WILTIMS #43: Eeeeeeeeeeeee!

There's not much to report from today as we only has two lab sessions (one in histology, one in anatomy). The highlight of which was the "degloving" of a hand, to gain access to the ligaments, nerves and blood vessels beneath. Not an easy or cringe-less process, to be sure.

TIL: Never give a vasoconstrictor with local anesthesia in the fingers. Vasoconstrictors are drugs that cause the tightening of blood vessels and they are often given with local anesthesia to help them stay in the patient's blood circulation longer. The problem with the fingers is that they only get blood and nutrients from two tiny vessels and the administration of a vasoconstrictor will cut off blood to the entire finger. If not corrected quickly, the tissue will die and the patient could lose the finger.

Mini-Me and Dr. Evil

Muscles that control the pinky finger are named the digiti minimi, good words to know for when you're stuck with all those "I"s in Scrabble. Relatedly, the writers of Austin Powers 2 were either breathtakingly witty, or fantastically lucky with their choice of character names. Dr. Evil's half-scale clone is called Mini-Me. Though you might think this is merely a play on "Miniature Me," note that a minimi is a Belgian machine gun and that the extensor digiti minimi muscle is responsible for the iconic gesture seen in the accompanying picture.

The last tidbit that I learned today, came from a family member who had a recent brush with the medical field. A laminectomy, the removal of some or all of the back-most (or laminar) surface of one or more vertebrae, can be an effective late stage treatment for spinal stenosis, a narrowing of the spinal column that puts pressure on the spinal cord. Fascinating if unpleasant stuff. Get well soon!