An All Black Legend One year ago, on 18th November 2015, one of the New Zealand Rugby greats passed away. Jonah Lomu was known the world over as an All Black legend and was one of the most feared wingers in the history of the game. He was only forty when he died and his death was seen as a huge loss to rugby as he was a great ambassador for the game. Although Jonah had a long … [Read more...]
Do you have an MD in jargon juggling?
Have you ever tried reading your medical notes and been completely stumped by some terms? Or can you understand complex medical terms without pause? Here are 10 medical terms related to coagulation issues. Just click on the term to see what they mean and see if you can score a perfect 10/10 (MD level!). [su_spoiler title="1. Melaena" … [Read more...]
Clot risk – getting older
This Medical Monday series is about risk factors for venous thromboembolism, VTE (pulmonary embolism and DVT). The post 'Are you on the red or blue team?' outlines the difference between arterial and venous clots. We are going to cover Strong risk factors; being in hospital, having surgery and immobility Moderate risk factors; age (60+), a previous blood clot, family … [Read more...]
Weekend reflection – the Serenity prayer
No matter what your political affiliation, 'Serenity' is not a word that could be used to describe these past few days! I thought this famous prayer was apt for our weekend reflection though, as it can be applied to times of political change as well as to our personal times of adversity. Our 'Weekend reflection' series of quotes is designed to help when you’re facing … [Read more...]
History of the blood-red remembrance poppy
On Armistice day, we use poppies as a memorial. Blood-red poppies were some of the only plants to grow on the battle fields of the Napoleonic and First World War. They grow best in fertilised (in war by human blood) and turned over ground (in war by horses, artillary or explosions). They came to represent the sacrifice of the fallen soldiers and were first adopted as a … [Read more...]
Clots and Presidential Politics
Today is election day in the United States and soon we will know who will be the next President. The lead up to this election has been more intense than previous campaigns and at times has become rather bitter and aggressive with both sides bringing up issues from the past. All sorts of things contribute to politics, but many of you may not be aware that in the 1970s, around … [Read more...]
Clot risk – immobility
This Medical Monday series is about risk factors for venous thromboembolism, VTE (pulmonary embolism and DVT). The post 'Are you on the red or blue team?' outlines the difference between arterial and venous clots. We are going to cover Strong risk factors; being in hospital, having surgery and immobility Moderate risk factors; age (60+), a previous blood clot, family … [Read more...]
David Clotterfield Saga – scene 6
David Clotterfield and Clara Clearvessel are both on warfarin and as we follow their saga we discover their beliefs about anticoagulation through the various comments they make about their lives. At the end of each scene, you'll get a chance to test your knowledge; Are their comments true or false? Before reading this episode, you may like to catch up with the previous … [Read more...]
“Best Anticoagulant Control in the World” – from Paul’s book chapter
Point-of care testing book This week a new book, entitled "A Practical Guide to Global Point-of-Care testing", was published in Australia. I am very excited about this as I am one of the contributors. Point-of-care testing, or POC testing for short, is where a laboratory test is carried out at the bedside or immediately after a blood sample is taken. Those of you who use … [Read more...]
Halloween – the link between vampires and coagulation
Happy Halloween - a good day to cover the ways that vampires have come to be linked with coagulation. Dracula Vampires, Dracula teeth and bats have become synonymous with the decorations for Halloween, but the story behind Dracula and vampires is quite interesting and goes back to the middle ages and is possibly linked to a rare blood disorder. It is not quite clear where the … [Read more...]
