Random + Weird Medical Stuff

Posted by: lavendarbliss on: January 23, 2009

• In: Medical | School
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Today we had an OB/GYN lecture us on female urinary incontinence. She was pretty funny, and halfway through the lecture when she noticed that some of our eyes were glazing over, she told us quite an interesting story:

One day she had a patient coming in who complained of symptoms consistent with stress incontinence. Upon physical exam, it was discovered that she had a cervical prolapse (basically your cervix is expelled from your vagina…you can look up pictures if you’re really curious, but I’m warning you that it’s pretty gross). When the doctor told her about her condition, the patient said that her mom had told her to put a potato in her vagina. The doctor was like…what?!? So she researched it and found out that up until the early 1900′s, women who had had multiple childbirths and had cervical prolapses would stick a potato up their vagina. The potato would basically hold the vagina up and keep it from popping out of the body. And lo and behold…that’s where the idea of the modern day pessary came from.

Ewww..but hey at least it’s organic and environmentally friendly.

Other tidbits from the lecture:

Did you know that there’s such a thing as an anal and clitoral wink? I’m totally not making this up. An anal wink is a reflex contraction of the external anal sphincter when one strokes the area surrounding it. Similarly, a clitoral wink is a contraction of the anal sphincter as well, but this time it is elicited by tapping or squeezing the clitoris. (The OB/GYN joked that we should probably warn our patients that we’re about to do this procedure, as it might cause some discomfort and embarrassment . Ha, ya think?)

I was flipping through my Epocrates alerts and saw an interesting article about popular holiday medical myths that were debunked. Among them were:

1. Sugar causes hyperactivity in children.

2. Poinsettias causes toxicity (I’ve never actually heard of this one before).

3. Nocturnal feasting makes you fat (Your weight depends on your total caloric intake in a day. There is no time component to it).

4. You can cure a hangover with..___ (There is no good cure to a hangover, contrary to claims made by many a person. Of course, if something seems to make it better, then by all means do it, but it’s probably just a placebo effect. And please…the LAST thing you want to do is take acetaminophen for a hangover!!)

You can read the full article here.

Lastly..as I wrote in my last post, I’ve started preparing for the Step 1 exam. A lot of medical school is just rote memorization, and the best way to memorize things is through mnemonics. Here are some of my personal favorite:

For the bones in your wrist: Some Lovers Try Positions That They Can’t Handle

Scaphoid

Lunate

Triquetrum

Pisiform

Trapezium

Trapezoid

Capitate

Hamate

For the functions of the 12 cranial nerve’s-they will either be sensory, motor, or both

Some Say Marry for Money But My Brother Says Big Boobs Matter More

In line with the cranial nerve’s…here’s a tip to help you remember the names

Oh Oh Oh To Touch And Feel A Gentle Virgin AH

Olfactory nerve

Optic n.

Oculomotor n.

Trochlear n.

Trigeminal n.

Abducens n.

Facial n.

Auditory vestibular n.

Glossopharyngeal n.

Vagus n.

Spinal Accessory n.

Hypoglossal n.

Branches of the axillary artery: Screw The Lawyer, Save A Patient (SO TRUE!!)

Superior Thoracic artery

Thoraco-Acromial artery

Lateral Thoracic artery

Suprascapular artery

Anterior circumflex artery

Posterior circumflex artery

Do you have trouble remember what innervates erection and ejaculation? Just remember, Point and Shoot i.e. the parasympathetic branch of the autonomic nervous system and the sympathetic branch.

That’s all the ones that I can think of for now…will update if I find other good ones.

Tags: Med school, Medical Myths, Mnemonic, USMLE