8  Medical Curiosities: Puzzles that shed light on unusual or perplexing medical conditions or treatments.

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8.1 Unusual Medical Conditions

📖 Puzzles that involve rare or bizarre medical conditions that challenge our understanding of the human body.

8.1.1 Problem

What is the name of the mysterious sleeping sickness that affected people in a small village in Kazakhstan in 2013, causing them to fall asleep for days or even weeks at a time?

  • Hint:
    • The condition was initially thought to be a form of mass hysteria, but scientists later discovered a more sinister cause.
  • Answer:
    • Sleepy Hollow syndrome

8.1.2 Problem

What is the name of the rare medical condition that causes people to be allergic to water?

  • Hint:
    • This condition is so rare that it has only been reported in a handful of cases worldwide.
  • Answer:
    • Aquagenic urticaria

8.1.3 Problem

What is the name of the medical condition that causes people to experience intense pain when they hear certain sounds?

  • Hint:
    • This condition is often associated with a specific type of brain injury.
  • Answer:
    • Phonophobia

8.1.4 Problem

What is the name of the medical condition that causes people to lose their ability to recognize faces?

  • Hint:
    • This condition is often caused by damage to a specific part of the brain.
  • Answer:
    • Prosopagnosia

8.1.5 Problem

What is the name of the medical condition that causes people to experience uncontrollable laughter or crying?

  • Hint:
    • This condition is often associated with neurological disorders.
  • Answer:
    • Pseudobulbar affect

8.2 Historical Medical Practices

📖 Puzzles that explore the evolution of medical treatments and practices, highlighting both their ingenuity and their limitations.

8.2.1 Problem

Historically, the practice of bloodletting was a popular medical treatment for a variety of ailments. What was the underlying theory behind this practice?

  • Hint:
    • Consider the prevailing medical beliefs of the time.
  • Answer:
    • It was believed that an imbalance of ‘humors’ in the body caused illness, and that removing excess blood could restore balance.

8.2.2 Problem

In ancient Egypt, mummification was an elaborate process that involved removing certain organs. Which organ was NOT removed during mummification?

  • Hint:
    • Think about the organ’s function in the body.
  • Answer:
    • The heart, as it was believed to be the seat of intelligence and emotions.

8.2.3 Problem

During the Middle Ages, a popular treatment for the plague involved applying a live chicken to the affected area. What was the rationale behind this practice?

  • Hint:
    • Consider the prevailing beliefs about disease transmission at the time.
  • Answer:
    • It was believed that the chicken would absorb the toxins from the plague, drawing them out of the body.

8.2.4 Problem

In the early 19th century, a new medical treatment emerged that involved placing patients in a trance-like state for extended periods. What was the purpose of this treatment?

  • Hint:
    • Think about the understanding of mental illness at the time.
  • Answer:
    • It was believed that mental illness was caused by an imbalance of ‘animal magnetism’, and that the trance-like state would restore balance.

8.2.5 Problem

During World War II, penicillin was hailed as a miracle drug that saved countless lives. However, it was not immediately available to all soldiers. What was the reason for this?

  • Hint:
    • Consider the challenges of wartime production.
  • Answer:
    • Penicillin was initially scarce due to the difficulty of mass-producing it, and was reserved for the most critical cases.

8.3 Medical Innovations

📖 Puzzles that showcase groundbreaking medical discoveries and inventions that have transformed healthcare.

8.3.1 Problem

In 1939, a young anaesthetist had the idea to use a common cleaning product to prevent deaths during surgery. What was the cleaning product and what medical procedure did it help with?

  • Hint:
    • The cleaning product was used to stop organs and tissues from sticking together which can be potentially dangerous.
  • Answer:
    • Talcum powder was used to prevent organs and tissues sticking together during surgery.

8.3.2 Problem

Which medical inventor’s wife was the unfortunate victim of several prototype tests that led to his creation of the world’s first artificial kidney machine?

  • Hint:
    • This Dutch inventor was inspired by the cruel fate of his wife.
  • Answer:
    • Willem Kolff

8.3.3 Problem

Before its inventor, Charles Richard Drew, perfected the method for separating blood into its components, what was added to blood to stop it clotting?

  • Hint:
    • The additive used to stop clotting before Drew’s invention had a fatal side effect.
  • Answer:
    • Sodium citrate

8.3.4 Problem

What did the 19th-century English physician, Robert Liston, use to perform amputations?

  • Hint:
    • Liston’s technique was so fast and clumsy that a contemporary spectator suggested he remove ‘the patient’s arm then try the operation again’.
  • Answer:
    • A bread knife

8.3.5 Problem

What is the name of the revolutionary 19th-century surgical procedure developed by the Edinburgh doctor, James Simpson, that allowed operations to be performed without pain and saved countless lives?

  • Hint:
    • Simpson’s invention is still used today by doctors and dentists.
  • Answer:
    • Chloroform

8.4 Medical Ethics

📖 Puzzles that raise ethical questions about medical practices, challenging our beliefs and values.

8.4.1 Problem

In the early 1900s, a doctor in the United States performed a radical surgery on a patient with a serious medical condition. The surgery involved removing a part of the patient’s brain. Surprisingly, the patient made a full recovery and went on to live a normal life. What was the medical condition that required such a drastic surgery?

  • Hint:
    • The medical condition was considered untreatable at the time, and the doctor’s decision to perform the surgery was highly controversial.
  • Answer:
    • The patient suffered from intractable epilepsy. The doctor, Dr. Walter Dandy, performed a hemispherectomy, removing half of the patient’s brain. This surgery was successful in curing the patient’s epilepsy.

8.4.2 Problem

A woman goes to the doctor complaining of severe headaches. The doctor examines her and finds nothing wrong. He sends her home with some pain medication. The next day, the woman returns to the doctor’s office, dead. What happened?

  • Hint:
    • The doctor made a mistake in his diagnosis.
  • Answer:
    • The woman had a brain tumor. The doctor failed to diagnose the tumor, and the woman died as a result.

8.4.3 Problem

A man goes to the doctor complaining of chest pain. The doctor examines him and finds nothing wrong. He sends the man home with some pain medication. The next day, the man returns to the doctor’s office, dead. What happened?

  • Hint:
    • The doctor made a mistake in his diagnosis.
  • Answer:
    • The man had a heart attack. The doctor failed to diagnose the heart attack, and the man died as a result.

8.4.4 Problem

A woman goes to the doctor complaining of abdominal pain. The doctor examines her and finds nothing wrong. He sends her home with some pain medication. The next day, the woman returns to the doctor’s office, dead. What happened?

  • Hint:
    • The doctor made a mistake in his diagnosis.
  • Answer:
    • The woman had a ruptured appendix. The doctor failed to diagnose the ruptured appendix, and the woman died as a result.

8.4.5 Problem

A man goes to the doctor complaining of leg pain. The doctor examines him and finds nothing wrong. He sends the man home with some pain medication. The next day, the man returns to the doctor’s office, dead. What happened?

  • Hint:
    • The doctor made a mistake in his diagnosis.
  • Answer:
    • The man had a blood clot in his leg. The doctor failed to diagnose the blood clot, and the man died as a result.

8.5 Medical Illusions

📖 Puzzles that play on our perceptions of medical phenomena, blurring the lines between reality and illusion.

8.5.1 Problem

What medical condition causes people to believe they are made of glass?

  • Hint:
    • The condition is named after a famous delusion.
  • Answer:
    • Cotard delusion

8.5.2 Problem

What illness can make people believe they are dead?

  • Hint:
    • The condition is also known as ‘walking corpse syndrome’.
  • Answer:
    • Cotard delusion

8.5.3 Problem

What neurological condition causes people to see faces in everyday objects?

  • Hint:
    • The condition is caused by damage to the brain’s visual cortex.
  • Answer:
    • Pareidolia

8.5.4 Problem

What medical condition causes people to experience phantom sensations in a limb that has been amputated?

  • Hint:
    • The condition is thought to be caused by the brain’s attempt to compensate for the loss of the limb.
  • Answer:
    • Phantom limb syndrome

8.5.5 Problem

What medical condition causes people to lose their ability to recognize familiar faces?

  • Hint:
    • The condition is named after a famous neurologist.
  • Answer:
    • Prosopagnosia