Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. The late afternoon sun slanted through the giant live oaks that were festooned with dripping Spanish moss. While the occupants of the neighboring New Orleans Vieux Carre mansions were thinking about a julep or two before dinner, our "Sam the Vampire Man" stirred in his coffin and thought about his agenda for the coming night. He was uncommonly ravenous this evening and he was in hopes that his lady love, Vampira, might have a fruit jar of sustenance squirreled away that she would share with him. His pantry was bare even of blood pudding and he hoped he would have far better luck this night, gastronomically speaking, than the previous night. Sam had shadowed a young man passing the cemetery containing the remains of the Voodoo Priestess, Marie Laveau. The young man leaned heavily against the stone wall from time to time and audibly gasped for breath. If Sam had known the full scope of the man's health picture, he would have guessed what was wrong with him. He had suffered weakness, irritability and he had also been on Methotrexate for cancer. Sam could tell that he came from the great homeless group that frequented that part of town. As Sam enfolded him in his cloak for his nightly repast, he noted no resistance as if deadly fatigue had overcome the man. Sam also noted the man's extreme pallor, his wasted appearance and his distinct odor of alcohol.
Of the anemias, which was the likely culprit that Sam had encountered in the pallid young alcoholic? Hint: Think Dietary
2. Sam reached over and rapped on the next coffin thinking that Vampira had slept long enough. I neglected to tell you that Sam was a chauvinistic vampire----old school type. The sun had set and it was time for her to find something to sustain him until he could hit the streets for that tangy-sweet nectar of the gods that kept his dues paid as a self respecting gentleman of the vampire persuasion. Tonight, he was going to have to work overtime to fill up the pantry so that when he had poor luck, as he had last night, he could come home, pour himself a goblet of the ruby-red elixir, curl up in his Cadillac hearse recliner and bone up on his favorite subject----Hematology. "Let's see", he said while scratching his left fang, "how many people must I drain to reach a goal of approximately 22 liters?"
3. Vampira had risen, aroused her "batlet" children for their night and began preparations for their breakfast. Being a good "bat-mother", she had put some blood tarts away for just this type occasion----a bare pantry. Sam wandered in and joined the chittering children at the table with the guttering candles. He remembered for a bit how quiet it was before Vampira decided to leave the loft over the funeral home to come live in the mansion with Sam and start a family-----but his reverie didn't last long. He was a happy Vampire and the blood tarts baked by his beloved Vampira even deepened his love. He guessed he really should give his batlets their daily lesson before he went to work replenishing their pantry. He shooed them into the huge ballroom that doubled as their classroom. Cobwebs swirled and swagged over the crystal chandeliers at each end of the room and dust motes drifted and danced in the candlelight. He stood next to the blackboard and began his lesson. This time, it was on sickle cell anemia----that tragic disease so prevalent in the Black population that results from a defective hemoglobin molecule that causes red blood cells to become sickle-shaped. Vampira sat in the shadows and nodded her fine head with every correct answer from a batlet. Sam asked his batlets: "It is thought by many that the sickle cell trait persists where what disease or condition is endemic?"
4. As Sam erased his blackboard and the batlets scampered and fluttered off to play their favorite game, "Hide and Kill", Sam thought about his evening. He made his way to his coffinroom and selected his evening dress with great care----his best black velvet cloak lined in blood red satin, his scarlet cummerbund and his red and gold sash that proudly displayed his Romanian Crest of Honor. Ready to depart, he kissed Vampira on the neck as a jagged bolt of lightning zigzagged and split the night sky. He raised his sleek head to observe the lightning through the tall windows on the stairs and he now knew that this night would be blessed with luck. He slipped through the alleyways of Vieux Carre, passed Bourbon Street and came to the side of an ivied church where he saw a man sitting alone on a bench with his head in his hands----but on looking more closely, he saw the man's hands were red----he was BLEEDING! Oh, Glory be! This was going to be a real piece of cake!!
Our bleeding man had just come from the dentist where he had had a tooth extracted. He had suffered from bleeding problems since he'd been a young child but this time it was much more prolonged. This condition is characterized by a low platelet count and large platelets. In this syndrome, platelets are missing the part of the platelet that is involved in the initial stages of clot forming. This syndrome is:
5. Sam polished his fangs and gazed at the pitiful heap at his feet. He had harvested about 5 liters and his fruit jars that he carried for this purpose were brimming and frothy. He couldn't help himself from taking a large sip before he capped them to take home for his family. Pure heaven!! On the way home, he spied a "lady of the evening" hoping to turn a quick trick. She glanced his way in an inviting manner and, unfortunately for her, that was the last glance she ever made. As he enfolded her into his cloak, he had found another-----would miracles never cease?---with a hemorrhagic disorder. This little gal had a problem with platelets too but her condition was characterized by a deficient number of circulating platelets causing severe clotting problems. Typically, a person notices a sudden increase in petechiae and bruising from bleeding into mucous membranes (GI, urinary, respiratory, etc.). The arms and legs may show great bruises and there may be pain indicating that they are actually hematomas. In the adult, there may be large blood-filled bullae in the mouth. What do you suppose our "lady of the evening" suffered from?
6. By this time, Sam was certainly feeling "in tall cotton" with his approximate 11 liters of the precious substance contained safely in the jars. He headed home in a jaunty manner, twirling his key chain and humming and old Gypsy love song. At the corner of Conti Street, he tipped his hat to another gentleman but he made a mistake and smiled----showing his fangs. Never had he seen a man run that fast! "Oh well", he thought. "Maybe I'll meet him tomorrow night." When Sam reached home, he decanted one of the fruit jars into his favorite crystal goblet. The rich, red fluid glinted in the candlelight. He toasted the moon and settled into the Cadillac hearse recliner for a good read. Tonight, it was going to be on white blood cells. He started at the beginning. Most white blood cells are produced where?
7. Sam leaned back in his custom made hearse recliner and read on----still on the subject of white blood cells. A temporary increase in the production and release of mature WBC's is a normal response to infection but when there is an abnormal increase of WBC's that are immature and they accumulate in bone marrow or lymphoid tissue, this would be characteristic of:
8. Where in the world was Vampira? He hadn't seen her all night and it was growing close to early morning hours. He put down his book and went investigating---but first he dropped by the pantry to survey, once again, his success of the evening. He couldn't believe his eyes when he saw 24 fruit jars nestling on the pantry shelf----gleaming red and glistening in the glow of his candle. He turned suddenly and there was his beloved Vampira who had somehow found a babysitter for their batlets and had gone out hunting on her own. He swept her into his arms and breathed words of love into her ear as she unpinned his red and gold sash----but let us excuse ourselves and go back to his second love....BLOOD.
Thalassemia, a group of hereditary anemias causes inefficient hemoglobin production and it results in continued production of fetal hemoglobin----even far beyond the neonatal period. It also impairs red blood cell synthesis. Thalassemia is more common in people from Mediterranean ancestry----especially Italians and Greeks. It also occurs in Blacks and people from southern China, southeast Asia and India. As children with this condition grow older, they may be very susceptible to:
9. Sam knew all about Thalassemia but it rather grossed him out because of the fibers on the skull resembling hair standing on end caused by this condition. He wasn't thinking of diseases at the moment though. He was soaking in a hot tub with his second goblet of heavenly life giving sustenance. He was tired as he had had an extremely active night and if he wanted to be any good at all tomorrow night, he'd better be banging that coffin lid closed pretty soon. As he watched the water swirling down the drain, he could not help but think about plasma----plasma, a clear, straw-colored fluid that is made up mostly of proteins because plasma suspends many things in its fluid such as glucose, amino acids, electrolytes and even respiratory gases (oxygen and carbon dioxide). This would not be possible without this high content of protein. The various components of plasma regulate among other things:
10. Sam's lid was the first to bang closed---wouldn't you know it? Just like a man. Vampira set about checking the batlets in their tiny coffins, blowing out the many candles and rinsing out Sam's favorite crystal goblet. She too was tired but before she crawled into the pink satin interior of her coffin, she thought that she was so fortunate that she wasn't human anymore with the accursed menstruation every month. She remembered how tired she always was, the headaches---and even shortness of breath that went along with the anemia so common in premenopausal women, adolescents, alcoholics and elderly people. This anemia is:
Source: Author
TIGEY
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