On the afternoon of Sunday, 6/30/24, I prelim signed off my last report as a neuroradiology fellow at Yale. It was the last of many lasts. Before fellowship, I remember reading my last case as a resident at Sinai (it was 11 pm Thursday, lol), and I also remember my last sign-out as an internal medicine intern at Greenwich. If counting those six years plus four years of medical school at Cornell, ten long years it’s been since I moved to New York City to begin my medical training. A whole decade. A transformative decade, and it’s just ended!
Continue reading Medical Training Wrap-upCategory Archives: Medicine
Anatomical Plurals
As a radiologist, I have few clinical pearls to offer, but let’s talk about anatomical plurals!
This post all started when we were trying to discuss a fascinating case involving the male external reproductive organs, but we were all stumbling over the terms. So… one penis has a corpus spongiosum, two corpora cavernosa (each with a crus), a urethra, and a glans penis, but two penes contain two corpora spongiosa, four corpora cavernosa (four crura), two urethrae, and two glandes penium? And the corresponding scrota contain pairs of testes and epididymides, respectively susceptible to orchitides and epididymitides??
Penile jokes aside, let’s learn how to pluralize some anatomy! (Disclaimer: This is a humor piece; I have no linguistics training.)
Continue reading Anatomical Plurals
Medical Terms that Sound Like Unrelated Words
In medicine, we have an extended vocabulary set that is mainly composed of anatomic terms derived from Latin and Greek. Medical-ese, if you will. Sometimes, they resemble unrelated words in common parlance, but they are best not confused for obvious reasons. Following are a few examples of many:
1.
- ephemera (uh-FE-mer-uh) — 1. objects that are meant to be used only for a short time; 2. such objects that become collectibles, such as ticket stubs or handwritten missives
- femora (FE-mer-uh) — the thigh bones
How to Use Toilet Paper
As coronavirus (COVID-19) and its hysteria is sweeping through New York City and the US at large, people are panicking and hoarding supplies like pantry food, disinfecting wipes, face masks, and – for some reason – a whole buttload of toilet paper. I know discussing toilet paper is socially unsavory, but if you want to preserve your stash while maintaining anal hygiene, you should ensure that use your toilet paper effectively and efficiently. Continue reading How to Use Toilet Paper
2019 in Retrospect
2019 has come and gone. It was the first year I was employed full-time throughout, and correspondingly the days, weeks, and months flew by when most I had to say about it were boring medical adventures and revelations that aren’t really blog-worthy. Still, I do want to maintain my tradition of public reflections, so off I go! Continue reading 2019 in Retrospect
Now I am Doing the Reading
Two days into my radiology residency and I’m already producing reports for body CTs. What a terrifying thought.
On day one, when they sat me down at a PACS workstation, they taught me how to log in, how to select a study and scroll through it, and which button to press to record dictations. The senior resident then basically just said “go for it. Say what you see!” Continue reading Now I am Doing the Reading
Intern year in Retrospect
2018 in Retrospect
Hi folks! Sorry for the silence. 2018 has come and gone. Here I am doing my annual public reflection before a Sat-Sun night shift.