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.
Arr!
ReplyDeleteThe 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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