Author Archives: Giancarlo Buonomo

Why do my fingers wrinkle when I take a bath? You can watch this episode on our new YouTube channel here! Did you ever emerge from a bath or pool as a kid, grab a towel, notice it felt funny in your hands, and look down to see that your fingertips were as wrinkled asContinue reading “Episode 87 – Aquagenic Wrinkling”

Why does chronic alcohol use cause macrocytosis? Previously on the Curious Clinicians, we’ve discussed some of the physiologic effects of alcohol that may be familiar to many: Feeling warm and peeing a lot. On this episode, we discuss another effect that is likely only seen by clinicians. Macrocytosis, or enlarged red blood cells (RBCs), isContinue reading “Episode 86 – Enlarging Alcohol”

How did this anti-nausea drug cause thousands of birth defects? On the Curious Clinicians, we like to often discuss more lighthearted topics, such as why some people think cilantro tastes like soap or whether the post-Thanksgiving turkey coma is a real thing. This episode deals with something whose pathophysiology and history are considerably darker, butContinue reading “Episode 83 – Thalidomide Embryopathy”

Why don’t we transfuse to a normal hemoglobin? Patients are so much more than numbers on a chart, but those numbers really are important. Lab values like potassium and white blood cells are not just figures to be balanced like there’s an impending IRS audit – they give quantifiable information on how a patient isContinue reading “Episode 82 – When Normal Labs Aren’t Necessary”

How does sickle cell trait protect against malaria infection and mortality? In any medical genetics course, sickle cell trait (SCT) and sickle cell disease (SCD) are sure to be brought up early and often. They follow an easily-understood inheritance pattern and can be used as examples in teaching biochemistry basics such as protein folding andContinue reading “Episode 81 – Avoiding Malaria”