Today's Medical Knowledge. Evolution of Data Exchange between Tradition and Globalization

The authors historically review bibliographic research concepts and define globalization in time. Moreover, recent free online data exchange is important in terms of medical progress, scientific updating and patient-care improving. In the author's opinion, data globalization is favoring medical knowledge flow even more. The concept of a traditional library has radically changed over time, gradually missing their pivotal role in research activity. To date, the birth of the Internet and its sudden development has given a great boost to the spread of worldwide information, quickly and cheaply. Nevertheless, besides the advantages, the Internet also hides misleading risks. In this paper, the professional Medline source is compared to common Internet sources. The authors state that Internet sources have a great importance in the spread of medical knowledge. They conclude, however, that the risk of too much available information could lead to a decrease in quality.

[Recent progress in the treatment of lower limb defects]

Technological and reconstructive surgical procedures improvments are limiting demolitive interventions on the lower limb for common pathologies and traumatology. From 1999 to 2002, 32 men and 14 women, from 18 to 54 years-old, were admitted at the Operative Unit of Plastic Surgery of ASL RMH. They were grouped according to cause and site of extremity defects and different surgical techniques. Seven cross-leg flaps, 31 proximity flaps, and 18 skin grafts were performed. The results were satisfactory except in two cases. The Authors are oriented towards the cross-leg flap for foot repair. For other anatomical districts, they prefer muscular flaps covered by skin grafts. Finally, for neoplastic lesions they choose proximity flaps.