Tantalum radiography of the respiratory tract in dogs.
ALTHOUGH radiography of the respiratory tract was suggested by Chevalier Jackson in 1918 1 the full potential of this diagnostic aid has never been realized. The major drawbacks of the three radiopaque materials thus far employed in radiography of the airway 1-4 have been that:
Tantalum radiography in otolaryngology.
More than 50 patients with various lesions of the upper respiratory tract and two healthy volunteers were studied roentgenographically using powdered tantalum (1μ to 5μ) insufflated via catheter or intermittent positive pressure breathing apparatus, or both, after topical anesthesia with 5% cocaine and premedication with intramuscular atropine sulfate. Single frame and cine-radiographic studies demonstrated details of airway mucosa and were of assistance in deciding the appropriate course of therapy in most patients. Powdered tantalum may be an ideal radio-opaque contrast material in radiography of the upper respiratory tract and has potential as a research and clinical tool in otolaryngology.
Value of soft-tissue technic in the diagnosis and treatment of head and neck tumors.
The progress in the management of malignant neoplasms of the head and neck has been brought about by a better understanding of the clinical aspects. It has also been demonstrated that a more accurate knowledge of the point of origin and extent of the tumor is necessary before any treatment is instituted. The usual clinical methods remain the basis of the diagnosis but often they do not determine the true degree of extension of the lesion. In some instances, as in tumors of the nasopharynx, the most careful examination will fail to reveal the primary lesion, and in many cases of laryngopharyngeal tumors, the examination may be so difficult that it yields little information. In 1922, Coutard (3) devised and developed the roentgenographic examination of the pharynx and larynx by means of a profile plate. Later on, the discovery of tomography furnished a complementary method. The foreign radiological literature, mainly the French, has dealt extensively with the roentgenologic diagnosis of tumors of the soft t...