The Cinematologist

CHIM CHIM CHERY #2

2011-09-11T13:25:00.000-07:00

No worries, Mary Poppins will make Michael bathe sooner than later,

reducing the length of exposure to carcinogens.

"IT'S JUST GOOD CLEAN SOOT, MICHAEL!"
When we were last discussing chimney sweeps, Mary Poppins the movie, and scrotal cancer, I mentioned how unpredictable cancer can be. Often cancer develops years after the exposure that mutates and changes cells so that they eventually become cancerous.

That's what happens with scrotal cancer. Boys sent up those 17th and 18th century chimneys were exposed to the carcinogen (soot), later developing the cancer in adulthood(1). If they continued in the profession as men, protection from soot didn't improve just because they kept their clothes on. English(2) sweeps of the time wore loose clothing that allowed soot to creep into all sorts of bodily crevices.

According to Disney, loose clothing was no longer worn by chimney sweeps

such as Bert (Dick Van Dyke) and his cohorts.

How did Percival Pott(3) know to associate scrotal cancer with chimney sweeping? It's a very rare form of cancer, but it happened so frequently amongst the profession that the sweeps had a name for it - Soot Wart!

HOW DO YOU TREAT SOOT WART WHEN YOU DON'T EVEN HAVE ELECTRICITY, INDOOR PLUMBING, OR IBUPROFEN?

Onset of the warty growths usually occurs between the ages of 20 and 40. Sometimes the sweeps would just cut the "wart" out by themselves, with a knife - ouch! - and hope for the best. Without some kind of attention, the cancer could eventually spread throughout the inner thigh, invade genitals, and eventually enter the pelvic cavity. What a horrible way to die!

According to A Brief History Of Scrotal Cancer, in Pott's day, 1775, the treatment was surgery without anaesthesia, or applications ofa poultice containing arsenic(another carcinogen) that would kill the warty tissue and cause the growth toslough off. Oh-my-gosh! I am grossing myself out!

If a sweep was "as lucky as lucky can be," to quote Bert, he wouldn't have ignored the earliest stages of soot wart, sought medical attention (such as it was), and be lucky enough to be treated by a doctor/surgeon like Pott.

A carcinogenic magical wonderland of rooftops and products of combustion.

So… this winter, as you cozy up to the fire with acarcinogenic bottle of wine, and some popcorn(4), slip Mary Poppins into your DVD player (Netflix doesn’t stream it yet)and think about how lucky you are that you’re not a chimney sweep like Bert.

1. As stated in the last post, although these boys were all exposed to soot, not all of them would develop the cancer.
2. As opposed to German and other European sweeps who wore tighter clothing and had little or no incidence of scrotal cancer.
3. See CHIM CHIM CHERY #1.
4. Remind me later to talk about "Popcorn Lung".

I LOVE BAD MOVIES #4

2011-08-12T09:15:00.000-07:00

For those of you who still enjoy reading printed ephemera, I Love Bad Movies Volume 4 presents a variety of articles discussing films from or about childhood, adolescence, and those awkward teenage years. With seventy pages of essays and a special feature interview with the director of The Children (1980), this zine makes a great read for adults fascinated or scarred by children's movies such as Troll 2, Mac and Me, and/or The Apple Dumpling Gang.

Go to page 56 and you will find my article, Hot Dogs and Parasites: Advertising Conspiracies Revealed By The Faculty. Yes, it's a long title, but I've been in grad school. What can I do? I describe the link between hotdogs, alien parasitism, and diuretics in Robert Rodriguez's movie, The Faculty. The essay was inspired by my friend Todd Alcott, who worked on the feature and made a short film about pathology and hotdogs.

BURKE AND HARE

2011-08-07T08:03:00.000-07:00

Not quite Mary Poppins...

I LEAD A CHARMED LIFE

The luck o' the chimney sweeps must have rubbed off on me last night. It was the perfect evening! First I posted part one of my blog about Mary Poppins, chimney sweeps, and scrotal cancer in the 18th and 19th century, then I found a charming movie full of infantile humor about two criminals who's activities contributed to the creations of England's Anatomy Act of 1832.

I ask you, what is funnier that a corpse with his crotch in the air?

(Image from here.)

Which movie was this? John Landis' Burke and Hare! What fun(1)! Of course, in real life, the Williams Burke and Hare murdered 16 people(2) to sell to an Edinburgh anatomy school for dissection. If you think teachers have a hard time getting classroom supplies these days, try being an anatomist in the 19th century. There were not enough bodies of executed criminals to go around, and market demand was high.

An example of the shoddy quality of cadavers available

from grave robbers. Ick!

In the movie, Burke (Simon Pegg) and Hare (Andy Serkis) are bizarrely sympathetic. Although there are some fantastic liberties taken to develop a dynamic plot, occasionally replacing historical accuracy. The film has a number of fine moments that communicate the culture of medical education at the time.

Tim Curry (love him!) is also in the film.

There seems to be a running gag about his character and feet.

Could it be a reference to Daft Jamie, one of B and H's victims?

READ THIS BOOK

An excellent read on the history of medicine, death, poverty, and criminality in pre-20th century England is Ruth Richardson's Death, Dissection, and the Destitute. Chapter 16 focuses on our heroes Burke and Hare, but if you read all 450-odd pages, you will have an appreciation for the culture from which Burke and Hare arose as they took the profession of the Resurrectionist to its next logical incarnation. An added perk is that the movie contains a lot of visual references that can be appreciated more fully if you do a little homework.

This book is a great read! I highly recommend it.

1. It's humorous only if you think it's funny when people have the contents of chamber pots thrown on their heads, or when a barrel containing a corpse gets away from our heroes and rolls through the city streets, or if you can see the lighter side of smothering someone to death.

2. Two old men, two handicapped youths, and 12 women, according to Ruth Richardson.

CHIM CHIM CHERY - Part 1

2011-08-06T10:00:00.000-07:00

(Sorry Gang! I lost the formatting war with this post...)

Dick Van Dyke as Bert

A SWEEP IS AS LUCKY AS LUCKY CAN BE!

The other day I found myself thinking about Bert (Dick Van Dyke), the happy-go lucky, charismatic chimney sweep from the film Mary Poppins.

Bert considers himself rather lucky. As an early 20^th century working man, immersed in the products of combustion (namely soot) with (supposedly) better hygienic practices than his 18^th and 19^th century chimney sweep counterparts, he probably is luckier than his professional forefathers were.

Doctor Pott, I presume.

In 1775 Percival Pott described the first malignant disease connected with a specific occupation. What, you ask, was this occupation? Chimney sweeping. And what was the occupational disease associated with it? Why, scrotal cancer!

Being a chimney sweep in 18^th century London was a living hell, particularly for young boys drafted into profession. These boys were forced to crawl up the chimneys in order to clean them out. According to a fabulous article, A Brief History Of Scrotal Cancer, 17^th and 18^th century chimneys were narrow and crooked. You couldn’t get the cleaning equipment through the steeply angled 9x14” spaces. So what to do? Send a boy up there, of course… naked!

According to the article, many boys would get stuck in the chimney and suffocate from inhaling too much soot. Then they’d have to call a brick mason, to get the dead body of the child out. Sometimes these boys were sent into the chimney to put out fires!

If a boy survived his chimney adventures, eventually he’d grow to be too big to go up the chimney himself. In 1842 an Act was passed to keep boys out of chimneys, although the custom continued for another twenty years. Bert’s grandfather may have been one of the boys sent up the chimney.

What does a naked boy crawling in a chimney have to do with scrotal cancer? These kids were exposed everywhere to soot, smoke, and carcinogenic products of combustion.

Run away little Michael... run!

GOOD LUCK WILL RUB OFF, WHEN HE SHAKES HANDS WITH YOU!

Carcinogens cause cancer by mutating cells or altering their metabolisms. There are all sorts of carcinogens - tobacco, some forms of salted fish, some hepatitis viruses, alcoholic drinks, cell phone radiation, coal and wood smoke, soot, etc. Sometimes it seems like everything is carcinogenic.

The soot-covered Bert shakes hands with the tobacco smoker.

Good luck will rub off! (Or be inhaled!)

Although cancer is a common event, it can be somewhat unpredictable. A person might be exposed to a carcinogen, their cells altered, and the cancer won’t show up until years later. Additionally, not everyone exposed to the carcinogen is guaranteed to develop cancer. Some people might be genetically predisposed to developing it, or a person might need to be exposed to the agent in a specific way. Other people might not develop tumors after the same type of exposure as someone who develops cancer.

Which of these men will develop lung or scrotal cancer?

Next time... the name the chimney sweeps gave this form of cancer, plus a description of 18th century treatment for this disease!

CONAN THE HYPERTROPHIC

2011-06-17T08:37:00.000-07:00

BARBARIANS AT THE GATE

A new Conan movie is coming out! I am looking forward to that, let me tell you. I watched some trailers - "I live, I love, I slay, and I am content!" August can't get here fast enough! But first, let's talk a little bit about an aspect of the first Conan movie that keeps me entertained every time I see it.

Conan The Barbarian (1982) (Arnold Schwarzenegger) grows from a unformed slave youth into a massive, hulking warrior with huge muscles, incredible strength, and more huge muscles. How does Conan become so powerful? Partially through his genetic inheritance, and partially though athletic training(1). A major component of Conan's training consists of years of pushing a heavy mill wheel called The Wheel Of Pain, an apt description for the way some of us feel about exercise.

The Wheel Of Pain at sunset.

WHEEL OF FORTUNE

Conan starts pushing the Wheel as a child. Through the miracle of time-lapse photography, we watch Conan mature as he pushes and pushes that wheel. At first, we see that he is one of many children engaged in this physical activity. As years go by, the children grow, improving in strength or dying of exhaustion, and fewer of them are left to move the wheel.

Conan the boy is chained to the Wheel.

Conan the man, training upper pecs and anterior deltoids.

More years go by and the group of pushers grows smaller and smaller, until one day only Conan is left at the Wheel Of Pain. Conan has grown into the perfect physical specimen: powerful, focused, and with minimal additional training, a glorious fighting machine.

Conan the warrior. Look at that... sword!

Assuming Conan ate nutritious meals, performed a physical warm-up before pushing all day, stretched regularly, and adhered to a periodized (Wheel Of Pain) program to optimize strength and cardiovascular gains, this forced enslavement at the Wheel in order to turn someone into a barbarian Adonis among men makes perfect sense. Except for one vital flaw(3) - SPECIFICITY.

SPECIFICITY

Your muscles adapt to exercise (or work) as you stress them at increasing levels of intensity. This adaptation results in an increase in strength and an increase in size (although usually not an increase of Conan-like proportions.) Conversely, if you were to stop stressing a set of muscles, they would weaken and get smaller.

Your body also adapts to the specific types of exercises you do. On a basic level, if you do a bunch of push ups every day, it will probably be easier to push a baby's stroller but not to lift a suitcase. Why? Because you have only trained the muscles in your shoulders and arms that perform pushing/stroller activities, not pulling/suitcase actions.

In the movie, we see that Conan, our future governor of California, has an extremely well balanced physique. Indeed, pushing the Wheel would give anyone excellent calves, quads, and glutes. But in his upper body, Conan has a set of exceptional biceps brachii that would not be that hypertrophic in comparison to his triceps brachii. The biceps are pulling muscles flexing the elbow, the triceps are pushing muscles, straightening it.

An image of the biceps and triceps brachii from The Encyclopedia of Science site.

On the left, the biceps is contracting and flexing the elbow. On the right the triceps

is contracting and extending the elbow.

Warning: these images are extremely inaccurate regarding

the muscle attachments, but work great for location and visualizing how they move the elbow.

You need a good set of biceps to hold up a broadsword, and we're supposed to believe that Conan got them from only pushing the Wheel Of Pain. They must have cut some footage, in editing the film, of Conan pulling the wheel to break up the monotony of his day.

Conan (Schwarzenegger) and his biceps examine the scapula of

an opponent in battle.

Sometimes I fantasize about what Conan/Schwarzenegger would really look like if he had really only been pushing for years and years. Hm... he'd probably have great upper pecs, serratus anterior, anterior deltoids, and triceps. But his back musculature (trapezius, erectors), and his biceps and probably latissimus (yes, I know someone is going to want to argue over this muscle) would be comparatively puny.

Is anyone good at photoshop?

1. ...and possibly with a little help from steroids.

2. Click here for a PDF put out by ACE that gives a simplified explanation of periodization for fitness training.

3. Okay, okay. There are many vital flaws. Pushing a wheel for years will improve cardiovascular health and facilitate fat burn, for sure. But you're really going to be training those muscles (including your heart) exclusively for aerobic/endurance activities, like pushing a wheel all day. Power training is not the Wheel's forte, and fighting requires power (and speed, coordination, agility, etc.)

THE PUPPET MASTERS

2011-01-30T08:00:00.000-08:00

BACK TO THE (ALTERNATIVE) FUTURE

If there's one theme that is irresistible to Hollywood filmmakers and myself, it's parasites. You might counter this assertion by asking, "What about mutant viral epidemics? They are very popular, you know." That's true, but I think that nothing says science fiction like a parasitic infection, usually because mind control is part of the mix. We should also keep in mind that microorganisms like viruses, bacteria, and protozoa are technically parasites too, and that many of those microbes assert control over their victims, both in the movies and in real life(1). Therefore, it all boils down to parasites. They're everywhere!

The Puppet Masters book by Robert Heinlein was one of my favorites when I was a kid. To my delight, it was turned into a movie in 1994. What, exactly are Puppet Masters? They are alien hive-mind creatures, consisting of many individual slug-like organisms creating a collective consciousness. For you (movie) trivia buffs, these parasites are 60% brain tissue, according to government experts.

A "slug" resting quietly on a window pane. All brain, no brawn.

The individual organism appears to be something like a cross between a manta ray and a slug. It has a powerful tentacle so strong it can punch through wood. The tentacle disturbingly, resembles a (huge) erect male dog phallus.

Recruitment of a new host. Ouch!

It inserts this appendage through the host's tissues, insinuating an extension of itself into the right and left hemispheres of the cerebrum, to the cerebral cortex.

Here is a picture of the cortex.

The superficial (outer) part of the cerebrum is called the cerebral cortex. It's the area of the brain controlling memory, interpretation of sensory input, cognition, language, and willed movement. So it makes sense that this is the part of the brain the creature would want to interface with.

A puppet master insinuating itself into a victim's cerebrum.

Once ensconced in the host, the creature can access the person’s entire history and psyche, it knows the host intimately and communicates this information to it’s fellow parasites via an intertwining tendril system. This communication feature causes me to wonder if this movie may have inspired the inter-tendrilly communication of the Navi in Avatar. But I digress.

NO SECRETS!

The human hosts are cognizant of this group-mind-knowledge, so everyone knows everybody else’s closest secrets. All dirty laundry is aired in the onslaught of the alien invasion. I’m not sure why government agencies want to save the people infected by the slugs. They now know all the state secrets, held in the minds of hapless government agents hosting the parasites. It seems that the FBI would want to kill all the people hosting slugs, for knowing too much. It's like a giant, psychic Wikileaks(2)!

Julian Assange: the real-world equivalent of a hive-mind parasitic space alien?

PARASITIC INFECTIONS ARE STRESSFUL

The parasite controls its host’s speech and movements. It also apparently increases the host body’s output of adrenaline (the hormones epinephrine and norepinephrine). Since the creature controls the brain, this could be done by causing a part of the brain called the hypothalamus to stimulate the adrenal medulla(3), via nerve impulses, creating a sympathetic nervous response in the body. This sympathetic system is often called the stress response or the fight-or-flight response because it pumps you up and gets your ready to kill, be killed, or run for your life.

How this sympathetic nervous system stimulation assists the alien creatures in over-riding the conscious control of its host is beyond me.

The fight-or-flight response prepares your body for immediate physical activity and the possibility of mortal injury. Respiration increases. Blood gets directed towards your brain (more for the slug!) and muscles. Blood is directed away from digestive and sexual organs. There will be plenty of time for eating and fornicating if you live through the immediate crisis. Blood volume goes up and the blood is altered so that it will clot more easily. Your heart rate increases, pupils dilate, and you sweat from all this increased metabolic activity.

However, in the movie, every parasitized human has no armpit stains and is breathing quite normally. They look quite calm, which doesn’t quite coordinate with the image of a person with a bunch of adrenaline pumping around in their bloodstream.

How can this be the look of a child ready to kill or be killed?

1. For more on microbial mind control, see the toxoplasma gondii references in my October 7, 2010 post.

2. It is impossible to know whether or not Julian Assange gets his information from infection with psychic alien invaders or a collection of uninfected humans, but the results do demonstrate some interesting parallels...

3. The adrenal medulla is a part of the adrenal gland, an organ that secretes hormones, sitting on top of your kidneys.

OH WHAT A TANGLED WEB WE WEAVE...

2010-12-08T08:18:00.000-08:00

Natalie Portman is the Black Swan.

NO SPOILERS

Seen Black Swan yet? I was fascinated, bored, and thrilled by it. Admittedly, I have a thirty year history as a dancer (yes, I'm that old) but I think there's some great stuff in there for those who know nothing about dance or ballet. You'll snore, you'll gasp (in that order.)

What about this film provokes a post by The Cinematologist? How can I write without ruining the film for those who haven't yet seen it? By examining the phenomenon of syndactyly, a.k.a. zygodactyly, a.k.a webbed toes (and fingers.) That's how.

A black swan with syndactyly.

The swan seen here is not played by Natalie Portman.

Get it? Black Swan and webbed toes? Plus toe webbing does appear in the film. For the sake of artistic integrity I will not reveal the context of the toe reference.

HOW IT HAPPENS, WHAT IT IS

During weeks 6-8 of development, a fetus' fingers and toes separate from one another. Up to that point, we all have mitten-shaped hands and sock-shaped feet, sort of. A process called apoptosis(1) separates the digits through the death of the connecting them. If this "longitudinal interdigital necrosis" does not separate the fingers and/or toes, you come out of the womb with webbed fingers and/or toes.

Second and third toe webbing, no bony involvement.

From the European Journal of Human Genetics.

Syndactyly can be a phenomenon in and of itself, or linked to a variety of syndromes. Sometimes the skin is the only tissue linking the digits, but sometime the bones are fused, or additional bones may be present. Syndactyly occurring in the hands can lead to functional losses and cause deformities. With either fingers or toes, once the extent and type of webbing is assessed surgery is the typical treatment. People tend not to see toe webbing as a great impediment to foot function, in contrast with impairment caused by finger webbing. Therefore they may be less likely to treat their webbed toes surgically. As a massage therapist, I have worked on many an untreated webbed toe, but have never worked on untreated webbed fingers.

This is the most creative example of embracing one's toe syndactyly I've ever seen.

As it's own phenomenon not linked to any other syndrome, the chances of being born with webbing have been observed to be around 3 in 10,000 births. Most common is webbing between the second and third toes. White, non-Latin men have a slightly higher likelihood of having syndactyly, and there are genetic links to the condition. So if you're worried about your own future offspring's odds of developing toe deformities, you should do a thorough genetic/family health history with any potential mate and screen them for toe webbing before you mix genetic material. While you're at it, you can also screen for Alzheimer's disease, diabetes, certain cancers, and heart disease, before selecting a partner for parenting. Once you find a mate who passes these genetic criteria, she will probably turn out to be a crazy, controlling stage mother ex-ballerina who bears a resemblance to Barbara Hershey on botox. (What a great performance that was!)

Mother Erica (Hershey) with daughter Nina (Natalie Portman).

This means that statistically, ballerinas are less likely to present with syndactyly than danseurs. There are no definitive statistics of greater incidence of syndactyly in the corps de ballet, as opposed to incidence amongst soloists, or prima ballerinas.

WHAT IT IS NOT

No, you can't swim better with syndactyly of the toes, unless you are a swan. Yes, you can still get athletes foot on the toes, if not between them(2). Finally, there are no documented instances of spontaneous syndactyly... unless you're crazy.

1. The tissue cells webbing the fingers and toes together begin to die (intentionally) in order to free the digits from one another. Apoptosis essentially means normal, intentional cell destruction in any tissue, not just fingers and toes. Sometimes one's body must sacrifice a few for the greater good.

2. Athlete's Foot is a fungus, called tinea, that prefers cracks between the toes, but keep your foot in your shoe long enough where the foot skin can stay warm and moist and... voila!

MAGICAL CURE-ALL!

2010-11-22T07:00:00.000-08:00

RIDDLE

What do Young Frankenstein and The Ape have in common? Cerebrospinal fluid, that's what! In both films CSF is the golden(1) elixir that, once introduced into a patient's body, will raise low IQ scores, calm behavioral disorders, or cure paralysis. So much for one little fluid to do!

LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION

Diagram of cerebrospinal fluid (in blue) circulation.

CSF is the liquid circulating around your brain and spinal cord. It essentially acts like liquid packing material. You brain floats in, and is cushioned by it. CSF protects the tender brain from sloshing and getting injured(2). The fluid also helps the body maintain constant intracranial pressure, and transports metabolic wastes and pathogenic agents away from the brain and into the bloodstream.

CSF in some jars. Looks like water, doesn't it?

Can it help a person with flaccid paralysis walk again? Not really. Can it increase intelligence? No. If it could, we'd have heard about kids "juicing" their brains before taking SAT exams.

THIS IS (A) SPINAL TAP

A lumbar puncture can be used to diagnose many illnesses.

How does one retrieve CSF? Typically with a procedure called a lumbar puncture, aka spinal tap. A needle is inserted into the lower back between two lumbar vertebrae. The person receiving the puncture has to flex the trunk to maximize space between vertebrae.

Although a spinal tap can be performed at the neck, they are usually done between lumbar vertebrae 4 and 5. This is a safer place to perform the procedure because the spinal cord ends around L1/L2. Nerves branch off the cord and continue down through the tube formed by your vertebral column. The sprouty structure formed by these nerves is called the cauda equina (horse's tail).

The cauda equina.

When you stick a needle into the vertebral canal, the nerves forming the "tail" can get pushed out of the way, minimizing damage by the needle. During a spinal tap in the neck, a danger is that the operator may nick the cord, which isn't so good.

HIGHLY IRREGULAR!

The Ape! What a poster!

In The Ape, Boris Karloff has a controversial experimental treatment for polio. He injects CSF from a donor into the vertebral canal of a paralyzed, teenage girl, who's in love. It is not clear exactly what type of procedure Boris Karloff uses to retrieve the CSF. He only collects the stuff from men who have been murdered by a "giant ape"(3), and he seems to need a lot of it. His heart is in the right place, and of course the girl starts to walk again, but it goes badly for Boris.

Paralysis from polio....

can be cured with CSF! Thanks to - The Ape!

ANOTHER MAD GENIUS

In Young Frankenstein, Frederick Frankenstein (Gene Wilder) performs a transfusion of sorts where he and The Monster (Peter Boyle) mix and swap their CSF. The fluid is supposed to invest The Monster with some of Frankenstein's intelligence, which it does (in the movie, but not really.)

This transfusion had to be performed for 15 minutes exactly! No more, no less!

In the transfusion scene we see the scientist and monster sporting shiny helmets with tubes of liquid bubbling between their heads. Instead of doing a spinal tap procedure, we must assume his assistant, Inga (Teri Garr), drilled holes in Dr. Frankenstein and the Monster's skulls for this fluid exchange. Inga probably tells Frankenstein to "hold onto his hat" on their honeymoon evening so that she doesn't have to look at the bald patches on Frankenstein's head(4).

1. It's not really golden. Cerebrospinal fluid is clear and watery with a lot of glucose (sugar) in it. If it was golden, it would probably be full of bacteria, or maybe have blood in it.

2. For more about brain injury due to "sloshing" you can click on the contrecoup injury labels for other posts.

3. The quotes are for those of you who have seen the movie, wink, wink! (Sure, I could have used an emoticon, but I don't believe in them.)

4. She'd have to shave the area before the operation, for hygenic purposes.

STAR TREK, WRATH OF KHAN

2010-10-07T11:20:00.000-07:00

Khan (Ricardo Montalban), professional Ceti Eel handler.

BE PREPARED!

Planning a vacation? Let me urge you to be an Informed Tourist and educate yourself about the types of parasites travelers to foreign planets may encounter. Picking up a brochure from the Federation of Planets' Health Department can help you avoid annoying diarrheal disease or parasitic mind control.

Vulcans and humans alike are subject to infestation of Ceti Eel larvae. Although this infestation is rare, emergence of the larva from under the armored scale of the reptile-like Eel adult, and subsequent migration to a human host has been known to occur.

If you encounter a Ceti Eel while on vacation, do not attempt to feed or touch it. Eels have been known to bite.

The larva enters the cranium via the auditory canal (ear hole), penetrating through bone and soft tissues alike to “wrap itself around the cerebral cortex.”

Eel entering auditory canal of non-consenting study subject. Eel size, approximately 3.5 cm.

Pathways utilized by the Ceti Eel.

How can an organism, only a few centimeters in length, wrap itself around a humanoid cerebral cortex? I have yet to find published research describing this phenomenon. Ceti Eel larvae are only a few centimeters in length when they enter the ear and (occasionally) exit it, with no measurable change in size or mass.

Diagram of cerebral cortex. It's big.

However, once ensconced around the cerebral cortex, the larval Eel can control the behavior of its host, compelling him to perform activities he (or she) would not otherwise engage in. The effect of the Ceti Eel on behavior is somewhat similar to the way in which the protozoa Toxoplasma gondii alters the behavior of the rodent it infects.

Chekov (Walter Koenig) doesn't want to help Khan. The Eel makes him behave like a rat on Toxo!

A MOMENT FOR EARTHLY MIND CONTROL

Just as Chekov wants to avoid Khan, rodents want to avoid cats. But rats infected by Toxplasma gondii demonstrate a distinct affinity to cat urine(1)! It is hypothesized that the protozoan influences rat behavior, for this particular parasite needs the rat to be eaten by the cat in order to complete its life cycle.

Mmm... what a lovely fragrance you have! Too bad this rat is under parasitic mind control!

In order to reduce your chances of Toxoplasma gondii infection(2) avoid eating or huffing cat poop, and don't vacation in France (or maybe you could just avoid French cats that eat a lot of raw game.)

BUT BACK TO THE EELS!

How does one detect Eel infestation? Signs and symptoms of Ceti Eel infestation include: headache, screaming, mild fever, behavioral and personality changes (compliance leading to dementia), slight bleeding from the ear, possibly death.

Bleeding from the ear, a common sign of Eel infestation.

There is no known treatment for Ceti Eel infestation. Tylenol or other analgesic medications may reduce headache and fever. Ceti Eel larvae do not seem to parasitize humans for any essential metabolic purpose, and occasionally will spontaneously re-emerge from their host’s ear with no perceptible alteration in size or shape.

Miraculously, infestation with Ceti Eel seems to have no detrimental effect on hearing.

If the infestation does not spontaneously resolve, death results.

Enjoy your trip!

1. Does this mean incontinent cats make better mousers?

2. In most people, presence of the protozoan is well tolerated, but avoid changing that litter box if you're pregnant.

INCUBATION

2010-08-11T03:35:00.000-07:00

I was watching 28 Days Later on TV the other night, and things were going fine. Animal rights activists break into a lab performing experiments on chimpanzees. Got it. Activists become infected by the chimps. Okay. 28 days later, after the lab break-in, a bike messenger awakens from his coma to pad around a deserted hospital... well... there's no residual nervous system deficit of any kind after waking up from a coma? I guess that's kinda alright... he is cute in a little boy way, which means I'll keep watching. Fights, chasing, killing people infected with the virus. Yay!

He runs quite well for someone fresh from a coma(1).

Apparently the bloggers at (un)Death-Match also noticed

discrepancies with the hospital scenes.

So where did the record-scratch-of-outrageousness come in for me? Right after Selena (Naomie Harris), a fellow plague refugee tells the cute boy, Jim (Cillian Murphy), that you only have 20 to 30 seconds between the time this Rage virus enters your body and when you start up on a killing rampage yourself. Thirty seconds, really? The only other virus that works that fast is the Andromeda Strain! I bet the Rage virus was synthesized by aliens and provided to the chimp lab for testing.

INCUBATION

After a person is infected with a pathogen, be it bacteria or virus, there is a period of time wherein the patient's body is trying to defend itself and the pathogen is trying to overwhelm the body's defenses. The period between infection and presentation of signs and symptoms of disease is called an incubation period.

Here are some incubation periods for famous diseases:

Smallpox: 7-17 days

Swine Flu and Influenzas at large: 1-4 days with an average of 2 days

Polio: 6-20 days with a range of 3-35

Ebola: 2-21 days

Genital Warts: 2 to 3 months

Incubation period for Rage virus: 20-30 seconds, based on anecdotal evidence.

Does this make you a zombie, or a plague victim? You decide.

Incubation takes time. As stated in earlier posts, viruses use host cells to replicate and viral replication can't take only seconds because cells can't crank out proteins, enzymes, and new viruses that fast. Once they do, those new viruses have to get to your brain and infect a bunch of neurons, in order to change someone's behavior.

Sometimes people seem to confuse the actions of microbes with the actions of chemicals. Chemicals (like alcohol) just have to get to your brain cells and bind with them or alter their structure to change your behavior. Viruses have to infect brain cells and start replicating, which takes a lot longer.

Drunk in minutes, years of remorse?

Did I get over the moment? Sure I did. But 28 Days isn't as good as Daybreakers, in my humble opinion.

1. The guy on fire runs quite well for someone consumed by flames.

VALHALLA RISING

2010-07-20T11:39:00.000-07:00

I saw Valhalla Rising the other night. Wow! I've never seen such braining! And the scar tissue was excellent. Only three words of criticism; not enough pus. Let's face it, unhygienic Norsemen with all those wounds need a little pus.

Mads Mikkelsen (as One Eye) is now in my top three Cinematologist Yummy Movie Stars list.
The other two are Will Smith and Sigourney Weaver, in any order.

HUMAN HOST AND PLANT PARASITES- Invasion of the Body Snatchers

2010-07-04T11:24:00.000-07:00

SEND ME NO FLOWERS(1)

Exclusive of the occasional pine tree seed taking root in human lung tissue, there are very few instances of plant life living on or in human tissue.... on this planet.

Xray of pine sprout growing in lung tissue. Is it real? A hoax? Does it really matter?

Plant life is not to be confused with fungi that parasitize human bodies, producing pathologies such as athletes foot (tinea pedis), ringworm (tinea corporis), and jock itch.

This was the most benign athlete's foot picture I could find. The link is above.

Most plants leave humans alone, seeking fertile soil elsewhere. But this is not so for the plant-like creatures in the 1978 remake of Invasion Of The Body Snatchers. These vaguely hibiscus looking flowers(2), use tendril-like shoots to contact and assimilate the bodies of the host human, who is slowly, over the course of hours reduced to a fibrous ash.

As you sleep, these alien plants parasitize you...

creating a replica of you by using your original proteins and enzymes, I assume.

The next day your fibrous, ashy, carcass is disposed of by city sanitation services.

Although the people emulated by the body replicating plantlife will report the “new” life of an outerspace flower human as being preferable to their old purely Earthly human life, this first-hand report of a mutualistic symbiosis comes from an unreliable source, and requires further study.

Signs and symptoms of space flower plant infestation include: drowsiness, flaking skin, dry mouth, coma, dehydration, rebirth as a new life form.

A new you!

Anti-fungal sprays and creams such as Tinactin and Lotrimin are ineffective against plant parasites. They only work against tinea (skin fungus). In the case of Body Snatching, prevention is the best treatment.

Better for jock itch, not useful for Body Snatcher treatment(3).

1. How could I resist a tie-in between a Doris Day/Rock Hudson hypochondriacal comedy, and the 1956 and 1978 horror classics, Invasion Of The Body Snatchers?

2. I am most definitely NOT The Cinemabotanist! The flowers look like little hibiscuses to me, but they also look like primroses, from my ignorant perspective.

3. This would be like using an antibiotic for the flu or common cold.

HUMAN HOST AND VIRAL PARASITE- Andromeda Strain

2010-06-21T11:26:00.000-07:00

WHAT HAVE YOU BROUGHT HOME NOW?

Scooped up by a Satellite sent into space for the purpose of bringing samples of microscopic life back to earth, the Andromeda Strain (1977) of virus is incredibly robust, and able to exist even in the vacuum of space. Once on earth, it instantly kills (almost) every human and vulture it comes into contact with.

The Andromeda Strain. Another bird flu?

This alien virus is truly alien in that it seems to reproduce more like a bacteria than like a virus. As you will recall from my Mutation, Part 1 entry, viruses use the resources of a host cell to replicate. Earthly viruses cannot reproduce without a cell to infect. Not so for the the Andromeda Strain.

Our nation's best scientists have found this microbe to be capable of using energy to undergo a mitosis-like process in which the virus makes copies of itself(1). In the words of one researcher regarding this process, “It’s like a nuclear reactor!” The logic and meaning of this statement is somewhat fuzzy in the film. As a matter of fact, scientists in the film state that a nuclear explosion would release so much energy that the virus could be induced to replicate at astronomical rates. Therefore the nuclear option as a method of viral containment is out. It is also a crystalline form of life, something that we don’t see here on good ol’ earth every day. (Or any day, really.)

This crystalline virus will use "energy" and nothing else...

... to divide and reproduce in mitosis-like fashion.

SUCK IT UP (YOUR NOSE)

This virus is inhaled, reacts with blood in the lungs, and initiates virtually instantaneous clotting that emanates from the pulmonary circulation through the trunk, and out to the extremities.

High-tech seventies style imaging of spontaneous coagulation of blood in a rhesus monkey exposed to the virus.

Of course, instantaneous death is the result with primary Andromeda infection. An incision of the skin of an infected (dead) person releases a dusty stream of sand-like blood from the wound site.

Clotting and dehydration!

HEAVY BREATHING, HEAVY DRINKING

Is there no cure, vaccine, or other prophylactic measure that can help us control the spread of this airborne threat to human and vulture-kind(2)? Well, it turns out that hyperventilation may produce changes in blood acidity, making it more alkaline, and discouraging Andromeda viral infection. The microbe grows well in the presence of normal levels of blood carbon dioxide(3), less well with oxygen(4). The stuff can thrive in a vacuum, but mess with a simple thing like blood ph and it falls apart.

Signs and symptoms of primary Andromeda Strain infection: shortness of breath, instantaneous death.

Here's a young woman dead of Andromeda Strain infection. Needless to say, she got more camera time than any other casualty of the virus in this film.

Treatment: Increase blood acid or alkaline levels, through vigorous anaerobic exercise (increases acidity) or hyperventilation (increases alkaline). Additional treatment may be attempted through hyperventilation, or drinking of Sterno. Yes, Sterno or other forms of denatured alcohol. Nuclear devices are contraindicated.

Drink this at your next fondue party to treat your Andromeda Strain infection.

1. During mitosis a cell will make copies of its DNA, organize matching sets of DNA/genetic material at either end of the cell, and then the cell splits into two, making a perfect copy of itself.

2. It kills beagles, monkeys, and rats, too!

3. Increased levels of carbon dioxide in the blood (which can happen with vigorous exercise) increased blood acidity, for you trivia buffs.

4. As your breathing rate increases with vigorous exercise, you blow off carbon dioxide, and end up with more oxygen in the bloodstream which makes blood more alkaline.

HUMAN/ALIEN SYMBIOSIS

2010-06-14T11:16:00.000-07:00

WHY CAN'T WE ALL JUST GET ALONG?

The complicated relationships of alien to man can be examined on a number of different levels. When we explore human/alien symbiosis, we should understand the basic dynamics of such relationships.

In a nutshell, symbiosis describes the intimate relationship of two dissimilar organisms living in close association to one another. When discussing human/alien symbiosis, I am not describing the cultural intimacies associated with the “prawns” and humans from District 9, nor the sporting relationships of the Predator and his human prey, for these types of relationships are relatively casual without any significant form of biological commerce.

Inter-species sporting activity is not an example of symbiosis

Specifically, I wish to explore many manifestations of alien/human parasitism: a relationship in which a parasite (alien) benefits from this intimacy, while the host (human) is harmed. Other forms of symbiosis such as mutualism(1) and commensalism(2) do not apply here.

HUMAN HOST AND ARTHROPOD PARASITE

Animal/arthropod relationships are exceedingly common. Lice, mites, and fleas are common infesters of humankind. Itchy, embarrassing annoyances at best, and carriers of deadly disease at worst, these critters have sucked human blood, drunk human sebum (skin oil), eaten skin flakes, and burrowed into our skin for thousands of years.

Lice are not aliens, but they are blood-sucking, sebum-drinking parasites.

Most direct harm caused to human hosts by these relationships is minor. However lice and fleas can also be vectors for disease, transmitting microbes responsible for bubonic plague and other nasty illnesses.

ALIEN ARTHROPODS

The Alien relies on a host of any variety of life forms, during an incubatory phase in its life cycle. An Alien larval organism emerges from its egg, possessed of four pairs of legs. These legs enable the organism to spring at the “face” of a host be it dog, human, or predator.

Alien larvae launching at faces.

This larval stage creature, according to the wiki literature, implants what has been referred to as an “embryo” in the chest of the host. Implantation may be through esophageal or tracheal penetration, but no definitive data has been collected as yet on this subject.

Alien incubation has been seen in both the thoracic and abdominal cavities(3). Most symptoms of Alien infestation are symptoms of cardiopulmonary distress, as opposed to digestive disorders, or abdominal complaints. However, it is important to remember that gastrointestinal conditions like heartburn and acid reflux can cause sternal and epigastric pain that mimic angina(4).

Pain from heartburn can mimic angina.

Pain from angina can mimic heartburn.

Nestled within the mediastinum of the chest, between the lungs and the heart, the Alien develops into a nymph that is called a “chestbuster” in wiki speak(5). While ensconced in its host, the human is relatively unharmed. However, when the nymph is ready to re-emerge from its encasement, it punches out of the chest wall, like a baby chick on a cocktail of speed, meth, and steroids. During this process, the nymph destroys the sternum, ribs, adjacent musculature and all associated vascular structures.

The "chestbuster" alien nymph.

Additionally, the vigorous physical activity necessary for breaking through the thorax, will also likely cause lacerations to the lungs, pericardium, and heart. This process usually kills the host organism (providing) they possess a heart and lungs in the thoracic cavity. For this reason, a Vulcan may survive Alien parasitic infestation of the chest, but not of the abdomen.

Signs and symptoms of alien infestation include: short term memory loss with vague associations of anxiety and terror, palpitations, dyspnea (shortness of breath), and angina.

Endstage signs and symptoms include: excruciating chest pain, collapsed lung, sternal and rib compound fracture, hemorrhage, bleeding, muscle tear, unconsciousness, and death.

Currently there is no known treatment for alien infestation.

1. Mutualism is a relationship in which both organisms benefit from their relationship. The relationship between human beings and the beneficial bacteria living in their guts is considered a mutualistic relationship.

2. Commensal relationships neither benefits nor harms the host supporting an organism. Eyelash mites living (you guessed it!) on your lids and lashes are often used as an example of this form of relationship.

3. Different movies, and scenes within the same Alien movie, will show Aliens emerging from the chest, and/or the abdomen. The films are not clear.

4. Angina is chest pain, usually signifying that the coronary arteries are not supplying the heart with enough blood.

5. I'm assuming a more formal, scientific name would be "chestbuster" in Latin or Greek.

HOT DOGS AND CHILDHOOD DISEASES

2010-06-11T15:44:00.000-07:00

WHAT KIND OF KIDS EAT ARMOUR HOT DOGS?
This just came in, over the (email) transom, from my friend Todd Alcott. Not only is Todd a brilliant screenwriter, he can crack a pertussis joke that is actually funny. You'd be amazed at the number of really boring pertussis jokes out in the world. Here's the link to his six-minute short, Ad Men.

THE CINEMATOLOGIST AT KEVIN GEEKS OUT

2010-06-04T15:31:00.000-07:00

ALIEN PARASITES AND HUMAN HYGIENE

I thought it might be fun for everyone to see my contribution to Kevin Geeks Out - About Aliens! May 21st. It was a wonderful show! There was a tinfoil hat contest, alien cupcakes, the works! At the end of the video, you will see Kevin, our host, wearing makeup, disguising himself as an alien. The lights are dim, and the video is grainy, so the dark green skin and yellow zig-zag don't quite register. You will have to take my word that he was quite impressive!

The lecture is about 8 minutes. It covers the main topics of alien parasites that will appear here in future posts. But there is a lot of detail that had to be left out of the live presentation. Future posts regarding alien parasite infestations will have new little gems of information not seen here.

THE HIDDEN

2010-05-14T19:01:00.000-07:00

I've been doing some research about aliens parasitizing people for an upcoming presentation at Kevin Geeks Out About... Aliens! this coming Friday, May 21. (Buy your ticket now. Kevin tends to sell out.) Of course, this is my favorite kind of research because I get to watch science fiction movies, and I LOVE science fiction!

After watching eight movies, I realize that I have too much material for a six minute lecture, so I thought I'd start up my parasite-themed explorations here with The Hidden, which isn't making it into my presentation.

HIDDEN CHARMS

These parasitic aliens come in two forms: slug-like organism, or golden vapor. In either case, the parasite enters the host through the mouth and is somehow able to control their body completely. The subjective experience of the host is not known, as no one has lived through an infestation to relate their experience.

How is a five pound(1) tendrilly, slimy slug, entering a hosts body supposed to posses and control someone while sitting in their digestive tract(2)? For that matter, I'm not sure I understand how a golden, sparkly, vapor would be able to control the mind and body of a person, either.

This man's burnt skin doesn't gross me out as much as

the alien coming out of his mouth...

.... and going into his!

Kyle MacLachlan gives Michael Nouri the vapors.

SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS

Signs and symptoms of slug infestation include:

Physical activity in spite of life-threatening disease or injury
Anti-social behavioral changes including robbery, physical violence, and murder
An appreciation of relatively obscure 80's punk music
Death

Practice safe oral hygiene! Don't let alien parasites embarrass

you with poseur rock and a boom box!

Signs and symptoms of vapor infestation include:

Low tolerance for alcohol
A fetching innocence regarding the proper administration of Alka-Seltzer.

Drop it in the water, silly.

TREATMENT

Unfortunately, treatment inevitably kills the host and parasite. The only known therapy for this particular parasitic infection is to kill the human host with a flame-thrower (see photos A and B). This will cause spontaneous migration of the slug from the host body (photo C). One can then terminate the parasitic alien via a space-age weapon that will vaporize the creature, but is ineffective on human tissue (photo D).

Photo A: apply flame thrower

Photo B: death of host is eminent

Photo C: slug leaves host via the mouth

Photo D: slug is vaporized

In this particular case, prevention is the best treatment.

1. Approximate weight.

2. Has anyone noticed that aliens parasitizing humans (Alien, The Hidden, etc.) are never excreted anally?

Mutation - Part Three

2010-04-17T11:19:00.000-07:00

Emma Thompson as Alice Krippin. I bet she'll be playing Hilary Clinton within ten years.

CATCH UP
Here we are in Manhattan, sometime around 2010. According to I Am Legend, Dr. Alice Krippin has developed a cure for cancer by engineering a measles virus to kill tumor cells. Unfortunately, that's not all her virus is killing!

QUARANTINE!
In the movie, and in the future, Manhattan will be closed off and quarantined. Apparently the threat of this oncolytic adenovirus of Krippin's has "gone airborne" and one way to contain it is by closing off Manhattan.

Avoid long lines! Plan your out of town trips early.

For those of you visiting our fair isle of Manhattan before any hint of this viral-mutation-ruckus starts up, just remember that there are plenty of other airborne diseases(1) floating around our delightfully efficient subway system, just waiting to be sucked up into an unwary nostril of every rat, dog, and human(2) venturing into the underworld of the MTA.

This rat took the "V" (for VIRUS) train!

UNRELIABLE EQUIPMENT PROMOTES SPREAD OF VIRUS

If we want to leave Manhattan, through an official check point, we will have our eyes screened with a device that seems to show a magnified image of the iris, displaying bleeding, or something red(3), caused by viral infection. This would not cause the hemolacria discussed in Mutation - Part Two. The detection device seems somewhat questionable in terms of its accuracy. It tests Robert Neville's wife Zoe as positive for the virus and then at the insistence of Neville, they try it again, and Zoe gets a green light (literally).

First scan indicates viral infection.

Zoe gets the green light 5 seconds later.

Faulty equipment means that we who are infected but not symptomatic should be able to get out of Manhattan with no difficulty, infecting our friends and family in Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, Staten Island and New Jersey. Indeed, that seems to happen. By the year 2012, there are barely any non-mutated people left in all of the world.

TAKE THAT FINGER OUT OF YOUR NOSE!

I know what you're asking yourself ... will I get the virus? Who will be the first to come down with the mutating measles? Before the virus mutates and goes airborne, nose-pickers and eye-rubbers who have virus on their fingers will be the first to be infected.

Even heads of state are not immune from this mutated virus

or the temptation to stick their finger up their nose.

Next will be people who have touched an object touched by an infected person and people who have been sneezed on or coughed on by an infected person.

Should Junior stay with Gramma, or go to nursery?

Either way, we're doomed!

This means infants, toddlers and children in day care, and people in nursing homes will get it first. As the virus mutates toddlers and old people into violent bald superhuman panting veiny photophobes, the terms "ankle biter" and "crotchety old man" will have a whole new meaning.

Wow! I'm glad no one tries to turn smallpox into a cancer cure anymore ... oh, wait! They do!

Here's the link for

the article pdf

1. Tuberculosis can float in air for at least a couple of hours. Of course tuberculosis is a bacterium and not a virus. Neither will it make you a photophobe with super-human strength.
2. In the movie, we see that rats, dogs, and people are susceptible to this virus, while deer and lions are not.
3. My understanding of eye anatomy is weak, but I believe that any kind of capillary perfusion or bleeding under the cornea or around the iris would also cause visual disturbances. Anyone care to comment?

Mutation - Part Two

2010-03-24T11:05:00.000-07:00

VIRAL MUTATION WILL LEAD TO THE END OF HUMANKIND

Thus far, in our examination of I Am Legend, we have established how viruses find opportunity for mutation, and what types of viruses are of interest to researchers for use as oncolytic adenoviruses targeted for cancer treatments. (If that sentence makes no sense to you, go to the Mutation - Part One blog entry, March 6. Or you can just read on.)

Has anyone noticed how many movies starring

Will Smith have medical themes and show off his hunky arms?

Exercise has been clinically proven to enhance immune system function.

THE FUTURE IS NOW

As established, I Am Legend relates events that are about to ruin our lives, happening as I write this... blog! Using the film to read the future, we find that some time last year, in 2009, Doctor Alice Krippin engineered a strain of measles virus (paramyxovirus)(1) in an attempt to cure cancer. According to the film, we should expect to hear any day about Krippin's 100% cure rate for cancer by using this new viral strain in her experimental treatments.

Emma Thompson as Doctor Alice Krippin

If we are on schedule with I Am Legend, this viral cure for cancer will mutate, running horribly out of control, infecting and killing us sometime this year. It seems that this mutated virus has an infection rate between 90 and 100%, depending on your statistical source.

According to Wikipedia, once infected 90% of us will die, 8% will turn into a horribly degenerated vestige of mankind, and 2% are not affected at all, but will be murdered by mutated humans.

Mutant human attempting to murder the uninfected (talk about mood swings!)

So the brilliance of I Am Legend is that the virus used to cure cancer not only mutates its own DNA as it gets out of control and "goes airborne," but also mutates the DNA of the human host. Our entire scenario is a double mutation! For you trivia buffs, run-of-the-mill measles virus is already "airborne."

Spring colors (like blue) are all the rage this

season for the raging pandemic!

According to the movie, at any moment in 2010, we will begin to feel the initial signs and symptoms of viral infection. Many viral infections start in the same exact way, regardless of whether they are lethal, or mutating, or not. Influenza, HIV and polio all start with fever, headache, body aches, malaise. This pattern is commonly described as "flu-like symptoms."

This woman has signs of infection

with a horrible mutating epidemic,

or maybe it's the flu.

But because this is a mutated measles virus, hacking cough, sore throat and runny nose should develop tout suite, or it could just be H1N1(link for photo below.)

Oh my gosh! She sneezed! It's going airborne!

It is not clear if people infected with the mutant virus get a rash like measles,

A measles rash on the back, from an informative

article in the New York Times.

but they do develop a permanent fever (possibly as a result of the mutated adenovirus' hyper-stimulation of the body's immune response) and an accelerated metabolism...

Monitoring metabolism in the film.

...and photophobia, just like measles. I should point out that photophobia affiliated with measles infection does not make the patient's skin smoke and burn.

Double mutation induced photophobia is due to strike

the New York area in 2012 or sooner. Note the smoking epidermis.

People infected by the mutant virus also go on to lose all their hair except for eyelashes, have increased muscular power(2), increased coordination, and display behavioral changes and mood swings.

Patients may be prone to violent outbursts.

Their pets may also experience mood swings.

There also seems to be a bleeding eye thing that presents itself as a sign of infection with the virus. This bleeding eye event should not be confused with the hemolacria experienced by the character Le Chiffre in Casino Royale (blog entry CASINO ROeYeALE).

Infection with Krippin's mutated paramyxovirus

leads to bleeding from the eyes. Now we know it's not H1N1.

Le Chiffre may be infected with evil, but this is

not the result of his hemolacria.

Next time we will track the spread of this virus through the general population.

1. Paramyxoviruses are a group of viruses that cause upper respiratory illnesses like measles, mumps. These are airborne viruses. According to Wikipedia, from Greek para-, beyond, -myxo-, mucus or slime, plus virus, from Latin poison, slime. Ick!

2. Enhanced muscular endurance is not documented in the film.

Mutation - Part One

2010-03-06T10:49:00.000-08:00

DENIABLE STATISTICS

Although I have no source of reference to validate this statement, I'd say that 80% of mutations in the movies are caused by viruses. Let us examine one of these movies in great detail, as it provides interesting insight into the follies of science.

I Am Legend

I AM LEGEND PREDICTS THE FUTURE

The brilliant thing about I Am Legend is that the movie tells the story of a genetic mutation that will ravage the human and dog population, any day now. The fall of man is a measles virus genetically re-engineered by scientists looking for a cure for cancer.

Measles virus

People have known for more than 100 years that certain viruses have the potential to treat cancer and shrink tumors(1). As a matter of fact, the early part of the 20th century saw attempts to treat cancer with measles, rabies and smallpox. Using herpes virus to battle cancer is also of interest to researchers.

Herpes. Cure your cancer, make sex awkward(2).

KILLER VIRUSES

A virus is essentially a packet of genetic information for making more viruses. First the virus infects a target cell. Through a series of steps instigated by viral enzymes, the virus will insert its own strand of DNA (genetic information) into the DNA of the host cell. Viral DNA is now a part of the cell's genetic make-up and the host cell will get busy making new viruses. Any time the cell reproduces, it also reproduces the viral DNA in its nucleus as if it were its own.

For you trivia buffs, here's a representation of viral reproduction.

To over-simplify the process, using the tiny graphic, above:

1. The virus binds to the cell wall

2. The virus fuses with and enters the cell
3, 4, 5. The virus inserts its genetic material into the DNA in the nucleus of the host cell.

6, 7. The cell starts making viral components.

8. The cell assembles the virus

9. The new viruses start budding out of the cell membrane, going off to infect other cells.

Easy peasy!

WHAT DOES THIS HAVE TO DO WITH CANCER?

The general idea is that you engineer an oncolytic adenovirus to target only cancer cells. The virus infects the cell, uses the tumor cell to make more virus, and kills the infected cell as the new viruses burst out of it. The newly made viruses can then infect other local tumor cells, or travel through the bloodstream to infect metastasized(3) tumor cells in other parts of the body, and destroy them too.

Additionally, the use of these viruses in this process may hyper-stimulate a body's immune response. Heightened targeted immune response might lead to the body being able to fight its own cancer.

What could go wrong?

Mutation ... that's what!

Don't let this happen to you!

At least she doesn't have herpes.

OPPORTUNITY FOR MUTATION

During viral reproduction a lot of genetic coding is interrupted, replicated, inserted and re-replicated. All of these steps for making copies of viral DNA mean that there is a lot of opportunity for MUTATION. Not just people cellular mutation, but viral mutation, too.

Look out! I Am Legend takes place in Manhattan in 2012!

Coming up next - more about viruses and what to expect in two years!

1. Here is a link to a pdf of the article Virotherapy As An Approach Against Cancer Stem Cells, by Camilla Ribacka and Akseli Hemminki. Highly entertaining. As I read it, I found myself wishing that I Am Legend's Dr. Krippin (Emma Thompson), the virologist to blame for the entire horror-to-come, had been given a couple of lines reflecting a glimmer of what was written here. It wouldn't have to be too complicated, just something to make her sound more knowledgeable.

2. There are actually a few different types of herpesvirus out there, like the one that causes chicken pox. But the joke is better if it appears that you have to acquire a sexually transmitted disease in order to cure your cancer. Ha ha!

3. Cancer cells that have spread to other parts of the body.

THE AMAZING FIBROBLAST!

2010-03-04T06:12:00.000-08:00

On Tuesday, I had the pleasure of giving a presentation at Adult Education: a useless lecture series. Carrie McLaren, Jim Hanas, and Charles Star curate, produce, and host this really fun monthly lecture presentation in Brooklyn.

The theme of the evening was Animal Minds, Animal Bodies. Keeping our mutation theme going, my contribution was a live version of my May 2009 Spider Palm entries from this blog. Here's the link, if you'd like to check out the description of Peter Parker's physical transformation.

Next time we will continue with mutation via the film I Am Legend!

KEVIN GEEKS OUT - Mutants #3

2010-02-22T14:47:00.000-08:00

Me explaining hereditary mutations in Part 1 of my lecture.

Photo by the great Matthew Glasson.

THE INEVITABLE OVERTHROW OF THE HUMAN POPULATION,

DUE TO NOTABLE AND SIGNIFICANT INCREASES

IN ABERRANT CHROMOSOMAL PROLIFERATION OF MULTIPLE ETIOLOGIES

Part 3

From my Cinematologist lecture at Kevin Geeks Out: Visions Of The Future

Where were we? Oh, yes! In my last installment I had talked about inherited mutations, as documented above. Now we're on to acquired mutations....

Acquired mutations occur in the DNA of individual cells at some time during a person’s life.

Blonsky and Banner were not born this way, they were exposed to gamma radiation in adulthood.

Blonsky and Banner from The Incredible Hulk.

Notice Blonsky’s exaggerated cervical spinous processes.

Acquired mutations cannot be inherited. For example, skin cancer is caused by UV rays mutating genes in the skin, but if you have skin cancer lesions when you get pregnant, your baby isn’t born with skin cancer, he has to acquire it himself.

Sunshine

However, in order for the Hulk to pass on a genetic mutation, the sperm in his testicles would also have to be dosed with Gamma radiation. If Bruce Banner had held a lead apron over his testicles, his children would most likely be normal. If he wasn’t wearing an apron it is still impossible to predict HOW this altered genetic information will be expressed.

How will he express himself?

Additionally, having sex in either of his forms would not affect genetic expression.

Did he cover his testicles?

In 2084 When we set up colonies on Mars, mutation will advance by leaps and bounds. Thanks to miracles in modern science, acquired mutations due to inadequate radiation protection will become inheritable and PREDICTABLE, as demonstrated in the movie, Total Recall.

This girl has inherited a mutation

that her mother acquired!

However, according to films that afford us a vision of the future, disfigured mutants will not be valued by mainstream populations as deserving of respect. Additionally, reproductive success and the passing on genetic information requires that you find someone willing to have sex with you. Finding a reproductive partner is not a guarantee. It might be harder for some mutants...

If a woman married George/Kuato,

would she be guilty of polygamy?

... than for others!

This mutation may be successfully passed

along to future generations.

Which mutant species will dominate the planet? Which mutagens will be the downfall of humankind? What are the chances of human survival in the future? These are difficult questions. But if there is anything to be learned by scientific investigation it is this: In the future, as now…

Love will find a way!

Thus ends my Kevin Geeks Out lecture. Next time we plumb the viral depths of I Am Legend!

KEVIN GEEKS OUT - Mutants #1

2010-02-08T13:23:00.000-08:00

THE CINEMATOLOGIST LIVE

A couple weeks ago I presented a lecture on mutations in the variety show Kevin Geeks Out. The theme of the evening was Visions Of The Future! My contribution was to describe the future mutations of human kind that will eventually and inevitably happen, as predicted by many futuristic movies.

Happily, the show was sold out, so some local readers (sadly) didn't get a chance to see the show. I thought I'd post a version of my lecture here. Check out the link to KGO, below. There were some really great guests! I was lucky to be among such esteemed company. Plus, they served Dippin' Dots!

Kevin Geeks Out

Here's the first installment of my presentation. You'll notice that there are some style changes from the usual blog entries. There is much less text and many more pictures. It turns out that blogging and public speaking require different writing styles.

THE INEVITABLE OVERTHROW OF THE HUMAN POPULATION,

DUE TO NOTABLE AND SIGNIFICANT INCREASES IN

ABERRANT CHROROMOSOMAL PROLIFERATION OF MULTIPLE ETIOLOGIES(1)

In our examination of The Future, it is important to consider what will happen to the human species on a molecular level as we navigate an undending seires of collisions between meddling scientists and naturally occuring events.

The future is soon! As a matter of fact, according to some film sources, actions that will shape the future are happening right now!

I Am Legend, 2012

Daybreakers, 2019

Total Recall, 2084

Chemical wastes, various forms of radiation, and viruses are just a few of the mutagens acton on our genes. At any moment we should expect to hear about a variety of mutant groups and sub-groups emerging into our public awareness.

Future mutation may be the result of genetic engineering, as with Rachel from Blade Runner...

Rachel from Blade Runner

... or chaotic accident, perhaps instigated by a genetically engineered measles virus run amok on human populations(2).

I Am Legend is about genetically

engineered measles viruses in the future.

Therefore, our discussion of the future will examine the inevitable mutation of human beings into monstrous future super-species. So let's get down to the mutation breakdown.

A mutant organism is the result of a genetic mutation. What is a mutation? The alteration of genes, chromosomes, or DNA (more on that later).

Some mutations of the future will be bad for you but won't cause an external variation in appearance. An example would be a genetic blood disorder like hemophilia. Alexei Nicholaevich, son of Tsar Nicholas II was a hemophiliac. He is pictured here in a still from the movie Nicholas and Alexandra.

Hemophilia in the movies.

Some mutations will cause altered external appearance and will be bad for you too. An example here is a series of mutations caused by viral vampirism in Daybreakers.

Drink your human blood. Don't let this happen to you!

In the present and the future, some mutations or variations in DNA may influence the risk of developing the risk of developing certain disorders like Alzheimer's disease.

Away From Her

Some mutations won't help or harm you physically, like a generalized hypertrichosis a.k.a. Wolfman disease. Here is Robert Downey Jr. acting hypertrichosis for the camera.

Note the exuberant hair growth.

Some genetic mutations change appearance and give your super-human skills. Here we see Hank McCoy's altered appearance as a result of mutation.

Exuberant hair + superhuman strength + blue pigment

What is the difference between chromosomes, genes, and DNA? Stay tuned(3) for the next installment of my lecture from Kevin Geeks Out: Visions Of The Future!

1. Yes, this really was my title.

2. We are so coming back to I Am Legend in a couple of weeks. There's a gold mine of mutation information here!

3. I just dated myself, didn't I?

KEVIN GEEKS OUT - Mutants #2

2010-02-08T10:08:00.000-08:00

Me introducing future variations of genetic mutation.

Thanks, Matthew Glasson, for this great photo!

From Kevin Geeks Out: Visions Of The Future

In our last/first installment of my lecture at Kevin Geeks Out, I had just laid some mutation groundwork, based on favorite mutation films. Here in Part 2 we continue our exploration of mutations, with a look at DNA, chromosomes, and genes...

THE INEVITABLE OVERTHROW OF THE HUMAN POPULATION,

DUE TO NOTABLE AND SIGNIFICANT INCREASES IN ABERRANT

CHROMOSOMAL PROLIFERATION OF MULTIPLE ETIOLOGIES

Part 2

What is the difference between chromosomes, genes and DNA?

Chromosome

A chromosome is a bunch of tightly coiled and packed together DNA,

DNA

the DNA is your genetic material.

Mr. DNA from Jurassic Park

Genes are sections of coiled DNA in the chromosome.

A mutation occurs when a gene's DNA is altered. What the heck is DNA? Deoxyribonucleic acid, that what. It's made of stuff called nucleotides. A genetic mutation occurs when DNA in a cell’s gene is damaged or altered in a way that changes the information carried by that gene.

Thread Of Life, a Bell Labs educational film... it's great!

DNA does two things. First, it reproduces itself before a cell divides, in an asexual process called mitosis.

Here in this aesexual pornographic image (below), we see the cell dividing. DNA reproduction gives each cell the same genetic information.

Cell porn. Exciting, isn't it?

DNA also instructs cells to build proteins, which is a big deal. Proteins have the most varied functions of any molecules in the body. One of the things they do is to form the altered cell structures of the mutated Emil Blonsky and Bruce Banner.

Mutant proteins in mortal combat.

Mutations of the present and future can happen in two different ways, either inherited from a parent, or acquired during a person's lifetime.

Mutations that are passed from parent to child are called hereditary mutations. They are present in the egg and/or sperm cells. The X-Men mutations are excellent examples of hereditary mutations. This type of mutation is present throughout a person’s life in virtually every cell in the body. They may be passed on to offspring, sometimes predictably, or in the case of the Brotherhood of Evil, unpredictably.

Mystique is a member of The Brotherhood

The slang term for Mystique’s hereditary mutation is “shape shifting.” She can create ovaries or testes, at will, as she transforms into a male or female person. We should assume that she has viable reproductive cells regardless of their external form (egg or sperm). The predictability of mutant genetic expression is unexplored territory, requiring further research. At this point in time we must consider genetic expression in mutant offspring to be always unpredictable.

Mystique attempting to engage Wolverine in genetic expression.

What about the sex lives of humans with acquired mutations? Come back for the third installment of my lecture from Kevin Geeks Out: Visions Of The Future!

DAYBREAKERS

2010-01-24T10:44:00.000-08:00

SHOOT 'EM UP

I saw Daybreakers the other night with my cartoonist husband. We both had a better time than we thought we would. I had such a good time in fact, that I can recommend this movie as very entertaining. I have to admit that I was the only one in the theater laughing at the projectile vomiting, but everyone joined in when the guy's head exploded.

Why would I laugh at projectile vomit? I'll tell you.

Edward Dalton (Ethan Hawke) is a vampire hematologist hard-pressed to create a blood substitute for the world's vampire population, which is practically everybody. There are very few humans left and their blood is harvested to feed the starving masses (of vampires). Time is running out. Dalton's mission is humanitarian on two counts: he is trying to save the lives of the last human beings, and he's trying to prevent vampirekind from mutating into horror movie style vampires, which is the fate of any vampire who doesn't get human blood.

This starving vampire has degenerated into a more

monstrous form. Notice the elongated phalanges (finger bones).

In a scene early on in the movie, our hero has decided to push forward with his vampire subject trials, in his search for a synthetic "human" blood substitute that will save vampire populations from starvation. Dalton's non-beating heart is in the right place, but he really should have had an IRB(1) read his study proposal before he carried it out.

Dalton plans his clinical trial.

Dalton is in the lab with his study subject. They are about to see if the vampire subject's body accepts this new blood substitute. So what does Dalton do with this blood substitute? He injects it into this vampire. (Record skip noise goes here.) Yup! That's right. Dalton is testing a food product by injecting it intravenously. That's like putting someone on an IV drip that full of chocolate milkshake, or pureed cheeseburger. We have one seriously flawed study. There is no external validity here because most vampires are going to want to drink this blood. Who wants to shoot up their food? Sam Neill's character, Charles Bromely, will back me up on this.

Chis (Vince Colosimo) and Edward reflect on whether or not soaking

fabric in cold water will get rid of vomit stains.

CHEW ON THIS

Needless to say, the whole clinical subject scene sent me into a fit of giggles(2). How would I test a synthetic food product for nutrition and safety? I'd feed it to someone. Food, be it liquid or solid is chemically altered by digestive enzymes the moment you put it in your mouth. Your saliva has enzymes in it that start breaking down carbs before you can even say "Pass the ketchup" with your mouth full.

From your mouth, the food makes its way through the long tube that is your esophagus, stomach, small intestine, large intestine (aka the colon), then passes out your anus. You may have noticed that the food you put in your mouth looks nothing like its former self when coming out the other end, one hopes.

Vampire digestive organs.

Although the stomach absorbs some molecules from your food and drink, most absorption of nutrients happens in the small intestines. Molecules absorbed from the stomach go directly into the bloodstream, molecules absorbed in the intestines go the the liver for processing before they get into the rest of the bloodstream.

If a vampire is feeding on blood, that blood is going to have to be digested (broken down into little bits) and absorbed as something smaller than blood cells(3) to get through the lining of the gut and be of any use to the vampire, nutritionally.

Flawed study. Entertaining film!

1. Internal Review Boards check medical studies for ethics violations, legal issues, and flaws in design.

2. I was sitting next to a couple who were obviously really into vampires. They seemed a little put out because I wasn't taking this movie seriously.

3. Blood carries a lot of stuff in it other than blood cells and platelets. There are all sorts of proteins (I'm thinking of albumins specifically, for you trivia buffs), glucose, hormones, carbon dioxide, cholesterol, etc. Some of which might get absorbed directly, but not the bigger stuff.

THE CINEMATOLOGIST SPEAKS (LIVE)!

2010-01-17T15:19:00.000-08:00

COMMERCIAL MESSAGE

Hey everyone! I've been invited to give a presentation on Friday January 22, as part of the line up for a great evening of live geekiness.

Kevin Geeks Out is the comedy-variety show hosted by writer and comedian Kevin Maher. A monthly confabulation of vintage film clips and videos, new finds, guest experts, games and curiosities. To geek out with Kevin you don't need to be a geek, you just need to love cool stuff.

I, Kriota, as The Cinematologist, will be appearing in Kevin's Visions Of The Future show. We'll explore the wonderful world of mutation expressed(1) through cutting-edge science from films such as I Am Legend, Total Recall, and the X-Men series. It promises to be a fun night. If you're in New York City with time on your hands, come on by!

Visions of the Future Show,

Friday, January 22, 2010 (in the future)

8pm

92Y Tribeca, 200 Hudson Street, NYC

$10

1. ..."mutation expressed"....Ha! It's a pun!

AVATAR #2: The Impotent Scientist

2010-01-17T10:18:00.000-08:00

PANDORA'S BOX

There I was Christmas day in LA on Christmas vacation, wearing my Christmas sweater, confident of my abilities in getting my Christmas gluteus maximus to the gym after the holidaze were over, sitting in a movie theater and watching Avatar while wearing my Christmas 3D glasses.

You'd think that Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, and 3D action on a moon with floating islands would keep me from being distracted by other thoughts. If I was distracted, you'd think I would be fantasizing about what I was going to buy with my Christmas gift cards, but no. What was this movie making me think of? The extinction of the aboriginal Tasmanian population in the late middle of the 1800s and the weird role of scientists in the study of vanishing races.

Human Remains: Dissection and its Histories, by Helen MacDonald

Human Remains: Dissection and its Histories is a book about the treatment of the dead by doctors and medical educators, with the main focus on dissection and collection practices in England and Tasmania in the 1800s. MacDonald pays close attention to the value of the "exotic" cadaver. Most cadavers available for dissection were those of white males. She spends a lot of time discussing the political power of someone in possession of a female (her examples are white female convicts) or non-white male (in this case Tasmanian aboriginal) cadaver, for dissection and display. It's a very interesting book.

Jake (Sam Worthington) and his vat-grown avatar.

Back to Avatar, Dr. Grace Augustine (Sigourney Weaver) leads a science team that has grown avatars of Na'vi bodies, used by humans to get around Pandora without the need for gas masks. The use of a Na'vi body also makes the scientists look like the Na'vi, although their behavior is less disguised.

Augustine clearly cares deeply for this indigenous people. She has studied them up and down, in and out. The science team has compiled enough information on the Na'vi to grow them in a vat.

How did they get this information? How many years did it take? You'd have to start studying alien metabolism almost from scratch. You could do a lot of non-invasive study, but you'd also need tissue and fluid samples, and you'd probably want to get your hands on some Na'vi bodies for dissection and analysis(1). Where would they get those bodies? Would the Na'vi go for this? They give their dead to the neural-net-tree-system on the planet. I can't imagine they'd be okay with some human science team cutting up grandma into smaller and smaller bits.

Tasmanian medical men resorted to grave robbing in their quest for Aboriginal bodies and skeletons, since no one (aboriginal) wanted to give their loved one's cadaver up for scientific study(2).

Weaver as Augustine

She comes closer than anyone else I know

to making a lab coat look attractive and almost sexy.

This is not an easy task.

PRESERVER OF A DYING RACE

Augustine as a scientist is impotent against the company that funds her research. She really can't do anything to protect the Na'vi from corporate interest. She and her research team are positioned to dominate the Earth's Alien Biology and Anthropology scenes for decades to come based on their research. They posses the biological artifacts of a race doomed to extinction. Their careers are guaranteed. As this race of people is exterminated, their knowledge and documentation of these people will become even more valuable.

Augustine will be famous and dominate her field, thanks to the persecution and extinction of the people she loves. She can dole out tissue samples, information, and patent all sorts of new techniques for melding human psyches into Na'vi bodies(3). She loses big and wins big as the world she studies is destroyed. Wow. Now I'm going to shop with my Christmas gift cards.

Helen MacDonald

I wonder if Helen MacDonald has seen Avatar yet?

1. Yes, even in 2154 they are still going to need to take bodies apart in invasive ways to study them. I'll bet you five bucks. We have MRIs and 3D imaging these days, but I'll tell you from experience you can study the human body all you want, but the day you start cutting one up, you learn about it like you've never learned before.

2. The circus involved with the cadaver of the last native Tasmanian man is not to be believed. You should read the book.

3. SPOILER ALERT! Of course I am looking at this from Augustine's and our perspective before she dies, or gets her spirit sucked up into the tree. But had she lived, this scenario would have been the case.

AVATAR #1: Paraplegia

2010-01-10T08:16:00.000-08:00

Sigourney and Sam

IT MUST BE (BELATED) CHRISTMAS

A miracle has occurred! I get to blog about characters played by two of my favorite actors! Sigourney Weaver and Sam Worthington! Both in Avatar! Yippee! Although there are some disturbing racial themes to this film(1), there's also dramatization of the forces behind aboriginal genocides, great action, and a decent story that ends "happily" (but doesn't really.)

REVISITING PARALYSIS

Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) is a paraplegic ex-marine, replacing his dead twin brother on a mission to a moon called Pandora, orbiting a planet called Polyphemus. Jake sustained a spinal cord injury in combat. Symptoms and signs of spinal cord injury will vary with the amount of damage to the cord (complete or partial) and the location of the damage.

Generally speaking, nervous function will remain above the level of the cord lesion. Function below the injury will be absent or diminished. It's hard for me(2) to tell from the movie, how much control Jake has over his hip muscles.

A variety of deep and superficial flexors of the hip, from an old copy of Gray's Anatomy, 1918.

Don't worry, muscles haven't changed that much in the last ninety-two years.

It is easy to see that Jake clearly has no control over knee or foot movement. If we use the chart below, which I lifted from the Merck Manual online, we can assume that Jake's injury is at the spinal cord, between the 11th and 12th thoracic nerves. This is an area between the lower thoracic vertebrae, where the floating ribs attach(3).

Effects of spinal cord injury on the body, from the Merck manual online.

I love the Merck as a resource.

Grouping #2 in this illustration shows the thoracic nerves.

The lowest of these are T11 and T12.

We see in the film that Jake does not have the use of his legs, which have atrophied due to lack of use. I understand that James Cameron's production crew cast prosthetic legs for Jake from a paraplegic man who was of Worthington's build. I thought they did a really great job of making Jake's atrophied legs blend with Worthington's body. I have no idea how they did that.

MORE HUNKY YOUNG MEN

If you want to watch a film that will educate you about different types of disability, spinal cord injury and the variables of paralysis, I highly recommend Murderball. This documentary is about exactly the types of character Jake Sully represents: young, competitive, loaded with testosterone, and male. It humanizes victims of spinal cord trauma in a way I've never seen before. It made me cry(4). I show it to my pathology classes.

Athletes playing wheelchair rugby, a.k.a. murderball, from the movie.

Where does Sigourney Weaver come in to all this? Wait for my next post about Avatar....

1. There is a very strong message that it takes a white guy to "go native" and save an indigenous population that clearly can't save itself.

2. It doesn't look like he has control over any of the gluteals, adductors, tensor fascia latae, etc. The way he moves his body in relationship to his legs, it appears that he has psoas function, but I'm not a doctor (I just watch one on TV.)

3. See the 12/30/09 post for more on floating ribs.

4. What can I say? I cry at the movies unless they're stupid.

HOLIDAY QUIZ ANSWERED!

2010-01-05T06:56:00.000-08:00

FIRST POST OF 2010

The Holiday Quiz question received a "black hole" response. So few people replied that "less than zero" replied. No matter (or anti-matter), it was a rather daunting task. As you recall, the assignment was to list the musculoskeletal injuries that should have been sustained by Ann Darrow (Naomi Watts) during her encounter with the Eighth Wonder Of The World in King Kong (2005).

For fun, I've included additional injuries. My cartoonist husband points out that since Darrow's injuries would have killed her in the first two minutes, this exercise is futile. Here's the list in chronological order.

Rope burn at the wrists - Darrow struggles in her bonds.

Stubbed toe - The frame she is tied to drags her forward and there is a close up of her feet.

Muscle spasm and rotator cuff strain - She is suspended over a pit by her wrists.

Sore throat - Lots of screaming

The cast of King Kong all screaming together

Right and then left shoulder dislocation due to traction - The King yanks Darrow from her bonds

Pectoralis major and subscapularis muscle tear

Whiplash

Rib fracture

Some ribs

Internal bleeding

General bruising (ecchymosis)

Lacerations to face and arms - Whipping by local flora.

Severe whiplash, cervical dislocation

Cervical spinal cord compression resulting in spinal shock and quadriplegia

Cervical dislocation. Horrible.

Pott's or Dupuytren's fracture - Darrow pokes Kong in the hand and he drops her on the rock from a height of 15-20 feet. She is barefoot. (See posts 6/3/09 and 6/26/09 for more on dislocation-fractures of the ankle.)

Multiple cranial fractures, hemorhage, contrecoup injuries (see 6/8/09 and 8/10/09 for more on contrecoup), swelling, and compression on the brain, pneumothorax due to lung puncture from broken ribs - Kong, with Darrow in fist, gallops along on all fours.

Pneumothorax (collapsed lung)

Coccygeal sprain - Darrow falls back on the ground in Kong's lair

Additional bruising and lacerations - she performs floppy acrobatics to entertain the great ape.

Patellar fracture - Landing from a back flip

Broken jaw, loose teeth - Kong hits Darrow in the face

Mandibular fracture

For the sequence where Kong saves Darrow from three T-rexes, repeat all of the above four times, and add fracture-dislocation of the lower thoracic vertebrae from her fall through the vines. Add shock, coma, and death.

I love this stuff. Avatar coming next time.