Upper Limb Nerve Lesions (Part 2 – The Radial Nerve)

Upper Limb Nerve Lesions (Part 2 – The Radial Nerve)

Oct 10, 2016 | 1 comment

In Part 1 of our ‘Upper Limb Nerve Lesions’ series we learnt about the brachial plexus and the two most commonly occurring lesions associated with damage to it. We now move on to the radial nerve and its associated nerve lesions. The radial nerve is a major branch of...
A Farm Worker with a Dirty Wound

A Farm Worker with a Dirty Wound

Oct 1, 2016 | 0 comments

A 24-year-old man from Russia presents with a wound on his left forearm sustained whilst working on a farm the day before yesterday. The wound has been cleaned under a tap but still contains some debris and dirt. You clean the wound carefully and prescribe...
Upper Limb Nerve Lesions (Part 1 – The Brachial Plexus)

Upper Limb Nerve Lesions (Part 1 – The Brachial Plexus)

Sep 9, 2016 | 5 comments

Upper limb nerve lesions are commonly tested in the basic sciences section of both undergraduate and postgraduate medical examinations and occur very frequently in the FRCEM and MRCS examinations. They are very important because they occur commonly in clinical...
Interpreting Diagnostic Tests

Interpreting Diagnostic Tests

Jul 8, 2016 | 0 comments

What are diagnostic tests? A diagnostic test can be defined as ‘any kind of medical test performed to aid in the diagnosis or detection of disease, injury or any other medical condition’. Typically with any diagnostic test some of those at risk will be missed (false...
Understanding the Oxygen Dissociation Curve

Understanding the Oxygen Dissociation Curve

Jun 7, 2016 | 41 comments

What is the oxygen dissociation curve?  The oxygen dissociation curve is a graph that plots the proportion of haemoglobin in its oxygen-laden saturated form on the vertical axis against the partial pressure of oxygen on the horizontal axis. The curve is a valuable aid...