Made-Up Medicine-Land
Episode 13. Mike Nystrom
On this episode of the podcast we are joined by the overly helpful specialist, Michael Nystrom. Matt and Mike talk about creaky knees, crying dads, and silly podcasts.
Dr. Nystrom is a critical care specialist working just outside of Raleigh, North Carolina.
Listen to full episode :
Additional Show Notes:
The medical stuff:
Diaphragmatic hernia - when there is a hole in the diaphragm (the piece of muscle that normally separates the belly from the chest) and stuff that’s supposed to be in the belly goes into the chest. Those are the technical medical terms.
“Bucking the ventilator” - when a patient is under anesthesia they are sometimes placed on a ventilator to breathe for them. The ventilator is supposed to move air in and out at a certain pace, but a patient that is not very deep under anesthesia may be breathing at their own rate. Like a bull saying “get this cowboy off me - I have my own style of movement and that is best done solo.”
Cis-Atracurium - a medicine used in certain procedures that blocks muscle function, effectively paralyzing a patient’s muscles. Great if you want to block the movement of all eye muscles during a cataracts procedure. Not great for walking around and breathing on ones own.
Urethral obstruction - anything that blocks the passage of urine from the urinary bladder to the outside world, such as stones, mucous, or crystalline debris. This is not pleasant for anyone.
Tree of life - a pole (like one that would hold IV fluids) upon which there are many different medications running at a carefully monitored, continual rate. The more pumps, the longer your medical notes.
Carbonic Anhydrase and Is CO2 an acid?
When CO2 and water exist in the same environment, for the most part they tend to stay as CO2 and water. However, when the enzyme carbonic anhydrase is present, the enzyme forces these two compounds together, forming carbonic acid. Now that’s an acid. A nice review of carbonic anhydrase can be found here. Good luck.
Serious vs Solemn
In this episode, Matt and Mike talk about joking around during CPR. Matt references something that John Cleese said about how we often confuse seriousness for solemness. Here is an excerpt from that speech:
