Short stories of the unusual, the impossible, flights of fantasy, meant to entertain

This is the only book of its kind in prenatal diagnosis that details the most common sonographically detectable fetal syndromes. It has an easy-to-follow approach of using lists and patterns of malformations to generate a differential diagnosis of the possible syndrome involved. The reader is then led to the more detailed description of each syndrome to determine the exact final diagnosis. The new edition incorporates 3D ultrasound throughout the book, as well as 20 syndromes not previously covered. Cross-references sonographic fetal malformations with various syndromes to use patterns of malformation to arrive at the correct diagnosis. Shows the specific features of each syndrome to help you determine how detectable the syndrome is or how likely the fetus is to have the syndrome. Offers up-to-date information on how to manage borderline sonographic findings. Helps you to not only identify what syndrome a given set of malformations is likely to represent, but also understand the clinical implications of that syndrome. Includes more than 500 new images, many of which are 3D ultrasound images. Covers 20 new syndromes, including Perlman Syndrome, Cerebro-Costo-Mandibular Syndrome, Van der Woude Syndrome, Septo-Optic Dysplasia, Saethre-Chotzen Syndrome, Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia, Congenital High Airway Obstruction Syndrome (CHAOS), Cloacal Extrophy Sequence, Megacystis-Microcolon-Intestinal Hypoperistalsis Syndrome, Opitz Syndrome, and DiGeorge Syndrome. Takes full advantage of a new full color design to make reference even easier. Presents ultrasound video ciips as they would appear in practice on the bonus DVD.

Taking a symptom-oriented approach, this book focuses on the radiographic changes of malformation syndromes and skeletal dysplasias. Its clear structure makes it an essential, practical guide for radiologists, geneticists, and pediatricians.

Are mermaids compassionate beings waiting to save drowning sailors or vindictive creatures hoping to lure people to their deaths? The answer depends on the lore, which is vast and varied. Through the centuries, people around the world have reported seeing real mermaids on rocks or bobbing in the sea. Even in the 21st century, people are drawn to the mystery of the mermaid. Readers, too, will find the many mermaid stories and hoaxes in this engaging book entertaining as well as educational. Folklore is a unique and entertaining window into studies of world culture.

Sirenomelia (SML) is a rare, almost universally fatal congenital malformation presenting pathognomically with fused lower extremities and absent or malformed perineum. The classic Sirenomelia sequence includes a uniform spectrum of caudal malformations, spinal defects, and a single umbilical artery. SML is postulated to be due to a genetic predisposition, unmasked by biochemical or environmental triggers. Primary developmental defects in the formation of caudal mesoderm or embryonic caudal vessels with resultant local tissue hypoperfusion are proposed hypotheses for its pathogenesis. SML occurs sporadically in humans, presumably due to a spontaneous mutation, and is speculated to have an autosomal dominant inheritance pattern. In mutant mice, specific defects in Cyp26a1 and Bmp 7 genes are demonstrated to produce offsprings with SML. Bmp 7 is a signaling protein, which belongs to the transforming growth factor-β (TGF β) superfamily. Tsg 1, a Bmp and chordin-binding protein, functions as an activator-inhibitor of Bmp signaling in the embryonic caudal region (ECR). Loss of Bmp7 genes combined with a complete loss or half-dose of Tsg 1 is demonstrated to produce an invariable SML phenotype. SML is also demonstrated to occur with increased Retinoic acid (RA) signaling in the ECR. The Cyp26a1 gene is involved in coding for an enzyme, which expresses in ECR and degrades RA. A specific defect in this gene leads to excess local RA concentration and SML generation with a reported 20% penetrance in mutant mice. However, the mutational screening of Cyp26a1 and Bmp 7genes has failed to confirm their involvement in mankind and the molecular defect and genetic inheritability of SML in humans remain undefined.

Seeking Symmetry: Finding patterns in human health offers a guide through the overwhelming mass of data generated by contemporary science. Starved for the knowledge that would best help us stay healthy, we are simultaneously glutted with an overload of information about the human body. Amidst ubiquitous talk that patient-centred care and lifestyle changes are the keys to personal health, self-neglect and medical overtreatment nevertheless prevail. The body is rich with symmetries, many of them unknown to us who live in these bodies. Symmetry-seeking reveals certain patterns for understanding the information we have about the body, patterns whose roots lie in embryonic development and in evolution. The book's exploration will guide readers through the parts of their own bodies and introduce tangible, visible examples of symmetry, not only right and left but up and down, male and female, inside and out, as well as symmetries between humans and other species.It presents the symmetries of the body's internal structures that, despite their complexity, are nevertheless simple to understand when viewed with an eye for pattern.Through both words and images, this book will illustrate the most foundational of the principles, structures, and processes that decide how bodies function.A core purpose of the book is to present this knowledge through a lens that makes the information meaningful, by modelling the habit of symmetry-seeking.

Tales of mysterious and alluring mermaids have been told for thousands of years. Are they all just myths and legends, or could some of these stories be true? Using the scientific method and available information, this book attempts to find out!