Grey's Are You Smarter Than Denny?

Did you notice that the X-ray behind Jeffrey Dean Morgan -- the guy that plays Denny in Grey's Anatomy -- was upside down during the entire episode of last night's show?

Denny walked us through three years of highlights -- some funny, some not so happy, and some... well, just very Grey's.

Wondering how many people picked up on the wrong side up X-ray made me think about another one of my favorite shows -- Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? The combo of shows makes for a good Thursday night.

The editors at WebMD love that show so much we decided to do our own version -- Smarter About Health Than a 5th Grader?

But first, another little quiz about one of the biggest story lines on Grey's.

What does LVAD stand for? Well, if you know that one, I give you an honorary MD.

In case you didn't catch it, the wire Izzie cut that led to the early demise of her fiance was connected to Denny's LVAD. It struck me that they throw that name around quite a bit without really telling you what it is. Like in the scene last night where every intern -- well, except for Alex -- says they cut Denny's LVAD wire.

It stands for left ventricular assist device. (check out this article to see how an LVAD is connected to the heart). I won't bore you with a long explanation of what it does, but for those who care, it's an electronic device that helps the heart pump. It's most commonly used in people with heart failure to keep them alive while they wait for a heart transplant.

OK, now back to something a bit easier. In Thursday's episode of 5th grader, one of the health questions was:

True or False? The small intestine is longer than the large intestine.

Oh, and my favorite question in WebMD's online version of the game is the million dollar question.

If you eat just one candy bar a day in excess of your calorie needs, in a year you will put on how many pounds?

You don't have to wait for a commercial to find out the answer. Just check out WebMD's story and test your health knowledge. Then think twice about that next Snickers.

By the way, the small intestine question is true. The small intestine is about 22 feet long, compared to 5 feet for the large intestine. But the large intestine is bigger around. Hence, the name.

Here's to your health!


Related Links: Heart Transplant Patient Education

Technorati Tags: greys, greysanatomy, smarterthanafifthgrader, heartdevices, LVAD

Addison is Subtracted from Grey's?

Looks like Dr. Addison Montgomery, (aka actress Kate Walsh) may get her own series, according a myriad of wire reports and one of our favorite blogs TV Squad.

Addison, as you all know, is a neonatal surgeon who spends her spare time collecting good-looking doctors as lovers and husbands. Currently on her trophy wall is Drs. McDreamy and McSteamy, and she is working on a relationship with Dr. Alex Karev.

So, can we stand two nights of Seattle-based medicine? Stay tuned.


Related Links:

• FAQ about Premature Infants
• Code Black, Code Blue: What's it all about?

Tags: greysanatomy

Grey's Greyless Anatomy?

We've all heard reports of someone -- usually children -- surviving despite being under water for 10 to 20 minutes in cold water. When someone experiences near drowning in cold water, brain metabolism does slow down, which is why people have survived such instances with no brain damage.

But by my estimate, Meredith must have been underwater for an hour or more during last night's Grey's chaos.

Let's just call it what it is -- pure entertainment with reckless abandon of medical accuracy. It made for great drama as long as we realize that's exactly what it is.

As a medical professional I have to take off my doctor's hat and just sit back and enjoy. Since I doubt they're going to change the name of the show to "Greyless Anatomy," Meredith will come through just fine.

Related Topics:

• Hypothermia Treatment
• Drowning: What To Do