Universal Medicine

Wh y did I read this book? Quite frankly, the reason why I chose to read this book was to mention it in my personal statement as a way of substantiating my wider reading. However, I have been pleasantly surprised by how much I have gained from reading this book, not only gaining a deeper understanding of medicine but also the human condition. What did I make of the title? I did not know what to expect. I thought that the title was used for comedic effect. I certainly didn’t think that the title was meant to be taken literally, which made Dr P’s condition, visual agnosia, all the more extraordinary. Why did Oliver Sacks write this book in the first place? Although I am not well-placed to answer this question as a reader, I still think that it is an important question to consider in order to understand why this book is influential in medicine. 1: Approach to neurology Oliver Sacks offers a unique approach to neurology: to be equally interested in diseases and in peo...

Breast cancer is a common cancer affecting approximately 1 in 8 women and 1 in 870 men during their lifetime. There are several factors contributing to the risk of breast cancer including age, breast tissue density and particular alleles of genes involved in breast tissue growth. The focus of this article is to explore the link between the increased incidence of breast cancer and working abnormal shift patterns (i.e. working a mixture of days and nights during a week) which means that for individuals working in this way, the circadian clock is unable to adjust to a shift pattern before it changes again. Measuring time: The passage of time is measured by internal body clocks which run on circadian rhythms. These clocks last for approximately 24 hours. In mammals, circadian rhythms are determined by the amount of daylight. Light intensity is detected by the eye, which signals the time of day to a region in the brain called SCN (suprachiasmatic nucleus) found in the hypothala...

The Cerebellum Main Functions: >Coordination and fine-tuning of movements >Maintenance of balance and posture (information is sent from proprioceptors to the cerebellum to monitor the body’s position at a given moment in time meaning that body position can be altered if necessary) To carry out these functions, the cerebellum needs 3 things: >Motor plan: the cerebellum needs to know what muscles contract, when they contract etc >Position sense information (i.e. proprioception): to monitor movements and see if they match the motor plan >feedback (information is sent to the cerebellum to adjust body movements so that they match the body plan) Damage to the cerebellum can lead to: >uncoordinated movements (e.g. abnormal gait) >speech problems (N.B: muscles are used for speech) >difficulty balancing Causes of cerebellar damage: >Tumours >Viral infections >Genetic disorders causing cerebellar degeneration Location: ...

Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis (JIA): Juvenile= affecting young people. Idiopathic= a disease with an unknown cause. Arthritis: a common disease causing pain and inflammation in joints. JIA is a common childhood disease affecting the musculoskeletal system. 1 in 1000 children in the UK are affected by the autoimmune condition. JIA first occurs in young people before they reach 16 years of age. This is when they start to display common signs of arthritis including red, warm, painful and stiff joints, as well as having a recurrent fever and skin rash that come and go in parallel with joint inflammation. Although the cause of the disease remains a mystery, it is thought that a combination of genetic and environmental factors provoke the immune system to attack cells and tissues in the body, especially in the joints. In a healthy individual, the immune system is able to distinguish between the body’s own cells and tissues from pathogens by recognising antigens. When the immun...

The general rule of mitochondrial inheritance is: ‘ 37 genes mitochondrial DNA of maternal origin’ Nothing more and nothing less. What would we do without it? This well-supported assumption about mitochondrial inheritance has formed the frameworks for decades of calculations that then went on to inform the bulk of modern ancestral analyses. Recognised as one of the most reliable methods for understanding phylogeny, due to its reliable and slow rate of mutation, small changes in mitochondrial DNA among isolated groups signposted the split from a mother and thus revealed details on evolutionary origins and likely historical migration patterns. Though, in the same way that the organisms we study themselves evolve, our understanding is once more on the brink of a revolution. Beliefs in the background In 2002, danish researchers challenged this widely-held understanding after studying a male patient whose DNA was sequenced in the hopes of finding the origins of his mitoch...

Medical robots are being put into practice as they can help increase safety, quality and precision for medical professionals. Robotic technology is always advancing and a wide range of robots are being developed to suit roles in the medical environment. These are some examples of robotic technology being used in dentistry. Dental Implant Robot In 2017, a robotic dentist fitted two dental implants into a woman’s mouth in china. Medical staff were present during the operation and programmed the robot’s movements but did not intervene in the surgery. The 3D printed teeth were fitted within a margin of error 0.2-0.3 mm, which is standard for implant surgery. China has a shortage of qualified dentists so robotic dentistry would help meet the demand. Robotic dentistry could also help reduce the risk of human-made errors. Yomi US company (Neocis) announced last year that the US Food & Drug Administration had given clearance for them to introduce the first robotically assisted ...