Comments on: Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #200: A Medical Review, part 2 (The Joker)

By: I love “Polite Dissent” | Diane Duane's weblog: "Out of Ambit"

I love “Polite Dissent” | Diane Duane's weblog: "Out of Ambit" — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 21:37:22 +0000

[...] …for rigorous medicine applied to that often non-medically-rigorous venue, the comics. The most recent example, quoted at length (and there’s more at source — I trimmed it a little): [...]

By: Chris Stuurman

Chris Stuurman — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 15:17:17 +0000

>I thought Joker was completely immune to his own toxin? Must be one of those “varies by writer” things.

I was wondering that myself…

By: Josh

Josh — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 23:48:00 +0000

It’s also referred to as “adrenaline” by non-medical folks, so the writer could just as easily have been an American, but one without medical training.

By: Sean Duggan

Sean Duggan — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 12:26:27 +0000

Of course, given this is Batman, it’s also entirely possible that the entire ER scene was faked for the benefit of the Joker, who was going to revive on dramatic license anyhow.

We had an article at work recently about the “automatic defibrillators” being installed and indeed, they tell you to use it in the case of no pulse. Admittedly, a) the layman might mistake weak or intermittent pulse for no pulse and otherwise might forgo treatment when he ought to and b) I’ve heard that these automated machines actually do have routines for trying to stimulate the heart, not as good as the proper treatment but again better than nothing.

By: Mr. B

Mr. B — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 23:00:09 +0000

—–Note to self: Do not seek emergency medical care in Gotham City. Hold it until you reach Metropolis.—–

Laughed so loud that I startled my dog, out of a dead asleep.

By: Wolverine

Wolverine — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 20:42:02 +0000

Nick F: Yeah, but you cannot treat the medicine in Firefly (cca 23rd century or so) the same way as in Batman, which is supposed to take place (or time) just about now. I remember reading serious theory about gun shot inoculation in Firefly :)

By: Nick F.

Nick F. — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 20:21:20 +0000

Shot to the Heart was done on the Sci-Fi show Firefly too, (”Out of Gas”)

By: Johnny B

Johnny B — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 18:49:59 +0000

Thanks, Scott! Learn something new every day.

By: Scott

Scott — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 13:31:47 +0000

Johnny B,

Ideally, you’ll have an IV line in place and can inject the epinephrine that way. Some medications, including epinephrine, can be given down an endotracheal tube, but that does take a larger dose.

If you don’t have an IV line or endotracheal tube…then you best get one fast.

By: Jayunderscorezero

Jayunderscorezero — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 13:30:30 +0000

“Gotham General” might actually make for a great “Gotham Central”-type series. They could even combine the two into one for a “Third Watch: Gotham” kind of thing.

Unlikely, perhaps, but not a bad idea.