Funtabulously Frivolous Friday Five 147
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 279
Question 1
Fancy a change of career, how about becoming an Iri? What would that involve?
Reveal the funtabulous answer
An Iri is a Shepherd of the Anus.
The first mention of enemas was in Ancient Egypt c 1550 BC. One of the medical specialists of the time was an Iri who administered enemas. If you were good at your job you could progress to the “Keeper of the Royal Rectum” and make the royal enema. [Reference]
The only city in the world to have an enema statue is in Russia – Inozemtseva. The $42000 sculpture is held up by 4 angels.
Question 2
What do chickens have to do with advanced life support?
Reveal the funtabulous answer
The theory of counter shock
Peter Christian Abildgaard (1740-1801), a Danish veterinarian and physician demonstrated that f he gave an electrical shock to a hen it would become lifeless, only come back to life with a “counter shock” and fly off
...with a shock to the head, [a hen] was rendered lifeless, and arose with a second shock to the chest; however, after the experiment was repeated rather often, the hen was completely stunned, walked with some difficulty, and did not eat for a day and night; then later it was very well and even laid an egg.
Tentamina electrica in animalibus instituta
- Abildgaard PC. Tentamina electrica in animalibus instituta. Societatis Medicae Havniensis Collectanea. 1775; 2: 157-161 [Translation: Driscol et al 1975]
- Cakulev I, Efimov IR, Waldo AL. Cardioversion: past, present, and future. Circulation. 2009 Oct 20;120(16):1623-32
- Eponymythology. History of the Electrocardiogram
- Eponymythology. History of cardiopulmonary resuscitation
Question 3
What is Lazarus syndrome and how many times has it been documented in the medical literature since 1982?
Reveal the funtabulous answer
Auto resuscitation after failed CPR.
38 accounts since 1982
One hypothesis is the buildup of pressure in the chest as a result of CPR, for example, hyperventilation in an asthmatic. Once this pressure releases the heart gets venous return, coronary blood flow and electrical impulses continue.
One patient in Mississippi was found alive in the funeral home the next day, believed to have been resuscitated by his ICD. [Reference]
Question 4
What did the Incan army use as an ‘energiser‘?
Reveal the funtabulous answer
- Cocaine [Reference]
Question 5
What was phossy jaw?
Reveal the funtabulous answer
Phosphorous induce necrosis of the jaw seen in matchworkers of the 19th century due to their exposure to the white phosphorus.
Chronic exposure to the white phosphorous vapour caused deposits in the jaw bones leading to swelling of the gums and eventually jaw abscesses.
The jawbones would eventually rot away with a foul smell and glow greenish-white in the dark. If the jaw was not removed eventual death would occur from organ failure.
“Bis-phossy jaw” is the nickname given to the rare osteonecrosis of the jaw seen with bisphosphonate use. [Reference]
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Funtabulously Frivolous Friday Five
Dr Neil Long BMBS FACEM FRCEM FRCPC. Emergency Physician at Kelowna hospital, British Columbia. Loves the misery of alpine climbing and working in austere environments (namely tertiary trauma centres). Supporter of FOAMed, lifelong education and trying to find that elusive peak performance.