Doctor Asks How to Deal with Centaur Cardiac Arrest

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Eric Lund
Jan 5, 2020 11:00 PM EST

It's the medical question we've all been wondering about. For the sake of wondering out loud, this doctor asked where you'd have to defibrillate a centaur. It's at least fun to know that doctors can still be weird. For medical stuff, here are stories of the dumbest things medical professionals had to explain to people.

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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? в
    via FredWuMD
  • 02
    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 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 FredWuMD
  • 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 FredWuMD
  • 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 FredWuMD
  • 06
    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 FredWuMD
  • 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 FredWuMD

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