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Neuroimaging is an integral and indispensable part of every neurologist's practice. As neuroimaging now becomes a formal neurological subspecialty, through the United Council of Neurologic Subspecialties, the entire concept of "neurologist as neuroimager" is undergoing a detailed examination and emphasis at all levels of neurological training and endeavor. This article summarizes historical aspects and current trends involved with the political, academic, and practical neuroimaging issues encountered by the clinical neurologist. Reference is made to rationale for organ system specialty imaging; support organizations; imaging utilization and appropriateness guidelines; medical specialist competition, self-referral and turf matters; practice domain prerogatives; legislative challenges; and educational and advocacy concerns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examines the involvement of American evangelist Charles Grandison Finney in the post-Civil War Antimasonic crusade led by the Reverend Jonathan Blanchard. Finney's articles attacking Masonry; Failure of Finney and other Antimasons to stem the growth of fraternal organizations in the late 19th century; Finney's first hand experience with secret societies.

Background Contained in-bag spleen morcellation is a conventional extraction technique for safe spleen removal during laparoscopic splenectomy. Existing data for the use of in-bag enzymatic splenic digestion as an alternative to morcellation are lacking. This proof-of-concept study sought to evaluate the effectiveness of single and combinatorial enzyme digestion of murine spleens. Materials and methods Murine spleens were digested with collagenase alone or with combinations of commercially available enzymes (collagenase, elastase, hyaluronidase, neutral protease) to determine their degradation effect. The primary end point was the percentage of mass reduction at 15 and 30 min. Results For collagenase alone ( n = 15), the mean reduction in mass was 14 ± 10% (range: 2%-31%) at 15 min and 30 ± 25% (range: 7%-100%) at 30 min. Using combinatorial dissolution with collagenase, hyaluronidase, and elastase ( n = 8), the mean reduction in mass was 27 ± 16% (range: 6%-42%) at 15 min and 48 ± 27% (range: 3%-100%) at 30 min. Injecting the enzyme solution into whole spleens ( n = 9) yielded a mean reduction in mass of 22 ± 13% (range: 9%-42%) at 15 min and 55 ± 31% (range: 9%-100%) at 30 min; mean reduction was 9 ± 13% (range: 0%-39%) at 15 min and 23 ± 13% (range: 3%-53%) with no injection ( n = 12). Conclusions We provide the first demonstration of successful enzymatic murine spleen digestion as an alternative method for in-bag spleen removal during laparoscopic splenectomy. However, the significant cost and quantities of commercial enzyme required for clinical application dampens the enthusiasm for this novel approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]