#like an mri for example

[g-kat423]

It’s hard to not get frustrated with therapy/ make any progress when the entire time the therapist is like “and why do you think you feel this way?” “You need to restructure your thoughts.” “Have you tried letting go?”

BRO.

Don’t you think I’d fucking LOVE to let go? It’s kind of hard when my mental health is directly impacted by what my physical body is doing. Like yes I’d love to think positively and move on with my life and enjoy things, but I’m in pain and I feel sick all the time and no one has any answers because all the blood work and direct tests I’ve had done all come back perfectly normal and I would be grateful if only my body didn’t constantly feel like shit. I’m sorry, but there has to be something wrong that’s causing this. It can’t just be “normal” to feel this way.

[ravinoforre]

I posted it on Twitter but I'll say it here too for my Tumblr only followers.

I'll be having surgery on my eye tomorrow, it turns out the retina in my right eye is detaching.

Fun. Wish me luck!

[starlightervarda]

I can't sleep so Star Trek TOS/SNW dashboard simulator

🪆 chekovsgunman Follow

to this day I can't understand why they're called the Three Musketeers if there's FOUR of them? Did Dumas just forget his own main character???

🪴 plantdad Follow

You've got to be kidding me

🪆 chekovsgunman Follow

I know right? A mistake like this would never happen in Russian literature!

5,324 notes

🩺 therealmccoy Follow

After months of taking care of everyone else on this giant tin can I really earned this shore leave. Now I get to drink, relax, flirt with some lovely ladies and sleep until noon 😎 Just what the the doctor ordered!

🩺 therealmccoy Follow

Update: A fucking purple tree ate five crewmen. Again.

955 notes

🖖 iamspock Follow

Despite being among humans for close to a decade, I still find their tendency to overcomplicate and avoid aspects of social situations to be confusing at best and infuriating at worst. So much time is wasted on tedious matters such as who gets to 'make the first move' or 'not come off too strong'.

For example, everyone aboard my vessel is keenly aware of Lt. Uhura and Engineer Scott's 'budding romance'. But their need to extend their oddly avoidant courtship ritual, rather than outright state their interest in one another, is pointless, as well as frustrating to witness.

Why do they do this? Why not 'get it over with', as they say?

I encourage answers from all cultures, human or otherwise.

💅 janicethemenace Follow

I'm sorry Scotty and Nyota are WHAT

💉 xtinechapel Follow

DELETE THIS

💖 ofmanytongues Follow

SPOCK NOOO HE DOESN'T THINK OF ME LIKE THAT 😭

🔧 scott-free Follow

But I do! I thought you knew and were just being nice about it!

💖 ofmanytongues Follow

DMing you rn 😳

🖖 iamspock Follow

You're welcome.

24,103 notes

🌟 j_tiberius_k Follow

PSA: If you visit Antares VII, stay clear of any yellow plants, their pollen can have some...inconvenient effects on the biology of humanoid peoples.

My XO and I suffered through troubling symptoms until it was almost too late. Thankfully, we figured out a cure in time.

🪴 plantdad Follow

I can only find info on the symptoms. What was the cure? 👀

🌟 j_tiberius_k Follow

Do I really have to say it?

6,322 notes

💊 mmmbenga Follow

The galaxy if Klingons didn't exist

⚔️ glorytotheempire Follow

Wow. Humans are openly advocating for our disappearance yet Klingons are the bad guys? I thought your federation stood for peace.

💊 mmmbenga Follow

Cry harder you genocidal wrinkly-faced bitch I hope your planet gets sucked into a black hole

#If you think a joke is on par with what they do then book an MRI because you might have brain damage #fuck Klingons and anyone that sympathizes with them

35,007 notes

😎 ortegaaaas Follow

So I can either skim through this asteroid belt on Warp 2 for 3 hrs or on Warp 5 for 15 mins

🚀 mitchiemitch Follow

Erica no! That's not how navigation works!

😎 ortegaaaas Follow

FLOOR IT???

🚀 mitchiemitch Follow

ERICA NO

😎 ortegaaaas Follow

HOW ABOUT WARP 7 FOR 15 SECONDS?

💖 ofmanytongues Follow

ERICA YOU'RE GOING TO CRASH THE SHIP

😎 ortegaaaas Follow

I AM GOING TO HARNESS LIGHT-SPEED TO ZIGZAG THROUGH THE VOID

🚀 mitchiemitch

ERICA P L E A S E

112,517 notes

🐴 sirsilverfox Follow

I know some species are very private, but you'd think they'd share the important stuff, esp when we should trust each other by now.

How are we supposed to enjoy my weekly dinners if you all don't tell me what to watch out for :/ This is the third time this happens to the same person and I had to get the answer why from our CMO

💫 numerouna Follow

Wait what did I miss while I was gone

🐴 sirsilverfox Follow

Spock got wasted on my chocolate fudge cake and hit his head on the counter ://///

2,904 notes

[kourabiedes]

I'm not here to grind a political or social axe. I'm just here to tell a short story, about a normal person trying to navigate the American medical establishment. Here is some evidence. You may draw your own conclusions.

So I've had a migraine for a month.

That's not hyperbole, mind. It has been a month since this started. A month of the entire side of my head pulsing with pain, worse whenever I look at light which is always because I do digital art and all that.

Now, I've had migraines all my damn life. I know the drill. I have a preventative medicine that keeps me from having more than one a month or so, and I have a "rescue" medicine meant to stop the ones that do start. I have a nice dark room to rest in when it starts, I have blindfolds, I have ice packs -- I know how to handle these, is the point. So, for about the first two weeks, I did just that. I hit this sucker with everything that worked before and did my best to wait it out. Yes, I delayed getting care, because it was a problem I was already familiar with and assumed was normal for me.

Then, a week ago, it stopped responding to my rescue medication. Entirely stopped. Alarmed, I went to the ER. They hit me with a fairly standard migraine cocktail (so they said anyway -- don't ask me what it was because I honestly do not remember). Killed the pain almost right away and they give me some advice about what to do next and sent me home.

It was back in sixteen hours.

ER again. Same cocktail, same result. I'm freaked out now, so I call my PCP and schedule an appointment. She fits me into her schedule because she's alarmed too. She gives me a shot of Toradol and that helps, but she notices my blood pressure is reading a little elevated for me and we decide to try a blood pressure medication. Okay, cool, I'm down, high blood pressure runs in the family and it can definitely give you migraines if untreated. We start this medicine and she prescribes me a new rescue medication, giving me one pill to try while waiting for insurance to okay the prescription. This rescue medicine works, putting me back in control of the pain. Cool, thinks I, I just have to get through a couple weeks while the blood pressure medicine settles in, and if we're right, the migraine will finally let go.

Today, I discover that insurance would only okay ten pills of this medicine, because I have had the other rescue medication refilled recently for... obvious reasons. Ten pills, and if I want more, I have to wait like forty days or something.

Do you know how many of these pills I have to take a day to keep the migraine at bay? Two.

I have five days of relief -- four, now -- before I go right back to the same ER level pain, unless I am exceedingly lucky with this blood pressure medicine.

The ER did no imaging. I'm not sure if they even could. My PCP put in an order for an MRI when I saw her, which was a week ago, and that request has not yet left the insurance company.

A migraine is not just a headache, like you get after overindulging or staying up too late. A migraine alters your mental state. It can come with physical symptoms beyond head pain -- mine likes to manifest itself with dark spots in my vision, for example, which can ruin a day real fast -- and sometimes they even come with nasty mental symptoms.

So... what part of all that upsets you the most? Because, for me, it's knowing I have about four days before I go right back to screaming misery.

Oh, and I have to note, I am considered fairly lucky because the state covers my ass when Medicare won't. Yet here we are all the same.

[acti-veg]

‘While bats can only sense the outer shapes and textures of their targets, dolphins can peer inside theirs. If a dolphin echolocates on you, it will perceive your lungs and your skeleton. It can likely sense shrapnel in war veterans and fetuses in pregnant women. It can pick out the air-filled swim bladders that allow fish, their main prey, to control their buoyancy.

It can almost certainly tell different species apart based on the shape of those air bladders. And it can tell if a fish has something weird inside it, like a metal hook. In Hawaii, false killer whales often pluck tuna off fishing lines, and “they’ll know where the hook is inside that fish,” Aude Pacini, who studies these animals, tells me. “They can ‘see’ things that you and I would never consider unless we had an X-ray machine or an MRI scanner.”

This penetrating perception is so unusual that scientists have barely begun to consider its implications. The beaked whales, for example, are odontocetes that look dolphin-esque on the outside—but on the inside, their skulls bear a strange assortment of crests, ridges, and bumps, many of which are only found in males.

Pavel Gol’din has suggested that these structures might be the equivalent of deer antlers—showy ornaments that are used to attract mates. Such ornaments would normally protrude from the body in a visible and conspicuous way, but that’s unnecessary for animals that are living medical scanners.’

-Ed Yong, An Immense World

[doomspaniels]

I am getting really worried about the Princess, folks. That maybe-shoulder, maybe neck, maybe... low back? pain thing (that started while I was in hospital in Oct) keeps getting worse. She saw the university neuros last week and is getting an MRI this week. They didn't find any specific neuro symptoms, nor joint symptoms when PT did their eval, but prednisone dramatically improved her symptoms, so they're looking for things like fluid pockets or swellings that shouldn't be there. Scary examples, like immune-mediated polyarthritis and syrinx.

I don't have a smile today. I'm sorry.

[skyloftian-nutcase]

Healthcare Quotes!

(dark humor)

Four: My patient really needs a liver transplant. I want tonight to be the night he gets it. Legend: What’s your blood type? Four, rolling his eyes: Not my liver. I want to see him recover and all! Sky: That would be the fastest way to procure it, though. The ultimate sacrifice for your patient. Truly being a patient advocate. Legend: Let us know when you off yourself and we’ll give it like six minutes so you can be properly brain dead and all. Four, huffing: How about Warriors? He’s strong, healthy— Sky: Nah, he drinks too much, you don’t want his liver. Wars: >:O I DO NOT Legend: *wheezing*

…

Mo: *coughing* Hyrule: You good? Mo: I’m dying Aurora: None of that crap until the shift is over, we’ve had enough call outs tonight! Mo, sadly: Aw man

…

Warriors: *exiting a patient’s room laughing* Legend: What’s so funny? Wars: This dude has the absolute best insults ever. Legend: Who was he insulting? Wars: Me, because he didn’t get his water fast enough, but man was it amazing. Legend, interested now: So what did he call you?? Warriors, smirking evilly: You’ll never know. Legend: Wha—YOU CANT LEAD ME ON AND THEN LEAVE ME HANGING LIKE THAT

…

Twilight, staring into the void: Ilia: What’s wrong? Twi: The girl in 15 said I couldn’t play with her ponies because I wasn’t cool enough. Ilia, biting back laughter: That’s rough, buddy

…

Wild: This one teenager I was transporting to MRI said I was so bad at directions I couldn't find my way out of a paper bag. Twilight: She ain’t wrong. Wind: Did you say anything back? Wild: I said “Actually I can, animal control tried to use a bag to catch me and I found my way out of it just fine.” Twi, sighing: I can believe it

…

Time, stopping a surgical resident from doing something: That is what we call an artery. When I said don’t kill the patient, I meant don’t kill the patient. Since you were about to cut the artery, I think we need a lesson really quickly on what does and does not kill a patient. Time: For example. Bleeding to death leads to dying. I know this might be hard for you to understand but— Malon: *narrows eyes, raises eyebrow* Time:…But I understand you’re still learning.

…

Fable: Yeah, so she was supposed to get a mini-MVR, they perfed her LV, then they fixed that and her papillary muscles tore, then they tried to fix that and she got a VSD, so they just put her on ECMO and balloon pump and shipped her to us. Wild: What does—what?? Time: Her heart woke up and chose violence. Or her surgeon did, I’m not sure which.

[dissociacrip]

why isn't there much info about coathanger pain with POTS?? or at least why is this not more common knowledge? i don't think i've ever seen anyone talking about this. every time i've asked about it (+other POTS symptoms it comes with in my case) in chronic illness spaces people have suggested everything from fibro, MCAS, a CFS leak, a herniated disc, CCI, etc. but nobody ever said "coathanger pain."

but dysautonomia international posted a silly little graphic on their instagram and now i have my answers to why i was having a ton of symptoms that did suggest a herniated disc but there were no signs of disc herniation upon getting an MRI and for some reason it was triggered by working morning shift/having to be upright for a long time in the mornings. i would get excruciating, searing pain that feels pike a knife has been shoved into the base of my neck and the whole of my upper back would have this icy burning sensation. accompanied by me losing the ability to think straight, losing my coordination, and slurring my speech. i left work crying one morning because of how much pain i was in before i eventually came to the conclusion i couldn't do morning shifts.

that's coathanger pain. my spine is okay (i think...for now, anyway.) according to The Stuff they don't know what causes coathanger pain necessarily but they theorize it has to do with reduced blood flow to those areas of the body (which would track since POTS tends to involve blood pooling in the extremities and such.) it's also not exclusive to POTS and is associated with dysautonomia or orthostatic intolerance in general i think.

One example of the power of obtaining the autonomic history is the Coat Hanger Phenomenon. In people who have neurogenic orthostatic hypotension or orthostatic intolerance, they can complain of pain, or like a charley horse kind of sensation, in the back of the neck and shoulder areas in the distribution that’s like a coat hanger. And it goes away when the person is lying down. That’s an important symptom. And the way I explain it is that the muscles that control your head are tonically active, otherwise your head be falling down all the time. Tonically active. That means they’re using up oxygenated blood all the time. Well suppose you’re in a critical situation where there’s a drop in blood flow at the delivery of oxygenated blood to the head. In that situation these muscles are not getting enough oxygenated blood. They’re tonically active, so they’re producing lactic acid and you get a charley horse, just like you’d have a cramp anywhere else. It’s a skeletal muscle thing. So, I think when somebody complains of Coat Hanger Phenomenon, that’s a very important sign or symptom. And that is not invented. That’s a real phenomenon. It points to ischemia to the skeletal muscle holding your head up.

(Dr. Goldstein, The Dysautonomia Project)

worsening cognitive dysfunction, slurred speech, and worsening coordination because blood's not getting to my brain. bordering on emergency-room-level pain in my upper back and neck because not enough blood is getting to those parts of my body. got it.

anyway, i legit have NEVER seen this discussed until recently and i thought i should share.

[macgyvermedical]

Drug Orders and Doses

@whumpsmith

Cool, so I think the first thing to know is how medication is ordered.

Generally speaking, it will be ordered in 5 parts, known as the "5 Rights" of medication administration:

#1 What patient is getting the medication

#2 What medication is to be given

#3 How much medication is to be given

#4 What time it is to be given (or how often)

#5 What route it is to be given

So an order might be "Give John Smith (5/13/1995) lorazepam 0.5mg IV once prior to MRI"

In this example, John Smith is the patient and 5/13/1995 is his birthday to differentiate him from all the other John Smiths. "Lorazepam" is the drug's generic name, "0.5mg" is the amount of the drug. "IV" is the route, and "once prior to MRI" is the time.

Drugs have generic and brand names. For example, acetaminophen is a generic name. Many companies make acetaminophen, and each has their own brand name for the drug. Probably the most well-known brand name for acetaminophen is Tylenol, but there are others, like Calpol and Panadol. For most people, it doesn't matter which brand of a particular drug is used, just that the active ingredient (the generic name) is the same. For some people it matters because the non-active ingredients may be different between brands, and they may be allergic to a non-active ingredient that is in one brand, but not another.

In a hospital setting, we're going to use the generic name, because the brand of the drug that is cheapest to the hospital pharmacy varies contract to contract, and there are a lot of drug shortages these days. That's why if you're in the hospital you might get an oval green pill one day and a round white one the next day. They're the same drug, just different brands.

The dose is given in milligrams, usually abbreviated "mg". Milligrams are a measure of weight. Cubic centimeter (cc), on the other hand is a measure of volume. At some point we switched from volume based to weight based measures because we had a lot of different concentrations and using volumes for everything made mistakes really common. If you're using weights, it doesn't matter if the concentration you have is 1mg/mL or 10mg/mL for a given drug, you can do the math and come up with a volume that is right instead of just hoping you picked the one the doctor was thinking about when they wrote the order.

There are many routes a drug can take into the body. There is oral (a pill or liquid), IV (injection in a vein), IM (injection in a muscle), SQ (injection into fat), rectal/PR (a suppository, gel, or liquid inserted into the rectum), SL (under the tongue), TD (a paste or patch that sends medication through the skin) and many more.

Times can be once, once every x hours, once every x hours as needed (PRN), once under a particular circumstance, daily, or pretty much any other interval you can think of. "Stat" is a term meaning "right now".

Here's a list of common medications and their dosages:

CODE DRUGS:

Epinephrine 1mg IV for cardiac arrest every 3-5 minutes, 0.3mg for anaphylaxis

Amiodarone 150-300mg IV over 10 minutes for cardiac arrest

Lidocaine 75mg for cardiac arrest initially, if that doesn't work then 37.5 10 mins later

Adenosine 6mg given very quickly for PSVT, if that doesn't work, give 12mg

Atropine 1mg every 3-5 minutes for low heart rate until heart rate is normal

OTHER DRUGS:

Albuterol 2.5mg in nebulizer for brochospasm/asthma attack

Metoprolol 5mg IV every 5 minutes up to 15mg for severe high blood pressure

Furosemide 20-80mg IV for fluid on lungs

D50 25g IV for low blood sugar

Diphenhydramine 12.5-50mg IV for allergic reaction

Morphine 2-10mg IV or IM for pain

Fentanyl 50-200mcg for sedation

Mannitol 20-150g for increased pressure inside the skull

Nitroglycerin 0.3-0.6mg every 5 minutes up to 3 times for chest pain (angina)

Naloxone 8mg nasal spray every 2-3 minutes for opioid overdose

Flumazenil 0.2mg IV for benzodiazepine poisoning, if that doesn't work give 0.3mg, if that doesn't work, give 0.5

Diazepam 15mg rectal gel for seizures that don't stop

Phenobarbital 1-1.5g IV for seizures that don't stop

Etomidate 22mg IV for anesthesia (for things like intubating someone)

Midazolam 5mg IV for sedation prior to surgery

Olanzepine 5-10mg IV for agitation (emergency sedation)

Haloperidol 0.5-10mg oral or IM for agitation (emergency sedation)

[demonlovingsheep]

Headcannon Demon Anatomy

**SPOILERS**

(Source - my head)

I think demons are just blobs of sentient black energy that can take on any shape or form. Like the black substance from Venom, but more powerful.

Each blob of a demon is muted for different purposes. Aquatic, flight, fight, speed, etc. Defining a demon’s attributes and identity. After all, they have been around since the dawn of time. And with their dark energy, I’m sure powers and magical capabilities could evolve too. Such as growing stronger through other’s emotions and/or sins…?

On the surface, one can see a demon’s teeth, skin, eyes, but more powerful ones are able to better their crafts and morph into bigger and stronger forms. Or even multiple forms.

However, on the inside, there is no internal organs like humans. At least ones like human organs. Put them through a MRI just result in emptiness, but in fact the blob can take on the role of organs if needed.

As an example, there is a scene where Beelzebub was able to devour an entire flipping pillar in the Demon Lord’s castle (I think it was from a Christmas pop quiz).

How TF he ate and digest the pillar with such speed? Answer: he has no stomach. The dark energy blob in him just mutated with an insane appetite, and melted the pillar away as Beel devours it.

Mentioning Beel, the “Say My Name” Card contains a scenario where a dark-mist form of Belphegor threw a tantrum of how Beel was getting close to MC and forgot about him, literally ate both of them, and only allowed them two out if they could guess his name.

Beelzebub thought they could easily punch a hole in its stomach, but no matter how far he ran or search, it seems like there is no physics space. As if a void?

Like ur one to talk Beel. Others described your stomach as a blackhole…

I think the black blob also explains why the fur on Belphegor’s tail is a different color from his hair (unless this bish dyed his hair…).

I keep calling it a blob, but it’s more like energy. Every time the brothers get mad, a black form of energy emits around them. I think this energy is powered by souls demons devour.

Think in the game, it mentions that the taste of souls is like the most delicious thing a demon could taste? Even looks shiny depending on who it’s from. Hence why part of MC’s task as the exchange student is to learn how to protect their soul from harm by strengthening it.

So what? Is this all speculation and trying to fit clues and puzzles in places where they seem to fit but not quite?

Alright then, explain the existence of little D and this:

I rest my case 🙌

———————————————————————

Author’s noet: Alright, let me take a step back. I’m afraid if I go any further, I’ll be entering FNAF territory and I’m not willing to go that deep to theorize about shadow brothers lol.

I need to lay off of them horror analogs….

As for always, don’t take it seriously. It’s all in the name of fun 👉👈

[softgaycontent]

 Parker’s Autistic Traits

In list form because I love lists; episode references and additional details under the cut. Everyone with ASD has a different grab bag of traits, and I wanted to note down Parker’s.

Parker is canonically autistic, from multiple word-of-god sources. One in particular I’d like to note is a tweet from John Rogers, who said she was originally “in the direction” of having autism, but it was Beth Riesgraf’s decision to play Parker that way, and they “wrote to her performance”. Many examples below are definitely actor-driven. 

Struggles with social skills and a lack of real friendships through her life, but eventually connects strongly with a small group of people she considers family

Mimics social cues from others, including jokes she may not understand, body language, physical contact

Often has a straightforward way of talking; occasionally says things considered rude or not appropriate to the situation by others

Takes literal interpretations of statements, and sometimes has trouble understanding information taken out of context

Generally non-expressive or makes facial expressions not expected of a situation

Naturally avoids eye contact

Particular about touch

Special interest in types of safes & security, valuable art and items, other theft-related information

Stims by picking small locks she carries around with her, smelling things, organizing items, repeating words/phrases, and clenching her hands

Frustrated by unexpected changes to plans or her own expectations / Distracted by questions or expectations that she feels are unresolved

Gets attached to routines and traditions— ranging from seating arrangements (personal) to “Let’s steal a [blank]” (team)

Sensory issues (eg loud noise and clothing texture)

Low empathy / difficulty with empathy

When upset, may become increasingly curt or stop talking, as well as notably physically tense and disruptive

Favorite food is by far and obviously cereal, which she eats frequently and stocks boxes of the same type at both her own home and Leverage HQ

Examples + Episode Titles

Struggles in social situations

There are examples throughout the show of Parker struggling with social skills, and Sophie teaching her tips to grift, make friends, or understand others (notable episode: The Juror #6 Job)

Hardison creates a flashcard system for Parker to grift with, which she also uses for help with personal social interactions (The Rollin’ on the River Job)

Believes Hardison is the first person to have truly understood her (The Muddy Waters Job)

Mimics social cues from others

After the team mocks Nate for buying a car as a part of his “mid-life crisis”, Parker repeats the phrase in a way that implies she does not really understand the joke, but doesn’t want to be left out (The Homecoming Job)

After both Hardison and Eliot call Tara “hot”, Parker joins in, surprised when they react differently to her saying it (The Runway Job)

Monica Hunter grabs Parker around the arms, likely to stop her from leaving. Later, Parker grabs Monica in the same, odd way, likely because she believes this is a form of contact that Monica likes, since she did it first. (The Three Days of the Hunter Job)

Parker mirrors people’s body language from time to time (examples: on the MRI machine in The Snow Job, with Archie in The Last Damn Job)

Often speaks in a straightforward manner, or says things considered rude or not appropriate to the situation

Throughout the show, Parker tends to say things pretty directly, and occasionally finds things funny that others find distasteful or confusing

Straightforwardness examples: Tells a woman someone’s trying to kill her, without sugarcoating it (The Mile High Job); “She was naked.” (The Maltese Falcon); talking about Nate’s alcoholism directly (recurrent); Points out to Peggy that she told Parker a secret, which means they’re friends (The Juror #6 Job); + many less notable instances of Parker’s straightforward word choice compared to other characters

Considered rude/inappropriate: Tells a client she doesn’t trust her either and laughs at a kid’s allergy because she finds it ironic (The Fairy Godparents Job); tells a woman her grandbaby looks like a dog as a joke (The Juror #6 Job); Laughs when Sophie asks her about the death of her father (The Snow Job)

Takes things literally

Is a thief.  ..... ;)

Mistakenly believes Nate wants her to hit someone after he asks her to start a “fight”; he later promises to be more clear, and use the word “argument” next time, acknowledging that he should have known Parker would be confused (The Lonely Hearts Job)

Not completely sure if she’s using air quotes properly, asks Hardison to teach her (The Beantown Bailout Job)

Gets caught up in the nonsensicality of the expression, “Reindeer Games” (The Runway Job)

Sophie and Harry jump to clarify to Parker that they’re going to only metaphorically burn something to the ground, to which she expresses disappointment (The Double Edged Sword Job)

Solves Nate’s algebra problem for him, which he had only said as a way to rib at Hardison (The Runway Job)

Initially expects a fiddle to be involved in the fiddle con (The Studio Job)

Doesn’t clock that noises she heard in an office were people having sex; John Rogers claims on his blog that it’s because she didn’t expect to hear them in that context. Not a fan of this joke, but noting it for the intention of establishing that Parker sometimes struggles when things are taken out of context. (The Underground Job) 

Generally non-expressive

Visual; every episode, including childhood flashbacks

Has traumatic memories of people being upset with her for not smiling as a child (The Stork Job)

“I’ve never seen her change her expression before.” (Sophie, The Two Horse Job deleted scene)

“[Parker showed] A feeling. Seemed like a human one.” (Tara, The Runway Job)

Her social worker used to do exercises with her to help her identify and name how she was feeling (The Toy Job)

Naturally avoids eye contact 

Among Sophie’s index cards, pinned to help Parker learn social skills, is “Eye Contact” (The Juror #6 Job)

It’s hard to see whether or not Parker is making eye contact most of the time, due to the way that things are filmed, but you can see her eyes moving uncomfortably to and away from the “bank robber" father as he pleads with her to help him (The Bank Shot Job)

Another example is Parker asking Hardison if she did air quotes correctly, where you can see her make eye contact with him for a second before continuing the conversation with her gaze a little lower, towards his collar (The Beantown Bailout Job)

In her first conversation with McSweeten, in the FBI van, she is standing close to him, but seems to look him in the face very little, looking instead at his shirt or casually around the van (The Wedding Job)

You can see Parker looking away as she gives her fake backstory in the rehab clinic (The 12 Step Job). Sophie asks her to “share with the group, and not the floor” and that “eye contact is the gateway to communication”. Seeing as she is taking the chance to prod Nate for real behaviors she has a problem with, I see this as Sophie taking her chance to bring up a pattern of behavior that she wants Parker to correct, as well.

Sophie mentions that she taught Parker social skills such as “relating to people” and public speaking; one of her notes included “eye contact” (The Office Job)

Particular about touch

Finds it difficult to control her [violent] reaction when touched by strangers (mostly men, though she doesn’t like strange women touching her either). Parker is aware of this and worries she will ruin cons. [Could instead or also be related to PTSD.] (The Stork Job, The Ice Man Job, The Morning After Job) 

Does not often initiate hugs, and when she does, teammates are usually surprised (The Maltese Falcon Job, The 12 Step Job, The Long Way Down Job)

Prefers short or light physical contact like sitting next to people, handshake-high-fives, shoulder punches, etc. (The Three Days of Hunter Job, The Long Way Down Job)

Special Interest in theft (activity & history) / security & safes / valuable art & artifacts

Excited to talk about the extensive information she has collected on security systems, and says it’s how she spends her weekends. Embarrassed when she thinks she’s being judged for sharing. (The Three Card Monte Job)

Passionate about different types of safes, especially unique or particularly difficult to crack kinds (The Grave Danger Job, The Great Train Job, etc)

Goes to museums and on vacations just to look at security systems, even when she has no intention of stealing (The Zanzibar Market Job)

Becomes aware that she doesn’t have “normal” hobbies or interests, and asks her friends to teach her how to like [other] things. (The French Connection Job)

Stims visibly at the thought of burgling 8 museums in one day (The Too Many Rembrandts Job)

Some stims I’ve noticed: 

Picking small locks she carries around with her (repeatedly mentioned in the DVD commentaries by John Rogers, who compares it to knitting. He probably mentions it because it was not as visual as he intended.)

Smelling things, like money, people, etc (money in The Homecoming Job, the Ho Ho Ho Job, The Paranormal Hacktivity Job; Maggie and Tara in The Second David Job, The Lost Heir Job, an orange in The Juror #6 Job, etc)

Sorting and lining up things, like money (The Ho Ho Ho Job), spoons and pieces of her rig (The Inside Job)

Parker repeats words/phrases from time to time, such as “Intern Parker” (The Corkscrew Job), Sophie’s name (The Jailhouse Job), “Don’t Stab.” (The Morning After Job)

She clenches her hands and shakes in excitement at the idea of burgling 8 museums in one day (The Too Many Rembrandts Job)

She loves to hang from her rig [the ultimate stim], and multiple Leverage HQs are selected to accommodate this (The (Very) Big Bird Job, The Too Many Rembrandts Job)

Rocks aggressively in her recliner while stuck at home with an injury (The Broken Wing Job)

Frustrated by changes to expectations and plans / distracted by unresolved questions (these feel all grouped somehow in my mind)

Gets so mad at Nate’s repeated changes to the con in The Snow Job that Eliot has to drag her out of the room

Disappointed that the con changed and Nate didn’t let her continue cracking the lawyer’s safe, a part of the original plan (The Lost Heir Job)

Can’t let go of the disappointment that she never saw an emerald when they visited Emerald Island (The Cross My Heart Job), even though there was no emerald involved

Insists on continuing conversations that people fail to answer for her, even when they may not be that important (eg the Reindeer conversation in The Runway Job)

Parker jumps off the building on Nate’s original countdown in the pilot, probably ignoring the fact that he started over (The Nigerian Job)

She complains to Archie that the Leverage team is not very disciplined (The Inside Job)

Attached to routines and traditions

Is flustered and unable to participate in the briefing because Sophie normally sits next to her on the couch, and now no one is, which feels wrong (The Ice Man Job)

Insists on completing the traditional “Let’s go steal a [blank]” format, and corrects others when she thinks it hasn’t been done correctly (The Boiler Room Job (particularly), The Long Way Down Job, The Too Many Rembrandts Job, The Panamanian Monkey Job, The Lonely Hearts Job, etc)

Insists that Nate specifically say the words, “will you marry me”, when he is proposing to Sophie (The Long Goodbye Job)

Has sensory issues

“Oh I hate business clothes. They make me feel so starchy.” (Parker, The Tower Job)

Arguably, her criticism of the clothes Eliot was trying to pick out for her to fake being a model (The Runway Job)

Her primary reaction to Hardison inviting her to a robot fight is that it seems like it will be very loud (The Girls’ Night Out Job)

Wearing the heavy boots made Parker repeatedly and visibly upset, which seemed like sensory overload. She asks Hardison to hum to calm her. (The Queens Gambit Job)

Related/Uncategorized: Sometimes hears music/sounds that others can’t (unclear whether the sounds always actually exist), as evidenced by her surprise that Hardison can hear quiet music (The 10 Lil Grifters Job). On his blog (for the same episode discussion), John Rogers says, “[Parker] hears... things all the time. She also sees things a little differently.” The ability to hear and/or inability to ignore certain sounds is a common trait in ASD. Less commonly, auditory hallucinations can also be a trait of ASD.

Low empathy / difficulty with empathy

“It’s also this whole thing about she wants to do the right thing and trying to understand what the right thing is.“ -Dean Devlin; “Most shows have someone who’s just trying to do the right thing, we actually have a character who’s not sure what that is yet.” -John Rogers (episode commentary, The Long Way Down Job)

Nate and Sophie send Parker to jury duty as practice for “consider[ing] other people’s point of view” (The Juror #6 Job)

“Look, she thought she was doing the right thing, which means she actually thought about what the right thing might be, which is huge for Parker.“ (-Sophie, The Boost Job)

Uses Nate, Sophie, and Hardison as a guide to morality, upset when she can’t follow their example and return the mountain climber to his wife (The Long Way Down Job)

References the team’s influence when deciding to return to steal the Blight, a move which surprises Archie (The Inside Job)

Speaks less when upset

After the man running the orphanage scam triggers her PTSD, Parker stops talking entirely [+stabs and runs] (The Stork Job)

When they free Hardison from the coffin, Parker is the only one who does not run up to hug him, and is not seen speaking to him again, presumably too overwhelmed (The Grave Danger Job)

When experiencing sensory overload by the heavy shoes, Parker grows very physically tense and more curt (The Queens Gambit Job); she is calmed by Hardison humming

Related note: Parker seems to know at least a small amount of sign language, which she uses while presenting her greeting card ideas to a room of people (The Office Job)

Food likes / issues

Parker’s favorite food is [a specific brand of] cereal, which she stocks in bulk at her home, as well as Leverage HQ, for easy access, eating it frequently (The Beantown Bailout Job, The Inside Job, etc)

She seems to also enjoy chocolate a lot, although this may just be a joke about Parker liking exclusively sugary foods (The Boiler Room Job)

Parker claims to not like food other than chocolate and donuts. She asks Eliot to help her appreciate food, after seeing that cooking is something he cares about. (The French Connection Job)

Thanks for reading! Please feel free to reblog or reply with any other character traits / episode moments you read as being tied to her ASD, or share any headcanons you have for her. ^_^

Note: Parker is Fictional, so everything about her was a choice made either by writers or her actress. The writers seemed to be writing her intentional neurodivergence  in 3 categories:

1. Multiple sources do confirm that Beth and at least certain writers were portraying her as autistic on purpose; regardless of intention, that is how she comes across.

2.  Parker had a traumatic childhood, so certain behaviors I listed above could have been intended (by writers/Beth) as PTSD / adverse childhood reactions, not particularly ASD.

3. Some writers absolutely threw in traits not mindfully connected with any specific neurodivergency or mental illness, but instead were jokes about Parker being “crazy” or odd.

Despite the 3rd point, Parker is multi-faceted and treated with respect by the show, and is generally regarded as a significant positive portrayal of a ND character. (though complaints for certain choices are valid)

[darkskywishes]

Being disabled/chronically ill is expensive!

I don't know if people realize how freaking expensive it is to be disabled. I have a complex medical history, which includes two rare genetic illnesses, comorbidities associated with those two illnesses, and several mental health conditions. Just to give an idea of how expensive it is (USA-centric):

I'm forced into living in a specific city, since that's where the medical specialists for my illnesses are located in. On top of that, sometimes the specific specialists I need aren’t covered by my insurance, so I have to pay out-of-pocket. Each medical specialist (when covered by insurance) costs me $40/visit. I average 2-3 visits per month.

Wheelchairs and everything related to wheelchairs are ridiculously priced! If you’re a regular manual wheelchair user, for example, you likely need what’s referred to as a “custom ultra-lightweight wheelchair”. The main companies known for making these wheelchairs are TiLite, Quickie, RGK, Kuschall, and Ki Mobility. If you go on the websites for these manufacturers, you’ll see that just the frame will start you at $2,000+. Need titanium instead of aluminum to make the chair lighter? Extra $1,000. Need to add a seat cushion? More $$. Need to add a power assist device like a SmartDrive? Extra $6-7,000

Seriously, wheelchair parts are expensive. Manual wheelchair wheels will run you about $500 to $800 each (take a look at websites like Spinergy to see what I mean). Wheelchair tires will run at about $300 for the pair.

Mental healthcare! Competent psychiatric care is difficult to come by, at least where I live. Most psychiatrists are not contracted with any insurance companies. My own psychiatrist is $200 per visit, and that’s considered cheap in my area. Then, add on the cost of weekly therapy. My therapist is $150/session. Again, typical price for the area. Need residential treatment? As an example, my insurance quoted me $750 per day until the out-of-pocket max of $6,500 was met.

The monthly cost of medications! I take 7 medications. Even if each medication was “only” $10/month, that would total to $70/month.

The cost of specialized diets. Many chronic illnesses require special foods, supplements, and overall diets. A lot of these diets require extra time and expenses beyond what the average non-disabled person spends.

I wanted to spread some awareness on this issue because, even among my friend group, I regularly get surprised reactions on this topic. Disabled people are often low-income due to being unable to work consistently or at all, while also having some of the highest expenses—with many of those expenses having to be paid for completely out-of-pocket. While a lot of the examples I used above were specific to the US healthcare system, I’m aware that it’s still similarly expensive to be disabled in other countries as well.

A lot of this wasn’t even taking into consideration the cost of more expensive medical equipment, like power chairs, as well as irregular medical costs that occur more frequently among disabled people—like surgeries, hospitalizations, and the cost of diagnostic testing (MRIs, X-Rays, bloodwork, etc.).

Disabled people are taken advantage of when it comes to the price of medical equipment and medications because we don’t have a choice if we want to live and/or have any quality of life. We pay it, or we suffer.

[oldweedsmokingbf]

I need some help with necessities and doctor bills 😖

[ pls don't tag this post in a way that tumblr will nuke me for lol ]

Hey. I really hate to make this post where I feel like I'm writing a sob story but it's gotten to a point where people around are telling me I need to ask for help bc I'm struggling so much. Anyways, financially my family and I are not doing well... For context: I've been out of work for 2 months due to a workplace injury + workers comp will only pay for appointments regarding my right knee, where the place of injury took place. Therein lies the problem now, though... After getting my X-rays and MRI results my knee was fine, other than fluid in the spot of injury, yet I was still having leg numbness and symptoms for a bit (tmi but it's also become hard to tell when I need to go to the bathroom now too). My doctor told me my issue lies in my spine and the impact could've also affected that... I already have indications of osteoarthritis, bone spurs, as well as constant back pain I struggle with daily. My knee doesn't hurt like it was, but the bigger issue is my back now and worker's comp won't pay for that. I'm in physical therapy for my knee but not my back right now (paid for by wc). Currently, I am living with my mom after a nasty divorce where she had to pay out a shit ton of money (we've had to cut off my dad bc he's abusive and we are both mentally recovering from it. I deal w a lot of PTSD flashbacks and dissociative issues because of all this.) and she's struggling as well as I and we want to move when feasibly possible. I've been relying on her and my girlfriend if I need money for food and "mary wanna" to curb the pain I've been. My girlfriend also lives at home in an abusive situation that she's trying to move out of and is also struggling. I cannot keep relying on these people comfortably yet I'm in an extreme amount of pain where I cannot return to my cashier job where my shifts are usually 7-8 hours long. I'm going to try and open commissions soon after finishing more examples and compiling a good way to show off my different art styles. I plan on doing "Name Your Price" comms with a $5 minimum since my situation is starting to get dire. I'll add that onto the post and make another one soon but for now I'm gonna drop my accounts if you're comfortably able to help me out. My funds are gonna go towards necessities and any doctors appointments my mom's insurance won't cover. I still need to make an appointment for my spine and plan on it soon but financially I am afraid to. Thank you for reading if you've gotten this far! Hope you have a good rest of your day! ❤️

cã$hãpp: $solarsys

v3nm0: @/putridpeaches

p@yp@l: @/putridpeaches

ignore my birth name idk her 😁

[texasdreamer01]

Atlantis Expedition: Science Division Departments - Medical Department

Continuing from my starting post here, I'm now breaking things down by department, beginning with the Medical Department.

I did end up heavily revising this department after the commentary on the general departments post, and also after a lot of looking up of the actual divisions of medical specialties. So, first, the (new) numbers:

> Head: Carson Beckett (later, Jennifer Keller, later, whomever) > Contains: Surgery, psychiatry, physical therapy > Function: Maintaining health of expedition members > Examples of function: surgeries, medical prescriptions, recuperation from injuries, mental stability > Personnel quantity: 1 (Head) + 10 (surgical team) + 5 10 (nurses non-surgical team) + 1 (psych) + 1 (phys. therapy) + 1 (anesthesiologist) (grouped under non-surgical team) = 19 23 total > A/N: Nurses have training in medications and physical therapy, surgical team also doubles as general practitioners

Information carried over from the first post, with struck text indicating revisions. The new total is 23, and the author's note is now irrelevant in light of new information. Mostly.

After doubling the amount of nurses, realizing "nurse" is a very broad category of medical professional with multiple definitions and aspects of job duties in multiple countries, I did a bit of renaming of the teams within this department: surgical, non-surgical, and miscellaneous (sorry guys).

Something I had realized was that this was not going to be a typical medical department (duh, in hindsight). These people are all going through the SGC, and the SGC quite likely not already has their own training protocols in place for dealing with SGC-specific situations, but also adapted technology from Goa'uld tech. What is Goa'uld tech? Appropriated Ancient tech, but without the gene component - fascinating, but also a post for another time.

This did inform how I revised which personnel to include, their specialties, and their duties. You're not exactly going to be shoving a whole MRI machine through a gate, so a radiologist isn't going to be a necessary specialty. Because of this, there's going to be a lot more cross-training, and more of a focus that's similar to what Atlantis would actually operate as: a forward operating base.

So, on to the teams (commentary included).

Surgical Team

> Personnel quantity: 10 > Minimum education: Doctorate in Surgery (ChM) > All of these people are already trained in basic medical knowledge and practices, and also overall surgical practices in different areas of the body

Specialties

> Neurosurgery > Dentistry | Oral and maxillofacial surgery  » In the US, trained to do general anesthesia and deep sedation > Orthopedics  » Musculoskeletal > Trauma surgery  » Can contain combat surgeons  » 2x of these > OBGYN > Urology > Cardiothoracic  » 2x of these, by speciality:   ⇛ Cardiovascular surgeon    ⟹ "involving the heart and the great vessels"   ⇛ Thoracic surgeon    ⟹ involving the lungs, esophagus, thymus, etc. > Surgical technologist  » "In the military they perform the duties of both the circulator and the scrub."  » Creates and maintains a sterile surgical environment  » Anticipates the work a surgeon needs to do  » Walking compendium of surgical techniques and stitches

I had wavered a bit on qualifications, and thus who to include - at the end of the day, it was probably going to be on an American standard, given the physical location of SGC. This meant I got to do a nifty thing of having my oral/maxillofacial surgeon be the dentist that's also an anesthesiologist, even if this is apparently considered odd in many other countries.

Mostly I wanted to go by section of the body, and see what kind of specialties there were, and what did and did not overlap. Surprisingly, it was more difficult to figure out who did abdominal surgeries than it was neurosurgery or dental surgery, hence two people in cardiothoracic surgery and two "general" surgeons in the form of trauma surgery because, again, forward operating base - they have no idea what Atlantis will be, so some assumptions will need to be made and better to err on the side of caution.

In a more delicate but still very necessary subject, one OBGYN (obstetrics and gynecology) and one urologist (aka urinary system and male reproductive system). For various obvious reasons, everyone's health in this area still needs to be taken care of, so it's better to have them on the team than politely handwave the idea.

Neurosurgery, for an obvious reason - it's highly specialized and without significant overlap, while also being a critical function on a surgical team with the demands the Atlantis Expedition will likely face.

Orthopedics are musculoskeletal, or deals with muscles and the skeletal system. A fair amount of what they do has overlap (see: trauma surgeons), but having someone specialized for the particularities of setting bones and handling surgeries on things like the joints is incredibly useful when presuming setting up camp in an active combat zone (which they really, really did).

Trauma surgeons are, more or less, the ones that you would see in an emergency situation - acute situations and their injuries are their specialty, and for this expedition likely the head of the surgical team by dint of their training to assess a patient quickly and develop a care plan very quickly. Because of this, I found the overlap of combat surgeons immensely helpful, which means that there's a significant probability that this surgical team has military personnel assigned to it. These surgeons are also the ones most likely to be SGC-imported, and trained to deal with things like injuries from Goa'uld and Goa'uld devices.

All these very highly-trained people, who are all probably very, very smart - who supports them? As it turns out, at least in the operating theater, not the nurses, but surgical technologists.

Surgical technologists main job, at least here, would be to set up the operating theater and anticipate whatever it is a surgeon needs in assistance. This includes things like training on a wide variety of surgical techniques (i.e. stitches), disinfection procedures, and medications such as anesthesia (ish). I included the quote about military duties because it saves money on how many people to include in the expedition, and penny-pinching is the backbone of any hiring process.

Now, the surgical team is all done! That's ten people right there, and on to the non-surgical team.

Non-Surgical Team

> Personnel quantity: 10  » 5 Technicians/Nurses, 5 Non-Surgical Medical Specialists

Nurses

> (Advanced Practice) Nurses  » 5x of these  » Registered Nurse   ⇛ As the general minimum educational and experimental requirement  » Perioperative nursing   ⇛ Assists surgical team, helps with pre- and post-surgical patients  » Emergency nursing   ⇛ Can do triaging, suturing, casting/splinting, local/regional anesthesia, and other doctoral skills as needed   ⇛ Likely the SGC training model incorporates all of the above, and also training on medical technology adapted from Goa'uld healing technology (which is really Ancient but without the ATA gene lock)    ⟹ Radiology tech    ⟹ MRI tech (which is radiology but a bit to the left)    ⟹ Other adapted diagnostic equipment

Non-Surgical Medical Specialists

> Pathology  » 2x of these  » Coordinates with Life Science Department to develop diagnoses for novel diseases (in the Pegasus galaxy) > Internal medicine | Internists  » 2x of these > Anesthesiology  » For everything the OMS people don't do in terms of anesthesiology  » See also: Anesthesia (topic)

Remember how I said the qualifications were a doozy, and that nurses were a broad category? ... Yeah, this is why. The medical field is probably current in flux right now, given the shifting priorities of medical personnel and so much research that is still in the process of being applied, but I waved my magic plot-fixing wand and assumed the SGC figured this out for me.

All of these nurses are likely to be SGC imports, and thus unbelievably well-trained in everything that the SGC needs them to do. These are the personnel who know how all of the Goa'uld tech works on a functional level, have gotten the goodies first from engineering, and are waving their handheld MRI and other diagnostic equipment over their patients like a fairy godmother in scrubs. As with a real world hospital, these are the people actually running the show, and likely making the surgical team look like hypercompetent show poodles.

As for non-nurses who are also non-surgeons, pathologists are the ones who work up what people will actually be diagnosed with, figuring out all the newest and shiniest diseases and cataloguing them for reference. Doctor Biro is a pathologist, for example.

The thought occurred to me that we still need something resembling a general practitioner, but in light of fancy things like handheld MRIs and other scanners, this role is much reduced in favor of people who pack a greater intellectual punch.

However, I found that internists not only fill this gap, but are also hyper-specialized in their own way, in the respect of their knowledge base being internal diseases and multi-system diseases. Ergo, two of them, because they're just that useful. They'd probably coordinate quite a bit with cardiothoracic surgeons, as those are overlapping areas of study based on region of the body.

One (1) anesthesiologist, because the OMS cannot - nor should they - be the only person to perform anesthesia. This person functions as a sanity checker, and also the thin margin of the anesthesia that the surgeon doesn't cover.

We still need to round out this department, though. So far I've managed to cover in-patient, out-patient, and the various surgical stages. What else?

Well, recuperation - patients can't actually linger in the infirmary for the entirety of their healing process, for such practical reasons as beds available and boredom of patient, so the transitional phase needs to be covered.

Hence, the highly uncreative placeholder section name of Miscellaneous:

> Psychiatrist  » 1x of these, because canon says so? > Physical therapist  » 1x of these, because canon says so?

Now while personnel such as nurses and internists are meant to convey educational material and instructions to patients about recuperation, it helps to actually have specialists on hand to make the patients commit to the bit.

Having only one psychiatrist on hand seems a bit of a Star Trek logical fallacy, but I'm once again waving my plot wand and assuming anyone that managed to get through the arduous employment process of 1) being told the Stargate exists (and coping with their world views being upended), 2) being employed by the SGC in general, and 3) passes their psychological assessment is probably mentally stable enough to only need one psychiatrist for the entire expedition.

(Yes, this does mean everyone on the expedition got their rubber stamp of sanity, and probably in grueling triplicate. Such as it can be defined a fanfiction-like world of scifi. I think they're coping pretty well with everything, no?)

With all the work that the surgical and non-surgical teams put into taking care of injured expedition members, a physical therapist is, as with everyone else here, very good at their job, but ultimately one of the last steps for patients that require longer term care. Think gaining back muscle after a broken leg, or more serious injuries that require months of guided exercise to be back to gate team-ready health (or general running for your life because Atlantis is just as dangerous).

Total Medical Department Personnel

Head of Department: 1

Surgical Team: 10

Non-Surgical Team: 10

Miscellaneous: 2

Total total: 23

I'll be going over headcanons on canonical personnel, such as Carson Beckett, Jennifer Keller, and Biro in their own posts, but for now this is a general accounting of the expedition's medical department.

Shout-out to @savestave and @stinalotte for the discussion and feedback on the original post!

[radioactiveradley]

Hi! I have a question: can broken or fractured bones be seen in MRI scans and CT scans?

Also, when and how do doctors determine whether an MRI or CT scan is needed after an x-ray (in case they didn’t see a problem in the x-ray or unsure if there’s a pathology or not on the x-ray scan)?

Thank you!

Hello!

You can absolutely see broken/fractured bones on both MRI and CT. If we're specifically looking for bony damage, we're more likely to use CT - MRI is the best modality for looking at soft tissue injury, but is far more expensive than CT, so we're not going to use it for any old break!

We use CT to look at complex, 'comminuted' fractures, where the bone has split into multiple fragments, or in other cases where surgeons really need a clear three-dimensional view of the break.

If it's a clean transverse fracture (horizontal snap of a long bone) you probably won't need CT.

However, if you have this shit going on...

(unstable comminuted fracture of left femur due to gunshot wound, courtesy of radiopedia)

Yeah, it's probably CT time.

Similarly, some fractures can be hidden when using X-ray - particularly intra-articular fractures (breaks within a joint).

Intercondylar fractures of the humerus or fractures of the radial head are a classic example. In these cases, we look at the plain radiograph for other markers - particularly signs of haemarthrosis (bleeding into a joint).

Fat pad sign, on a non-displaced radial head fracture that is otherwise invisible on this elbow radiograph - courtesy of wiki

Can you see the slightly darker, raised areas that the red arrows are pointing to? Those are pads of fat around your elbow joint, which usually aren't nearly so obvious on a radiograph. They've been pushed outwards by soft-tissue swelling and bleeding around the break. If we see these two little 'dark flags', it means there's an injury hidden within the elbow joint itself, which we can't see. So, away to CT the patient goes!

Then we have the fabulous lipohaemarthrosis (the word every first-year student dreads having to say out loud in front of qualified staff). Check this baby out!

Lipohaemarthrosis of the left knee due to a hidden tibial plateau fracture, courtesy of radiopaedia

Look on either side of the patella. See those dark blobs? They're fat. As shown on the elbow image, fat is radiolucent (appears dark on X-ray) in comparison to other soft tissue. Fat also floats on top of blood.

This means, if we lay you down with your knee pointing up, and you happen to have free-floating fat and blood around your joint... the fat bloops up to the top, and you get a clear line between the fat and the blood. This is a very clear sign of intra-articular damage - and, again, you'll be heading to CT to get a three-dimensional look at that hidden fracture.

As for when we would use MRI... If we suspect that you have a serious soft-tissue injury that requires surgery (tears to the anterior cruciate ligament in the knee being the classic example!) that's when you'll get a trip to my favourite magnetic man, Big Boomy Chungus. I can go more into that if you want, but it would probably need its own separate post!

Hope that helps! x

[luxe-pauvre]

As I read this piece, my blood began to boil. My research has focused on what kinds of things we can and cannot learn from neuroimaging data, and one of the clearest conclusions to come from this work is that activity in a particular region in the brain cannot tell us on its own whether a person is experiencing fear, reward, or any other psychological state. In fact, when people claim that activation in a particular brain area signals something like fear or reward, they are committing a basic logical fallacy, which is now referred to commonly as reverse inference. My ultimate fear was that the kind of fast-and-loose interpretation of MRI data seen in the New York Times op-ed would lead readers to think erroneously that this kind of reasoning was acceptable, and would also lead other scientists to ridicule our field. What's the problem with reverse inference? Take the example of a fever. If we see that our child has a fever, we can't really tell what particular disease he or she has, because there are so many different diseases that cause a fever (flu, pneumonia, and bacterial infections, just to name a few). On the other hand, if we see a round red rash with raised bumps, we can be fairly sure that it is caused by ringworm, because there are few other diseases that cause such a specific symptom. When we are interpreting brain activation, we need to ask the analogous question: How many different psychological processes could have caused the activation?

Russell Poldrack, The New Mind Readers: What Neuroimaging Can and Cannot Reveal About Our Thoughts