Doctor Tries To Figure Out Where To Put A Defibrillator On A Centaur

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Meeeeesh
Dec 30, 2019 3:00 PM EST

While eating cold pizza one night, Dr. Fred Wu began to ponder something unusual: where on earth would one put a defibrillator on a centaur, should they go into cardiac arrest? He tweeted about the predicament and fellow doctors began offering their ideas on the topic. 

Below are some of the amusing responses!

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  • 01
    Text - Fred Wu, MD @FredWuMD Serious question for #medtwitter: If you show up at a code, and the patient is a centaur who had a cardiac arrest, ignoring the joules question, where do you think the defib pads should go? A, assuming the heart is in the human part, or B, assuming the heart is in the horse part? B
    via fredwumd
  • 02
    Text - Fred Wu, MD @FredWuMD Do you guys suppose *all* centaurs have the same cardiovascular anatomy? Or are there some that are horse-heart-dependent and some that are human- heart-dependent? I'm guessing human-heart- dependent centaurs would be smaller and more intellectual. Nerd-centaurs, if you will.
    via FredWuMD
  • 03
    Text - efunkem @efunkEM · Jul 27, 2018 Replying to @FredWuMD Assuming 2 hearts I would suspect the human heart supplies the brain, therefore l'd prioritize that one. If the horse part goes completely ischemic and has to be amputated, so be it. Fred Wu, MD @FredWuMD You don't think that if the human heart arrests, the horse heart would be able to maintain adequate cerebral perfusion by itself? I honestly don't know. I've been thinking about this all week. 558 10:04 PM - Jul 27, 2018
    via StupidSexyCentaur
  • 04
    Text - efunkem @efunkEM · Jul 27, 2018 Replying to @FredWuMD If the horse heart is sufficient alone, then evolution would have caused the disappearance of the human heart by this point, in which case you should def defib location B first. A fascinating mental exercise. Fred Wu, MD @FredWuMD Not necessarily. The hagfish has several "accessory" or "auxiliary" hearts, and an octopus has a systemic heart that circulates throughout the body and two branchial hearts that circulate it through the gills
    via StupidSexyCentaur
  • 05
    Text - K @emergency_CNS· Jul 27, 2018 Replying to @FredWuMD Maybe it's a double heart kinda set up. One in each, obvs the horse heart is the main pump. If the horse heart stops, the human one not far behind. Compress human heart to maintain neuro blood flow. Attach the auto compression device to the horse chest. Zap em both. Fred Wu, MD @FredWuMD Commercial defibrillators only go up to 360J/200J. Seems like wishful thinking to hope that will get through the horse chest (is saying that offensive
    via StupidSexyCentaur
  • 06
    Text - efunkem @efunkEM · Jul 27, 2018 Replying to @FredWuMD Start with A, if that doesn't work, try B with as many pads as you can find turned up as high as they'll go Fred Wu, MD @FredWuMD It seems doubtful a human-sized heart could maintain adequate circulation for a centaur body. My money would be on the heart being in the horse chest. Although maybe the human chest contains an accessory heart. Like in a hagfish. O 1,149 9:53 PM - Jul 27, 2018
    via StupidSexyCentaur
  • 07
    Text - K @emergency_CNS · Jul 27, 2018 Replying to @FredWuMD Ya reckon their lungs are in the horse or human? I started seeing it more like a giraffe Fred Wu, MD @FredWuMD It doesn't seem like human-size lungs would have enough capacity for 2/3 of a human AND 2/3 of a horse. I still tend to think the heart and lungs would be mainly in the horse part and maybe some accessory heart/lungs in the human part.
    via StupidSexyCentaur
  • 08
    Text - K @emergency_CNS · Jul 27, 2018 Replying to @FredWuMD Okay, zap human while the thumper continues on horse chest. If first zap unsuccessful - get out the internal defibbers, chop the horse open and find its heart. Zap 4 Welcome back- zip em back up. Fred Wu, MD @FredWuMD I like that: Early thoracotomy in cases of centaur cardiac arrest!
    via StupidSexyCentaur
  • 09
    Text - Fred Wu, MD @FredWuMD Well, this was a silly thing I was pondering while eating cold pizza late at night. I didn't expect the tweet to get much attention and now I feel awful for not crediting the artist. Pls know this centaur is the work of Minoh Kim: facebook.com/minoh.kim.3
    via FredWuMD
  • 10
    Text - @sk1897 Replying to @FredWuMD How do we do compressions? Will they be lying on the side? Or, will they have modified beds where they can lay on their back?
    via sk1897
  • 11
    Standing - AJosh Rubin, MD @DrSandman11 Replying to @FredWuMD Never mind that, HOW WOULD A CENTAUR WEAR PANTS? Like this? Like this? Like this? Like this?
    via DrSandman11
  • 12
    There was a problem rendering this video - it may have been deleted.
    via DrSandman11

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