In medical school I learned the first rule of surgery: "Eat when you can, sleep when you can, and don't mess with the pancreas." It may seem funny that the pancreas, of all organs, is held in such high regard by surgeons. What would make it as notable to them as eating and sleeping? As…...

One of the funniest "vanity" license plates I've seen was owned by a urologist (doctor who specializes in bladder, prostate, and kidney issues). It read, "NOPCME." In other words, "No pee? See me!" I'll never forget that blue sports car (though in retrospect, it probably should have been yellow!) Urinary issues (both difficulty getting urine…...

Have you ever wondered why a person needs to be on a ventilator? Ok, so maybe you haven't. Now that you think about it, though, do you know why? Well, it's usually one of two reasons - either their lungs are damaged and they need help getting air in and out of them, or their…...

Do you know how long you can survive without food or water? The answer may vary depending on how well stocked you are to start (and the environment - how hot/dry it is), but on average, we can survive about a month without food, and 10-14 days without hydration. When you think about it, we…...

Do you remember the scene in Finding Nemo where the fish jam up their aquarium filter to get their dentist owner to clean the tank? That scene always makes me think of kidneys – because without them, our bodies would become rapidly overloaded with waste products, just like that dirty aquarium water! Most of us…...

The spleen has been the target of much ridicule, made fun of by medical students and dismissed as nothing more than a "graveyard for red blood cells." In the Middle Ages, the spleen was associated with melancholy, and in more modern times, anger (perhaps you've heard the expression "vent your spleen" – which means to…...

When I think about the liver, I’m often reminded of a comedy sketch from a Monty Python movie. In the sketch, organ donor nurses arrive at a patient’s home, requesting her liver before she is deceased. When the patient complains that she “hasn’t finished with it yet” the nurses launch into a whimsical song about…...

Most non-medical people don't know the difference between an artery and a vein, and the confusion is quite understandable. The truth is, arteries and veins connect to each other and are part of a circuit that transports blood from the heart to the rest of the body (arteries) and back to the heart again (veins).…...