Three years ago, the young man pictured here was told that he might have acromegaly, but he ignored this warning. Now, at age 32, he consulted an endocrinologist because he realized his facial features and voice were becoming increasingly coarse. Soft-tissue swelling of his hands was also noted.
This photo was taken minutes after the birth of a female newborn and reveals a purple discoloration of the right buttock.
The patient reported that he had noticed the facial eruption a couple of months earlier. On examination, the lesion appeared more plaque-like and dense than is typical of rosacea. The differential diagnosis included lupus, mycosis fungoides, rosacea, and angiosarcoma.
These photos are of the left hand of a full-term, newborn infant with focal ring constrictions of the third, fourth, and fifth fingers; secondary edema and discoloration are also seen.
A 5-day history of pain and swelling in the right third finger (A) were the complaints of a 76-year-old man. A few days earlier, another physician had prescribed indomethacin, 25 mg tid, but it had not helped, and the patient believed that his condition had worsened. He had had an attack of gout 5 years before but had not been taking any maintenance medication. The distal interphalangeal (DIP) joint of the affected finger was now erythematous and tender, with chalky subcutaneous deposits. A diagnosis of acute gouty arthritis and gouty tophus was made.
A 51-year-old woman complained of mild pain in the Achilles tendon area of both feet. This was aggravated when she stood for prolonged periods and when she wore tight, high-heeled shoes. Physical examination results were unremarkable except for a disputable palpable thickness of the Achilles tendons, especially on the right foot.
A 70-year-old man was brought from a nursing home to the emergency department with abdominal distention and vomiting of recent onset and a 2-day history of fever and abdominal pain. The patient had chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, type 2 diabetes mellitus, and hypertension. His gastric feeding tube, which had been placed via percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy, was blocked.
Cyanosis involving the hands and toes of a 12-year-old girl was first noted 3 months before medical evaluation was sought. Her fingers and palms were red, the nail beds were cyanotic, and her palms were cold and sweaty. The girl's toes were cyanotic when she was standing. Her hands and feet reverted to a normal color when the limbs were elevated.
Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) was diagnosed in an 18-year-old man who presented with polyarthritis, fever, hypoxia, fatigue, anemia, neutropenia, and abnormal urinary sediment. A renal biopsy showed diffuse mesangial proliferative glomerulonephritis (World Health Organization class II). Serologic tests were positive for fluorescent antinuclear antibody (FANA), SS-A, SS-B, anti-Sm and anti-dsDNA antibodies, and rheumatoid factor; a direct Coombs' test result was positive as well.
A 48-year-old woman was hospitalized following 10 days of rectal bleeding. One year earlier, she had undergone combined external-beam radiation and brachytherapy for stage IIIA carcinoma of the cervix. The patient was orthostatic and pale on admission, and her hemoglobin level was 6 g/dL. After receiving a transfusion of packed red cells, she underwent colonoscopy. Several telangiectases were seen in the rectum, the mucosa was friable, and blood oozed from one of the lesions.
A 32-year-old woman with insulin-dependent diabetes noted a painful erosion at the site of "the rose tattoo," which she had gotten 5 days before.
This 4-month-old infant has calcaneovalgus foot--a relatively common finding in newborns.
A 1-year-old girl was noted to have abrasions on the left cheek when she was picked up by her mother from a day-care center. The day-care provider reported that the girl had been bitten on the cheek by a 3-year-old boy during rough play. Her immunization status for tetanus was up-to-date.
A 20-year-old man sustained a 2- to 3-cm soft-tissue laceration in the middle of the chin when he fell, face forward, onto pavement.
Tai Chi (also known as T'ai Chi Chuan, Taijiquan) is a form of mind-body exercise that has its roots in ancient Chinese martial arts. Throughout Asia, it is often practiced for preventive health, especially among the elderly. In recent years, Tai Chi has become popular in the West among all age groups and has been studied as a therapy for various medical conditions.
Vitamin E has been evaluated for the treatment and prevention of several different chronic diseases in numerous clinical trials over the past 2 decades. However, only a limited number of studies have investigated the potential therapeutic or prophylactic effect of vitamin E on allergic rhinitis and respiratory infections. In contrast to trials on cardiovascular disease, which have failed to demonstrate a benefit from vitamin E supplementation,1,2 there is mounting evidence that this essential vitamin may be useful for prevention of the common cold and treatment of allergic rhinitis.
A 53-year-old man presented with a 3-day history of bilateral pain in the lower extremities. He also had a 3-month history of thickening and desquamation of skin, with associated itching, and a 5-lb (2.27-kg) weight loss. The skin changes initially appeared on the hands and subsequently became generalized.
A 60-year-old woman with a history of iron deficiency anemia was hospitalized because of an episode of melena. A colonoscopy performed a year earlier had shown left-sided diverticulosis but was otherwise unremarkable.
Pruritic, erythematous papules on a man's forearms; nonhealing, asymptomatic ulcers on another man's lip and neck--to what do you attribute these lesions?
A 30-year-old active-duty sergeant with no history of urinary tract disease presented to a combat support hospital with acute pain in the left lower abdominal quadrant. For 4 months, the pain had been mild and intermittent; it had worsened during the past 24 hours. Before deployment, microscopic hematuria had been detected and the soldier had been informed of the possibility of a urinary stone.
