezoar from the stomach of an 18-yearold girl, who had been admitted to the gynecological department with syndromes suggesting an ovarian cyst torsion. The preoperative diagnosis was not confirmed and a giant trichobezoar was found and removed during the surgery

Floristic analysis of a high-speed railway embankment in a Mediterranean landscape

We analyzed the floristic composition of a 4.5 km-long segment of a high-speed railway in Lazio, central Italy, which travels on an artificial embankment through an intensively-farmed landscape. In total, 287 vascular plant species were recorded. The life-form distribution was found to be similar to that of the regional species pool, with high percentages of therophytes (38%) and phanerophytes (13%). In the chorological spectrum the Mediterranean floristic element prevailed (44%), while alien species were 8% of the flora. The phytosociological spectrum showed a high diversity of characteristic species from the class Stellarietea mediae or its subordinate syntaxa (26%), and in particular from the order Thero-Brometalia (Mediterranean, sub-nitrophilous annual communities). Species from forest syntaxa had a relatively high diversity (9%). These results suggest that the ecological filtering provided by the Mediterranean regional climate controlled species assemblage even in a completely artificial habitat, preventing floristic homogenization: the flora of the studied railway section is only partially »ruderalized«, while it keeps strong links with the regional (semi-) natural plant communities. However, in contrast to what is observed in central and north Europe, the railway sides studied in the present paper do not seem to represent a refugial habitat for rare species from grassland communities, mainly because in Italy semi-natural dry grasslands are still widely represented

Morphological study of the antennal sensilla in Gerromorpha (Insecta: Hemiptera: Heteroptera)

The external morphology and distribution of the antennal sensilla of 21 species from five families of semiaquatic bugs (Gerromorpha) were examined using scanning electron microscopy. Nine main types were distinguished based on their morphological structure: sensilla trichoidea, sensilla chaetica, sensilla leaflike, sensilla campaniformia, sensilla coeloconica, sensilla ampullacea, sensilla basiconica, sensilla placoidea and sensilla bell-mouthed. The specific morphological structure of one type of sensilla (bell-mouthed sensilla) was observed only in Aquarius paludum. Several subtypes of sensilla are described, differentiated by number, location and type of sensillum characteristic for each examined taxon. The present study provides new data about the morphology and distribution of the antennal sensilla in Gerromorpha

Classical radical hysterectomy and nerve-sparing radical hysterectomy in the treatment of cervical cancer

Aim of the study: To compare Piver III radical hysterectomy (RH) with nerve-sparing radical hysterectomy (NSRH) for cervical cancer patients in terms of postoperative physiology of pelvic autonomic nerves and perioperative complications. Material and methods : Seventy-three consecutive patients with invasive cervical cancer underwent RH (53 cases) or NSRH (20 cases) from 2001 to 2012 at the Department of Gynecology and Gynecologic Oncology of Polish Mother’s Memorial Hospital – Research Institute in Łódź. Results : Compared with patients treated with RH, patients who underwent NSRH presented no significant difference in terms of operative time (146 vs. 143 minutes, p > 0.05), blood loss and hospital stay (9.2 vs. 7.5 days, p > 0.05). A positive surgical margin was found in 6 cases of RH. No serious surgical complications were found in the NSRH group, while there were 4 cases in the RH group. Conclusions : Nerve-sparing radical hysterectomy is safe and feasible surgical management for cervical cancer patients, which should improve the physiology of the pelvic autonomic nerve system postoperatively. The technique is relatively new and its oncologic efficiency has not been fully established yet, moreover it requires sophisticated anatomical knowledge and high operative skills