Faculty Bibliography

Gray's Anatomy [Television Program] -- IN the season finale of ABC's 'Grey's Anatomy,' one of the surgical interns, Dr. Izzie Stevens (played by Katherine Heigl), crosses an ethical line by becoming romantically involved with a potential heart transplant patient, Denny Duquette (played by Jeffrey Dean Morgan). He has signed a Do Not Resuscitate order, but Izzie gives him hope that he will get a heart in time. Izzie then deliberately cuts the pump lines of Denny's heart's left ventricular-assisting device. Emergency cases get priority, and his deteriorating condition will move him up the transplant list. Third, interns could never monitor a sick heart patient for such a prolonged period of time without intervention by at least a nurse, if not a more senior physician. In the show, the interns watch Denny's heart stop, resuscitate him, give him emergency medication - - all without observation or intervention. In real life, such a stunt would be cause for Izzie's immediate arrest for attempted murder; the other interns would likely be kicked out of the residency program

Sopranos [Television Program] -- CHRISTOPHER Moltisanti's (Michael Imperioli) new girlfriend is Julianna (Julianna Margulies), formerly involved with Tony Soprano. Christopher and Julianna meet at an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, which they attend because of drug addiction. During one of their trysts, Julianna is suffering from a bad cold, and Christopher suggests Robitussin with dextromethorphan. Julianna declines, seeming to know that dextromethorphan is a semi- synthetic narcotic that, if taken in high doses, could make her high and perhaps again provoke her drug addiction. Instead, she suggests eight to 10 tea bags for a container of valerian tea, which she says is in the same chemical family as Valium. She hopes it will help her sleep and treat her cough. When we next see Julianna, her cough is clearly improved, but she is again snorting drugs with Christopher, who carries a container of what appears to be valerian tea

Commander in Chief [Television Program] -- PRESIDENT Mackenzie Allen (Geena Davis) wakes up feeling feverish. She vomits, but still manages to summon the energy to board Air Force One. When she develops abdominal pain, the White House internist diagnoses acute appendicitis and possible rupture -- after simply eliciting severe right lower quadrant abdominal tenderness by palpating her flank. He states she has sepsis (a life- threatening systemic infection) and insists the plane be landed immediately for emergency surgery. At the hospital, the top general surgeon attempts to remove the appendix laparoscopically. But finding a perforated appendix, and with her blood pressure dropping, he switches to an open procedure. The president survives and a day later resumes her duties -- without a full course of intravenous antibiotics or bowel rest

THIS made-for-TV movie stars Scott Bairstow as Jute, one of the few humans left in a world run by androids. After killing an android in a bar fight, Jute is sentenced to a prison deep in the wasteland. Another android, DeeCee (played by Joseph Lawrence), is responsible for bringing him to the prison camp, but instead helps him escape. As they spend time together, DeeCee becomes more and more human- like, which is ultimately explained by the fact that android brains are made using human brain fluid. In his growing empathy, DeeCee even goes so far as to allow his hand to be amputated to free Jute from the shackle that binds them together

Superman Returns [Motion Picture] -- AFTER returning to Earth from an extended sojourn, Superman (Brandon Routh) saves a space shuttle and its carrier jumbo jet from disaster, is assaulted by and prevails over criminals (in an incredibly vivid scene, his invulnerability to bullets is depicted as one is actually flattened by his eyeball), and is attacked by the evil Lex Luthor (Kevin Spacey). Luthor has discovered tiny remnants of Superman's home planet of Krypton that glow an unearthly green and make Superman ultra-vulnerable, and uses them with crystals from Krypton to build an expanding island that threatens to supplant North America. In trying to rid Earth of this island, Superman comes close to death and is brought to Metropolis General Hospital for treatment

The premise: ER resident Dr. Abby Lockhart (Maura Tierney) accompanies the crew of a medical evacuation helicopter to a local community hospital, where an 88-year-old woman is having a heart attack. Abby's hospital is a Level One Trauma Center with a cardiac catheterization lab, which the other hospital lacks. But when Abby and the emergency response team arrive, they find that the woman is already in cardiogenic shock (extreme heart failure) and intubated (has had a breathing tube inserted in her trachea). The woman has a blood pressure of 74/38, a heart rate of 144, and she is receiving the vasopressor drug dopamine to keep her blood pressure from dropping further. A clot-dissolving drug has been given without any effect. Abby also discovers severe EKG changes -- known as 'tombstoning' (giant abnormal waves) -- indicating much heart damage. Seeing the patient's condition, Abby states, 'She's not coming back from this.' She favors leaving her in the community hospital, but the paramedics disagree. They tell the patient's family: 'It's your mom's only chance.' The paramedics prevail, and the patient is transported. But the woman develops a lethal arrhythmia en route (ventricular fibrillation) and dies

House [Television Program] -- [Allison Cameron] keeps [George Hagel] from being discharged from the hospital by slipping him the antiseizure drug phenytoin, which causes him to stagger and crash through a glass wall. When cerebrospinal fluid is needed, Dr. Eric Foreman decides that the patient is too obese for a routine lumbar puncture, so he takes Hagel to the operating room and inserts a needle into the back of his brain. When he does this, Hagel goes blind. Finally, House notices that Hagel's fingers are deformed (known as 'clubbing'), and orders X-rays, which confirm a paraneoplastic syndrome that House believes is associated with small cell cancer of the lung -- which would explain the coma and blindness. The diagnosis is confirmed by bronchoscopy. Hagel will be treated with radiation but is only expected to live a few months. The reality: A morbidly obese patient presents a series of unique diagnostic problems. Scanners have weight limits -- 450 pounds in many cases -- limiting imaging options. Because of Hagel's mass of fatty tissue, it would also be extremely difficult to place a spinal needle into his lumbar canal, the optimal place to draw fluid in a spinal tap. Ultimately, a neurosurgeon might be needed to place the needle in the back or the neck. But the needle would not generally be placed in the brain, and blindness as a direct result of this rare procedure is unlikely

The premise: Nurse Carla Espinosa (Judy Reyes) goes into labor. When she reaches the hospital, her cervix is 3 centimeters dilated. She is told to push. Then the obstetrician discovers that the fetus has a prolapsed umbilical cord and orders an emergency cesarean section. The baby is born with the cord wrapped around her neck (a nuchal cord) and is whisked away to intensive care but is soon pronounced fine. An umbilical cord prolapse most often requires an emergency C- section. In the case of an 'overt umbilical cord prolapse,' the cord starts moving into the vaginal canal before the baby does. This happens in fewer than 1 in 300 births. An emergency C-section is required to keep the blood supply to the fetus from being cut off due to pressure from the baby's head or constriction of the cord's blood vessels due to a temperature drop

The premise: Geralyn Lucas is just beginning a job when she's diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 27. The non-invasive cancer has an extensive intraductal component involving three separate areas of her breast. After debating whether to have a lumpectomy or a mastectomy, she chooses the latter, with adjuvant chemotherapy. Despite frequent episodes of nausea and vomiting, Lucas (played by Sarah Chalke) continues to work, buoyed by her friends. She also bolsters her mood and self-image by dressing well, getting a tattoo -- and wearing lipstick. Although at first worried that her husband will leave her, especially when she spies him speaking privately with a nurse, he ultimately proves to be very supportive. Lucas goes on to become pregnant and deliver a healthy child

Click [Motion Picture] -- MICHAEL NEWMAN (played by Adam Sandler) is an architect bored with his life. When his TV remote breaks, he goes to a Bed Bath & Beyond store and meets Morty (played by Christopher Walken), a man with mysterious powers. Morty provides Michael with a new remote that enables him to move through time, fast-forwarding through the boring, irritating and routine parts of his life without consciously experiencing them. In the movie, during his periods of prolonged mental absence, the automaton Newman develops halting movements and inappropriate social behavior. In real life, symptoms like these can occur when there is damage to the brain's frontal lobe, which is responsible for planning, abstract reasoning, sustained attention and insight, and is needed for full alertness. When clicker Newman clicks past a period of his life, he leaves the automaton Newman behind, stuck in lesser consciousness, where he continues to ritually move and speak without being fully aware, and later experiences amnesia