Can You Make the Diagnosis?
October 26th, 2009
It’s time for three more case studies to determine if you’d be a good doctor in a super-hero world. So put on your thinking caps and your diagnostic head mirrors and see if you can make the correct diagnosis.
The previous case studies and a bit more an explanation can be found at Dr. Scott’s Case Studies of Comic Book Medicine
Case Study #11: The patient is a male of indeterminate age who complains of brief episodes of intense central abdominal pain. He rates the pain an 8 (on a scale of 1-10) and each episode lasts fifteen to thirty seconds. He has had the symptoms for the past 1-2 weeks and the pain in getting worse every day. He denies any nausea or vomiting; no fever or diarrhea. He is a heavy drinker and a heavy smoker.
A. Strychnine poisoning
B. Peptic ulcer
C. Alien embryo
D. Appendicitis
E. Ruptured spleen
A. Strychnine poisoning
B. Peptic ulcer
C. Alien embryo
D. Appendicitis
E. Ruptured spleen
Case Study #12: This patient is a thirty year-old female who recently started a new high-stress job after being let go by her previous employer. She complains of several weeks of severe headaches. The pain comes on suddenly and is described as completely debilitating. She denies nausea or photophobia, but notes a feeling of intense weakness. She denies any premonitory aura. She reports that her headaches are so intense that the pain will render her completely unconscious for several hours. She remains tired for several hours after awakening.
A. Migraine Headache
B. Emergence of an alternate personality
C. Tension (stress) headache
D. Repeated psychic attacks
E. Complex partial seizure
A. Migraine Headache
B. Emergence of an alternate personality
C. Tension (stress) headache
D. Repeated psychic attacks
E. Complex partial seizure
Case Study #13: An elderly woman comes in your office complaining of increasing weakness over the past several months. It has become difficult for her to complete her normal activities around the house due to this weakness as she has started dropping dishes and at times has difficulty standing up. Her past medical history is significant for heart disease and a recent anemia which required a transfusion to correct. She is a non-smoker. She eats a healthy diet, but gets little exercise.
A. Parkinson’s Disease
B. Anemia
C. Heart failure
D. Radiation poisoning
E. Soul used in a black magic rite
A. Parkinson’s Disease
B. Anemia
C. Heart failure
D. Radiation poisoning
E. Soul used in a black magic rite
October 26th, 2009 at 6:54 pm
Case Study #13 was interesting: as soon as I read “elderly woman”, I knew it was Aunt May, and then the option that mentioned radioactivity was the only possibility, because Aunt May = Spiderman = radioactive stuff. The transfusion then became the obvious clue linking the two. It’s interesting because of what it says about comics: that elderly woman are even rarer than non-evil psychiatrists. The demographics of comics populations are seriously skewed.
October 26th, 2009 at 6:55 pm
(Which is not to say that I disagree with the general principle that psychiatrists are evil, of course!)
October 27th, 2009 at 12:21 am
What’s even rarer is any fictional source anywhere getting the distinction between psychiatrists and psychologists right.
I still like Doc Samson, though.
October 27th, 2009 at 8:23 am
Ha, two out of three! I’m clearly qualified. But, as my friend points out, not quite ready to be the world’s best neuro/plastic/cardiothoracic surgeon. Damn you, Hush.
October 27th, 2009 at 3:09 pm
Case #11: I wonder if the pain is related to the specific alien species. When Kane is inoculated with alien eggs in Alien (the movie), he does not feel pain, he even eats normally and have excellent mood (if I remember well, the egg hatches when he is laughing).
Case #12: Reminded me so much of the complaints of the narrator guy in Fight Club.
October 27th, 2009 at 9:15 pm
I figured it was Aunt May, too, but for that reason assumed it was her heart again. Clearly I would be a poor choice for a comic book doctor.
October 27th, 2009 at 11:39 pm
Two out of three for me, too. And even though I went for Black Magic, I also realized it had to be Aunt May. The only other old ladies I can think of are Ma Hunkel and Martha Kent!
October 28th, 2009 at 9:10 am
You are all forgetting about Miss Senter, the victim of the Beauty Butcher (http://www.politedissent.com/archives/3137)
October 28th, 2009 at 12:14 pm
Only one out of three for me, the Aunt May one. I thought the first one was going to be one of the fake-outs you throw in sometimes.
October 29th, 2009 at 9:34 am
Interestingly, I guessed the right answer and the right character for 12, but in relation to current events instead of her 80s series.
Which must say something about the “creativity” of her current title.
November 1st, 2009 at 9:38 pm
Ha, got the last two after I read the whole “comic-book doctor” part. In any real situation for Case Study #11, my bet would be on a peptic ulcer, though.
November 24th, 2009 at 5:32 pm
[...] Scott’s Case Studies of Comic Book Medicine. More here. [...]
Leave a Reply
Contact Me
About
Subscribe:
The Best Of...
Special Topics
Archives
Categories
Twitter
Comic Blogs
Medical/Science Blogs
Currently Reading
Arbitrarily Interesting Medical Condition
Syndrome
The Net:
Contents may have settled during shipping. Past results are no guarantee of future performance. No animals were harmed during the production of this product. Void where prohibited by law. All rights reserved. Not valid with other offers or specials. Professional driver on a closed track. Your financial institution may impose other fees. All models are over 18 years of age. Employees must wash hands before returning to work. Results not typical. Many suitcases look alike. 18% gratuity added to tables of six or more.
Do not taunt Happy Fun Ball.
© 2004-2010 Polite Dissent. Powered by WordPress