Funtabulously Frivolous Friday Five 054
Just when you thought your brain could unwind on a Friday, you realise that it would rather be challenged with some good old fashioned medical trivia FFFF, introducing the Funtabulously Frivolous Friday Five 054
Question 1
Some have suggested that David was able to kill Goliath because the giant had poor peripheral vision. What unifying diagnosis might explain this?
Reveal the funtabulous answer
A growth hormone secreting pituitary adenoma would account for Goliath’s stature. Compression of the the optic chiasm by the tumour would account for a bitemporal hemianopia. Also, the frontal bone is thinner in acromegaly due to enlargement of the frontal sinuses — thus making the afflicted more prone to intracranial injury a hurled stone. Poor Goliath…
- Berginer VM. Neurological aspects of the David-Goliath battle: restriction in the giant’s visual field. Isr Med Assoc J. 2000 Sep;2(9):725-7. PMID: 11062784. [fulltext] (source of the image below)
Question 2
What tropical disease did Homer call Dog Star fever?
Reveal the funtabulous answer
Malaria [source: The Fever by Soniah Shah]
The Dog Star is more correctly known as Sirius. It is the brightest star in the sky and part of the Canis Major constellation. The heliacal rising of Sirius marked the flooding of the Nile in Ancient Egypt and the “dog days” of summer for the ancient Greeks, while to the Polynesians it marked winter and was an important star for navigation around the Pacific Ocean. [adapted from Wikipedia]
Question 3
What was the Lowenstein splint?
Reveal the funtabulous answer
An external penile splint designed to allow ‘intromission’ of a flaccid penis in cases of impotence (developed in 1947).
Question 4
What is Rigler’s triad?
Reveal the funtabulous answer
Rigler’s triad consists of three findings seen in gallstone ileus. These are: pneumobilia, small bowel obstruction, and an ectopic gallstone — usually in right iliac fossa. Rigler’s triad should not be confused with Rigler sign or the Hoffman-Rigler sign.
Leo George Rigler (1896-1979) was a leader in the development of academic radiology, and did as much as anyone to develop American diagnostic radiology into the clinically oriented consultative specialty it is today…
Question 5
What was ‘kibyo’, first noted in Minamata Bay in Japan in the 1950s?
Reveal the funtabulous answer
Mercury poisoning, also known as Minamata disease!
Minamata disease was first discovered in Minamata city in 1956. It was caused by the release of methylmercury in the industrial wastewater from the Chisso Corporation’s chemical factory. The chemical bioaccumulated in local shellfish and fish and resulted in the poisoning of over 2000 officially recognised victims (most of whom died as a result). About 10,000 people received financial compensation.
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Funtabulously Frivolous Friday Five
