Captain Jack Sparrow arrrrives at your arrmergency deparrrrtment, needing arrrgent care. You spy some missing teeth when he cries, "Bring me a noggin of rum, now won't you matey?" He looks pretty pale and you notice his gums be bleedin'. When ye eyeball his tongue, you be seeing somethin' like this:
Now, this lubber ain't the pirate in your clinic, but the tongue looks about the same.
Challenge: What be your treatment for this here condition?
Image is in the public domain.
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2 comments:
Arr!
The patient ID ("A pirate presents...") is almost pathognomonic for scurvy. This is supported by the missing teeth, pallor, bleeding gums, and scorbutic tongue. Scurvy is caused by vitamin C deficiency, and the treatment is simply vitamin C. Vitamin C is necessary for collagen synthesis, and lack can cause liver spots on the skin, spongy gums, and bleeding from mucous membranes.
Source: Wikipedia
could also be pathognomic for appendage loss. see: peg leg; captain hook. unilateral monopsia; and chlamydia psittacosis. pieces of eight.
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