WILTIMS #48: Groans

Today we only had one one hour lecture, so I don't have much to report. The topic was clinical correlations of lower extremity anatomy, which lead to many a groan as we watched every major traumatic athletic injury in recent memory.

It's been amusing how each lecturer has treated these grotesque images. Our course director used them sparingly and with an impressive degree of nonchalance. The radiologist warned us in advance and even said that the squeamish could cover their eyes until we had passed the slide. The surgeon, on the other hand, displayed his dozens of examples with enthusiasm and theatricality. As he was speaking today I happened to be sitting next to the course director. He groaned and winced just like the rest of us.

The reactions of teammates to Kevin Ware's broken leg (you've been warned)

TIL: The singular form of the word meninges is meninx. The meninges are the three layers of connective tissue (the dura mater, arachnoid mater, and pia mater) that cover the brain and spinal cord. And since they are almost exclusively described together, we never use the singular. Meningitis is the inflammation of the meninges, which is particularly dangerous because it can damage the enveloped nervous tissue. The meninges also have poor blood supply,  limiting both the body's immune response and the effectiveness of medications.