"Gross" Anatomy
Your skin constantly sheds — about this much of your body weight in dead cells every year.
What is about 1½ pounds (or roughly 0.7 kg)?
Before anesthesia, this was the most common surgical strategy for pain management.
What is alcohol or biting on a stick?
These tiny cell fragments are responsible for clotting blood.
What are platelets?
This long-running TV show made “McDreamy” a household name — and inspired thousands of pre-meds.
What is Grey’s Anatomy?
You should get this number of hours of sleep per night for optimal health.
What is 7–9 hours?
The average person passes gas about this many times a day — even if they deny it.
What is 14–20 times a day?
In medieval Europe, this treatment for “balancing humors” often made patients worse — and paler.
What is bloodletting?
Sweating cools the body through this physical process.
What is evaporation?
In The Good Doctor, the main character has this developmental condition.
What is autism (autism spectrum disorder)?
This vitamin, made in the skin when exposed to sunlight, is essential for calcium absorption.
What is vitamin D?
Your mouth is home to more bacteria than there are people on Earth — but these cells, not germs, make your saliva slippery.
What are epithelial cells?
In the 1800s, doctors prescribed this toxic metal for everything from syphilis to constipation.
What is mercury?
The red color of blood comes from this iron-containing protein.
What is hemoglobin?
This 1990s sitcom doctor famously said, “It’s not lupus” — almost every episode.
Who is Dr. Gregory House (House, M.D.)?
The recommended caffeine intake for most adults (in milligrams), except for during finals week, in which case it becomes unlimited.
What is 400 mg?
Your large intestine contains up to this many bacteria per gram of content — a fact you’ll never forget before dinner.
What is about 100 billion?
Ancient Egyptians used moldy bread on wounds — a crude version of this later antibiotic discovery.
What is penicillin?
Tears contain this enzyme that helps protect your eyes from bacteria.
What is lysozyme?
This dermatologist became famous for her satisfying (and sometimes stomach-turning) extractions on social media and TV.
Who is Dr. Pimple Popper (Dr. Sandra Lee)?
Physical activity is an important way to prevent this number 1 killer in the nation.
What is heart disease?
Your body makes this much mucus every day — and yes, you swallow most of it.
What is about 1–1.5 liters?
Trepanation, the ancient practice of drilling holes in the skull, was believed to release these.
What are evil spirits (or demons)?
This hormone triggers the production of red blood cells in bone marrow.
What is erythropoietin (EPO)?
This Miami-based plastic surgeon became famous for livestreaming surgeries on Snapchat.
Who is Dr. Miami (Dr. Michael Salzhauer)?
Doctors recommend at least this many minutes of moderate exercise per week for adults.
What is 150 minutes?