Dooley Noted: 2/16/2016
Today in anatomy lab, the medical students and I dissected the femoral triangles.
I fully realized I had an unusual hobby when my sentence started with the following:
“Last night, my fiancé and I were bending steel across our thighs…”
After that initial shock, I explained why I was encouraging Jonathan not to bend at the center or medial thigh, but to go a little more laterally.
I wanted him to avoid the femoral vessels, the primary blood supply to the entire lower extremity – front and back.
One slip of the metal Into the thigh, and you’ll potentially bleed out faster than an ambulance can arrive.
In the femoral triangle, the vessels are not that deep. They’re covered in a sheath, between the sartorius and adductor longus muscles.
They are roofed by skin, adipose and transversalis fascia, a thin layer that is continuous in the abdomen.
Other than that, the femoral vessels are relatively close to the outside world.
And that made me stop in my tracks.
We are THAT close from a slip with a sharp object – or a steel bar.
We are THAT close from a serious accident that could be fatal.
We are THAT close to occluding the femoral vessels and their branches, with simple compression.
The more bodies I dissect, the more I’m convinced we are dodging constant bullets -just based on threats to our anatomy.
Yes, I begged Jonathan to reposition his steel bending.
But really, you are a marvel of survival – no matter what you are doing.
All day long, you bust up clots and fight off infection.
You save your own life every day.
On your next bad day, remember that you are dodging anatomical bullets.
Take precautions as you prefer.
Dodge away at those bullets – but stay your course.
As always, it’s your call.
– Dr. Kathy Dooley
