MEDTRONICA
Nutrition Data
A comprehensive site for determining the nutritional value of any food or recipe, which is critical for people on special diets. Navigating the site can be complicated (and requires registration), but the information is detailed and specific.
BODY OF KNOWLEDGE
There are roughly 250,000 pores on the soles of your feet, secreting about one-quarter of a cup of sweat a day.
GET ME THAT. STAT!
Less than one-third of American adults eat the amount of fruits and vegetables recommended by federal government standards - about five servings a day, or 2 1/2 cups.
NEVER SAY DIET
AN ATTRACTIVE OPTION - Doctors and engineers at the University of Texas think they may have devised a system of conducting surgeries using magnets to control their surgical tools. CNS Photo. MEDTRONICA - The Nutrition Data Web site at www.nutritiondata.com is a comprehensive site for determining the nutritional value of any food or recipe. CNS Photo.
In 1994, Filipino fisherman Renato Arganza spent several days clinging to a buoy after his boat capsized. He reportedly survived by eating his underwear.
OBSERVATION
"Be careful about reading health books. You may die of a misprint."
- Mark Twain
PHOBIA OF THE WEEK
Geniophobia - fear of chins
AN ATTRACTIVE OPTION
Doctors and engineers at the University of Texas think they may have devised a system of conducting surgeries without scarring: magnets. The new technique, still being developed, uses magnets to manipulate laparoscopic surgical tools inserted into the abdominal cavity through the bellybutton or throat.
The big challenge: Maneuvering the tools with surgical precision.
"The current state of the art for laparoscopic surgery requires four or five holes. The question is can we do the surgery through only one hole and can we hide the hole in a cosmetically advantageous or less painful location," said Dr. Jeffrey Cadeddu, who got the idea after watching a TV show about teens who avoid piercings by using magnets to hold lip studs in place.
The system uses stacks of magnets outside the abdomen to attract other magnets attached to laparoscopic instruments inside the body. By moving the magnets, they move the instruments.
The technique has already been tried on animals, successfully removing a kidney.
STORIES FOR THE WAITING ROOM
The innovative 17th century German surgeon Wilhelm Hilden listed these ingredients in a balm to be applied post-operation: powdered mummy, earthworms, iron oxide, pig brains and moss from the skull of a man hanged under the sign of Venus.
The really innovative part, however, was where this mixture was to be applied. It wasn't on the patient or wound, but on the surgical knife.
DOC TALK
Rainbow draw: What happens when a phlebotomist (a person trained to draw blood for testing) cannot read the doctors' orders, and so takes full vials of every color-coded tube just to be sure.
BEST MEDICINE
Patient: Doctor, something's wrong! I'm shrinking.
Doctor: Calm yourself, sir. You'll just have to be a little patient.