1. A forty-nine-year-old man had a chondrosarcoma arising from the body of the seventh thoracic vertebra. The tumour protruded into the mediastinum and also into the spinal canal where it displaced the spinal cord.

2. At operation all the seventh thoracic vertebra and parts of the sixth and eighth were removed together with the tumour. The thoracic spine was reconstructed by inserting two iliac bone-blocks between the cut bodies of the sixth and eighth vertebrae and by wiring two strong "A. O." plates to the transverse processes of the third to the sixth and the eighth to the tenth vertebrae.

3. The patient was nursed in a plaster-of-Paris bed for three and a half months.

4. One year and three months after operation, the patient was walking and well, with no signs of recurrence or metastasis. Radiographs showed that a block-vertebra had been created from the iliac grafts and the two cut vertebrae.

1. A twenty-six-year-old woman was paraplegic because of a benign giant-cell tumour which had destroyed the body of the twelfth thoracic vertebra completely and the bodies of the eleventh thoracic and first lumbar vertebrae partially. The tumour had expanded into both pleural cavities and displaced the aorta forward and to the left. The extent and topography of the tumour were evaluated before operation by angiography. The function of the spinal cord had not been improved significantly by laminectomy. It was therefore decided to attempt extirpation of the tumour by removing all remaining parts of the three vertebrae involved.

2. After the removal of the tumour, only the spinal cord with the thecal sac bridged the gap between the tenth thoracic and second lumbar vertebrae. The gap was bridged with struts of cortical bone from both tibiae and with two strong plates, all secured with steel wire. The metal was removed five months later because it had become loose. Gradual shortening and angulation of the spine then occurred, together with progressive resorption of the cortical grafts. Nevertheless, the operation restored the function of the spinal cord; the patient regained ability to walk and full control of the bladder.

1. Five cases of pseudomalignant osseous tumour of soft tissue are reported.

2. Clinical and histological observations suggest that this lesion is a reactive condition initiated by an infection.

3. Tomography is helpful in demonstrating the characteristic peripheral ossification around non-ossified central regions of the lesion.

1. The pathological anatomy of total rupture of the ulnar collateral ligament of the metacarpo-phalangeal joint of the thumb has been studied at operation in thirty-nine patients.

2. It has been found that the ligament, when ruptured distally (the most usual type) is often displaced so that the ulnar expansion of the dorsal aponeurosis–here referred to as the adductor aponeurosis–becomes interposed between the ruptured end of the ligament and the site of its attachment on the phalanx; the ligament gets folded over to a greater or lesser extent and the ruptured end sticks out beyond the proximal edge of the adductor aponeurosis. Such displacement of the ligament with interposition of the adductor aponeurosis was found in twenty-five of the thirty-nine cases. The ligament may also be displaced without the adductor aponeurosis being interposed (with a gap between the ruptured end and the site of itsattachment on the phalanx).

3. Variations in the pathological anatomy are illustrated by more detailed descriptions of nine cases. In one of these the adductor aponeurosis had got caught between the two surfaces of the joint, and in another the adductor aponeurosis was found ruptured as well as the ulnar collateral ligament.

4. On the basis of dissection studies on forty-two fresh post-mortem specimens, a rational explanation is given of the pathological anatomy.

5. The results of the present investigation on clinical and anatomical material provide a strong argument in favour of operative treatment for total rupture of the ulnar collateral ligament of the metacarpo-phalangeal joint of the thumb.

6. Aspects of diagnosis and operative technique are discussed.

A case of complete rupture of the axillary artery in a man aged eighty-seven is described. The injury occurred in connection with an antero-inferior dislocation of the shoulder. It is not known whether the rupture was caused by the dislocation itself or by the reduction. A successful suture of the artery was performed. A review of the literature is given, and earlier attempts to suture the artery in cases of this type are noted. The indications for this operation are discussed.