A French Dr. Cox

Another French Med Student. (thus sorry for my clumsy English) I freakin love Anatomy.

[frenchcox]

Unfortunately, TSS may manifest differently in different patients. TSS should be considered in many situations, especially the following:

Systemic illness plus a diffuse blanchable erythematous rash.

Younger person initially develops a gastroenteritis-like illness and subsequently progresses to septic shock without alternative explanation.

Severe focal soft tissue pain out of proportion to examination plus systemic toxicity (e.g., high fever or elevated shock index).

Peripartum septic shock.

Septic shock due to proven or probable Group A streptococcal infection (e.g., cellulitis, necrotizing fasciitis), with sepsis severity out of proportion to the infectious source.

[post-it-note-medicine-blog]

ATOMIC - an acronym for remembering the six causes of breathing problems that should be noted on the primary survey in a trauma patient.

A. airway obstruction T. tension pneumothorax O. open pneumothorax M. massive haemothorax I. intercostal disruption - i.e. flail chest where a set of ribs have detached and are floating free in the chest. An indicator of severe chest trauma.  C. cardiac tamponade

The fluffy things in the collapsed lung are clouds. It’s meant to signify that there’s air in there. I’m not sure how successful that was…

[ilovecharts]

Time Management

Gustave Flaubert enjoyed a light breakfast of eggs, veggies, fruit, cheese and hot chocolate in the morning, Charles Darwin liked to take a walk right after he woke up, Vladimir Nabokov had to have his nap at noon. 

Are you spending your day as efficiently as these geniuses?

[frenchcox]

Winston Churchill, getting out of bed to drink whisky. The dream life. :D

[design-is-fine]

John Alcorn, poster artwork for pharmaceutical company, 60s-70s. USA

[frenchcox]

Luschka's law states that -in most cases- the right ureter crosses the external iliac artery, while the left ureter crosses the common iliac artery (mainly because the whole "aorta block" is lateralized on the left).

Yep, I should be studying genetics, but I'm so utterly bored that I'm thinking about useless anatomic laws instead.

[medxclusive]

Learn about the Brain in 2015! #Happy New Year

[frenchcox]

I've always been looking for a good image to explain what the diencephalon was (compared to the other most visible parts of the brain), which is especially difficult to understand for a beginner. Thanks :-)

[jedavu]

True Fact Medical Posters

Pâté studio have created an advertising print series for medical center discovery UK channel. An smart and graphic artwork that learn us some true facts about our bodies and its working illustrated by double meanings drawings. 

[medicowesome]

Hello! Your blog is very helpful and amazing! I was wondering... Do you have any advice for a medstudent who is currently finding herself in a state of overwhelmed (I have a anatomy exam soon) and is slowly beginning to lose hope? It would be much appreciated, thank you!

Hello!

Medicine does get overwhelming. Mostly because no matter how much you study, you will always feel under prepared. It’s normal to feel this way.

But don’t let it get to you. This part is important because if you feel hopeless, you won’t work as much as you should and the guilt will feedback. You need to break the cycle and focus on what’s in front of you. There is always hope.

Take a deep breath. Say this aloud - "I’ve got this. I can do this."

Exercise. Exercise gives you endorphins. Endorphins make you happy. Happy people kill exams! (Do 20 jumps right now and then read further :D )

Laugh. It’s a mature defense mechanism. You’ll learn it in psychology. (Another reason for you to survive anatomy right now - so you can read new things next year!)

Acknowledge that you’re stressed, laugh about it and be okay with it. Or pretend to be. Fake it till you make it. (PS: If you fake laughter, you’ll end up laughing for real.)

Smile. Look at this smiley (: It’s smiling at you, please smile back!

Laughing and smiling alone is a HUGE stress buster.

Sing songs you like. Maybe, “Let it go” from Frozen. Let go of anxiety and fear. My first year stress buster song was, “Tonight tonight” by Hot Chelle Rae.

Listen to music. I used to listen to “Bad situation” by Toshiro Masuda. It’s a soundtrack from Naruto and I would imagine myself being a total bad-ass during the paper.

Imagine. Picture yourself reading the questions, knowing things are writing with lightning speed. It fires your neuronal pathways. And you attract it! ^__^

Look at the bigger picture. When I am in a state of anxiety, I step back and analyze. I try to look beyond my current situation. We are made up of stardust, in a huge unexplored universe. We have infinite potential within us. There are interesting and vital questions beyond the reach of test tubes and equations. There is so much wonder. You are not just studying - You’re exploring amazing facts about the human body. It’s a beautiful adventure. Enjoy it (:

"Oh exams? Yeah, they happen now and then. I just need to show what I’ve learnt to the examiners so they can let me learn more things."

Feeling better?

Alright, anatomy to go! B)

Start revising things you are comfortable with, things you have studied before, the super important questions. The more you finish revising, the better you feel!

Try recollecting whatever you can about the topic before you start reading. This helps you know what you don’t know and you can focus on that. Skip what you know. But if the inability to recall freaks you out, abandon this. Breathe. Simply read.

You can also try looking for short term mnemonics. Remember for a day and forget after exams.

If you’re too tired reading, draw rough diagrams. Call this as your break time. You are not supposed to hard core study - just draw. Relax. Pretend you are Leonardo da vinci.

Drink lots of water. When your brain is functioning on a full reserve of water, you will be able to think faster, be more focused, and experience greater clarity and creativity. You’ll also have to go to the loo at lot of times and it gives you guilt free mini breaks :D

All the very best for your exam. You’ll rock this. I believe in you. Trust yourself and go give the exam! You will do great.

Let us know how it goes!

Don’t forget to stay awesome.

[frenchcox]

This is such a great and inspiring answer!

[themidwifeisin]

Just read the 2n trimester abortion post. Thanks you for letting everyone know what's involved. But it didn't mention one of the most important points. How is the fetus' life terminated?

Everyone ready for some straightforward facts?

For fetuses up to 24 weeks of pregnancy, there is no need to “terminate” the fetus’ life, since the removal of it from the uterus is sufficient.  It won’t cry, it won’t even try to live if you separate it from the womb.  It cannot even begin to sustain itself.

Occasionally there are situations where instead of opting for a surgical procedure, parents will decide to do what is called a “Stillbirth induction.”  This is only employed in wanted pregnancies in which something has forced the parents to terminate - a fetal anomaly, an accident during the pregnancy, broken amniotic sac, etc.  If this is occurring close to the date of “viability” (24 wks), the practitioner may decide to do a “KCL” injection.  KCL is Potassium Chloride, the chemical used in lethal injection.  It is injected through the pregnant person’s abdomen directly into the fetus’ chest cavity to stop the beat of the heart.  After that labor is induced so that they will pass the fetus without surgery.

Why do this?  In some situations healthcare providers are required to provide resuscitation to a fetus if there is even an attempt at breath.  Why is that a bad thing?  Some thoughts:

Fetuses born at that gestational age rarely survive.  Why force that baby to spend their last moments being stuck with wires and charged with electric shocks instead of being loved by their parents?

Even passed the date of “viability” many fetuses/babies don’t survive.  They have quick, painful lives.  This is away to spare them that.

And if they do survive?  The capillaries (minuscule blood vessels) in their brains are so fragile that they cannot always withstand the pressure of birth or even life, and they sustain significant brain damage.

Below the cut are photos from the NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit) of babies born just passed the cusp of “viability.”  See what kind of a life this is:

Read More

[medxclusive]

© usmlenotes.tumblr.com

[frenchcox]

Didn't know this syndrome until today. Now, I've learn it, and I'll try to remember. Thanks a lot. :)

[biologysamazingworld]

Etymological Maps Of The Brain

source

[cacajao]

What about the Arbor Vitae of the cerebellum? It means “Tree of Life”.

[frenchcox]

Anatomical etymology is sometimes so weird and funny, sometimes so beautiful. If you try to understand it, it can be really interesting, AND it will make it easier to remember Anatomy, because everything is logical. :)

[medicowesome]

Hello! This post focuses only on boundaries of various triangles in the neck. Let’s do this!

Anterior triangle -

Submental triangle mnemonic: “CHIN” C: Chin is the apex H: Hyoid bone is the base IN: In between digastrics (Sides)

Digastric triangle mnemonic: “MANDible” M: Mastoid and mandible is base. A: Anterior N: N (And) posterior belly of D: Digastric

Carotid triangle mnemonic: “SO PDFS” SO: Superior belly of Omohyoid PD: Posterior belly of Digastric FS: Front of Sternocleidomastoid

Muscular triangle mnemonic: “MuSCular” M: Median line of the neck S: Superior belly of omohyoid SC: Sternocleidomastoid

Posterior triangle -

Occipital triangle mnemonic: “OCcipital Triangle” O: Omohyoid C: sternoCleidomastoid T: Trapezius

Supraclavicular triangle mnemonic: “SupraClavicular-o!” S: Sternocleidomastoid C: Clavicle O: Omohyoid

That’s all! -IkaN

[frenchcox]

Very helpful to learn the anatomy of the neck. I like the drawing!

[intrainingdoc]

The Clothes Make the Doctor

Often, a physician’s first step in building a positive relationship with patients is figuring out what to wear.

"I didn’t care what the doctor looked like—or so I thought, until a woman clicked into the room in stilettos and a tailored expensive-looking suit."

[frenchcox]

An interesting perspective. "Ne quid nimis".

[magictransistor]

Leonardo Da Vinci. Anatomical Drawings. 

[emtgio]

Today’s (QUICK) lesson, we cover subdural hematoma! So basically, its a collection of blood on top of the brain. As for the nice little GIF above, that entire jello-like goo is one huge blood clot! Which interestingly enough was caused by a needle sized leak. Generally a patient will show Cushing Reflex who is in the deep terminal stage of trauma. Generally it will show as a huge number in your BP, a reduction of the heart rate, and irregular respirations.

[biomedicalephemera]

Gross Pathology of Melanoma Tumor of the Brain

Melanoma is a cancer of the melanocytes (pigmented cells). While the majority of melanocytes are in the basal layer of the epidermis, giving us our skin pigment, they also exist in the meninges, uvea (in the eyes), inner ear, bones, and colon. As most melanomas are a result of UV radiation damage of melanocytes, the skin is the most common origin of this form of cancer. However, any melanocyte can give rise to it.

While most skin cancers are survivable and detectable, melanomas originating in the skin are the most deadly, causing 75% of all deaths related to skin cancer. Their 5-year survival rate is still over 91% if treated early, however. When not treated in a timely manner, or when originating elsewhere in the body, melanomas frequently spread to the thyroid, brain, and colon.

Reeve Collection at the National Museum of Health. Date unknown.

[frenchcox]

I've seen the case of a patient with a nasal cavity melanoma, treated by radiotherapy. They didn't know if the sparse melanocytes found in the brain were healthy local cells of the menines or cancerous cells dispersed by the radiotherapy.

[randommomentsdevida]

My notes from Dubin + classes with lots of ekg examples. :) 

[mynotes4usmle]

This summary is amazing, sweetie!!! T H A N K S ! ! ! ! :) I’ve already saved it and I’m gonna print it like right now!

Guys, go & download it!

[frenchcox]

<3

[frenchcox]

10 Osler-isms to Remember in Your Daily Practice

Here are some random quotes from Osler, ten for the day:

1. “Throw away all ambition beyond that of doing the day’s work well. The travelers on the road to success live in the present, heedless of taking thought for the morrow. Live neither in the past nor in the future, but let each day’s work absorb your entire energies, and satisfy your wildest ambition.” 

Given the current popularity of “staying in the moment” and meditation, Osler was way ahead of his time.

2. “Medicine is learned by the bedside and not in the classroom. Let not your conceptions of disease come from the words heard in the lecture room or read from the book. See and then reason and compare and control. But see first.” 

There is a danger that our learning is becoming more and more didactic, almost pre-Flexnerian! Osler’s advice holds true. Or as Andrew Elder, our visiting professor likes to say, the bedside is where the patient is!

3. “A physician who treats himself has a fool for a patient.” 

4. “The young doctor should look about early for an avocation, a pastime, that will take him away from patients, pills, and potions”. 

Take time to smell the roses, if you will.

5. “Nothing will sustain you more potently than the power to recognize in your humdrum routine, as perhaps it may be thought, the true poetry of life—the poetry of the commonplace, of the plain, toil-worn woman, with their loves and their joys, their sorrows and their griefs.” 

More about mindfulness.

6. “I desire no other epitaph…than the statement that I taught medical students in the wards, as I regard this as by far the most useful and important work that I have been called upon to do.” 

7. “One finger in throat and one in the rectum makes a good diagnostician.” 

Or as some of our surgical professors were fond of saying, “If you don’t put your finger in you will put your foot in.”

8. “It is astonishing with how little reading a doctor can practice medicine, but it is not astonishing how badly he may do it.” 

Indeed, read. Medicine is a forever changing art.

9. “The practice of medicine is an art, not a trade; a calling, not a business; a calling in which your heart will be exercised equally with your head.”

10. “To study the phenomena of disease without books is to sail an uncharted sea, while to study books without patients is not to go to sea at all.” 

Very inspirational.