Rotator Cuff Tear

In the images on the left you can see examples of rotator cuff tears. In the image on the right, the red arrow is pointing to the tear in this MRI image. The white area is the actuall tear in the tendon.

Rotator cuff tears in volve one or more of the four tendons of the rotator cuff muscles. The tear will likely occur at the point of attachment to the tubercle of the humerus bone.

Rotator cuff tears are the most common of shoulder injuries, the supraspinatus muscle being the on the giving the most trouble.

Often rotator cuff tears will present with little or no pain, and have no symtoms at all. The most obvious cause of these tears are aging and degeneration related to age.

Diagnosing may be difficult as symtoms may be intermittent or only present when active. Pain may be mild to severe with some possible weakness. An MRI would be the modality of choice to prove the rotator cuff tear, with surgical resection to follow.

Ovarian Cyst

An ovarian cyst is a fluid filled sac found on the ovaries, these cysts can be anywhere from the size of a pea, to the size of a basketball as seen in the image on the left middle with the Dr's hands on it. Most ovarian cysts are benign in nature and basically harmless.

The picture on the top left is a diagram of the fallopian tubes and ovaries with
a cyst on the left ovary. The cyst can be seen as the enlarged white sphere on the left ovary.

Below is a CT scan of an ovarian cyst. There are actually 2 cysts marked by arrows. The cysts ore a little darker and on either side of the uterus which is lighter in color and larger in diameter.

Ovarian cysts can cause some problems, and need to be removed if larger than 5 centimeters.

Some of the symtoms ovarian cysts may cause are, lower abdomen pain in the form of a dull aching pain, sudden severe pain that may be intermittent or canstant in nature. A woman may feel bloated and full, have tender breast, weight gain, tired all the time, nausea, vomitting, and trouble with bowel movements.

Treatment can range from nothing for small ovarian cysts that cause little or no problem, to surgical removal if large enough to cause problems. Sometimes the ovary can be salvaged and other times it may need to be removed with the cyst. A ruptured cyst may cause infection and a whole other array of problems.

Acute Appendicitis

An appendicitis is basically an appendix that is inflamed, and or infected. It is always a medical emergency. An inflamed appendix has a very high mortality rate if not promptly treated. The image on the left shows the large intestine or colon with the appendix marked and labeled at the cecal portion of the colon where the illeum or terminating end of the small intestine and colon come together. It is the small diameter structure hanging down from the colon.

While the image just below shows a CT

study with oral and IV contrast used to highlite structures within the abdomen. On the left side of the image, which is the right side of the patient, you can see an arrow pointing to a white circle with a dark center which in fact is the inflamed appendix.

Symptoms of an appendicitis are, pain in the right lower abdomen, fever as well as a loss of appetite accompanied by nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and an elevated white blood count..

Palpating the area can cause intense pain, and upon releasing pressure applied during palpation can also cause intense pain. Removal of the inflamed appenix is always the treatment of choice.