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This case report describes a 63-year-old male patient with considerably impaired postoperative wound healing in the region of the lower extremities. After initial drug therapy for the pain was ineffectual, the patient was treated repeatedly through an epidural catheter. In the further course, an extensive spinal epidural abscess was diagnosed as an incidental finding without neurological symptoms. After taking into consideration the patient's age and the risk factors present as well as inclusion of the subspecialties involved for an interdisciplinary assessment, the patient was successfully treated with a conservative approach. Our contribution concludes with a detailed discussion and comparison of the literature.

A survey is given on the status of developments, concerning a subretinal electronic microphotodiode array that aims at replacing degenerated photoreceptors. Various prototypes have been developed, tested, and implanted in various experimental animals up to 18 months. The fact that electrical responses were recorded from the visual cortex of pigs after electrical stimulation by subretinal electrodes and the fact that responses are also recorded in-vitro in degenerated rat retinae, shows the feasibility of this approach. However, there are a number of open questions concerning the biocompatibility, the long-time stability, and the type of transmitted image to be solved before application in patients can be considered.

Since the early twenties several institutes of the Veterinary College in Berlin were involved in the development of microchemical analyzing methods for doping-alkaloids and clinical studies in doped race horse. This research made it possible to build national acting structures against the abuse of doping in race horses, which soon became a model for similar activities in other countries, for instance Greece, Japan and the United States. Concerning the results of their research, the scientists of the Veterinary College in Berlin have got an enormous part in fighting against doping in race horses in Germany. In the year 1943 the second world war led to a stagnation of the development of spectroscopical methods and clinical investigations of this field.

The main aspects of the development of veterinary toxicology from the time of foundation of the veterinary college in Berlin 1790 up to 1945 are being described. The first toxicological experiments were made in 1821. The teaching of veterinary toxicology in Berlin began in 1872 and the foundation of the Department of Pharmacology as a part of Small Animal Clinic was in 1886. The historical development may be divided in four periods. In the first, from 1821-1830, acute and chronical intoxications were examined. The second period, from 1831-1870, has been determined by experimental drug toxicology and the beginning of environmental toxicology. In 1935 were the foundation of an independent Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology and in this time the toxicological research reached an internationally important level.

A case of multiple lesions of junctional melanocytic hyperplasia arising in a skin graft after excision of a congenital melanocytic naevus is reported. This observation is shown to support the concept of the histogenesis of acquired melanocytic naevi proposed by Cramer [2], i.e. that acquired melanocytic naevi are derived from melanocyte precursors located in nerve sheaths, whereas it is inconsistent with notions of the origin of naevogenesis in the epidermal melanocyte.

Pachydermodactyly is an acquired, asymptomatic swelling of the lateral sides of the fingers and is seen mainly in young men. The formal pathogenesis is a benign fibromatosis. The casual pathogenesis was until now unclear, although we believe, that exogenic factors are the main reason. Consequently Pachydermodactyly has to be considered as a result of compulsion neurosis.

The alkali resistance test data of 189 metal workers (66 female, 123 male) and 28 college students (12 female, 16 male) was analysed by means of correlation analysis and "Vorzeichentest" relative to the dependence on age group and sex as well as the difference of the right- and left- arm-alkali resistance. The results showed no significant differences. The right-left comparison of a soap and synthetic detergent-washing of the forearms of 14 college students (7 female, 7 male) and 11 metal workers (2 female, 9 male), repeated after 4 and 8 weeks respectively, which was carried out in the following without age and sex differentiation, showed that the synthetic detergent washing had less influence on the alkali resistance than the soap washing. The interpretation of alkali resistance testing should be based upon knowledge about time and modus of previous washing and occupational exposure.