The show that I chose was House, M.D., a popular TV series about a genius physician Gregory House and the cases he solved during each episode. I watched the first two seasons of this show, but I decided to summarize the first episode, “Everybody Lies,” because it made me continue watching House. Furthermore, it highlights the importance of knowing anatomy and physiology well. This episode presents the story of a 29-year-old female patient with the symptoms of rapid onset mental degeneration, but all diagnostic tests are inconclusive (“Everybody Lies”). Dr. House’s team takes her case, but their initial attempts to establish a definitive diagnosis fail, resulting in patient deterioration. Dr. Foreman and Dr. Cameron break into her house and find the ham in her fridge, which made Dr. House conclude that the patient was infected with a tapeworm, leading to neurocysticercosis. Finally, the team gives the patient a curative anti-parasitic treatment. The scenes related to Anatomy and Physiology were evaluation of the brain MRI and X-ray of her lower extremities and tracheostomy when the patient developed an anaphylactic shock to the contrast.
The two characters whose careers are closely related to Human Anatomy and Physiology are Dr. Robert Chase and Dr. Eric Foreman. The former is an intensivist, and the latter is a neurologist. Dr. Foreman must understand the central and peripheral nervous system, know dermatomes, and recognize symptoms when a particular brain or spinal cord region is damaged. Dr. Chase needs to understand the anatomy of nerve and vasculature for specific procedures, and he should comprehend physiology well to estimate doses of sedative or anesthetic medications correctly. The first thing that I learned about Anatomy and Physiology from this episode was that human airways swell quickly during a strong allergic reaction requiring tracheostomy. Secondly, the brain and spinal cord are the control centers for multiple functions in the human body, and any abnormalities there may result in the loss of one or several essential functions.
Work Cited
“Everybody Lies.” House, M.D., created by David Shore, season 1, episode 1, Fox Corporation, 2004.