Category Archives: Uncategorized

This episode covers a topic that does not – at first pass – appear related to medicine: umami! Here is a link to the Tweetorial Avi posted on this topic: What is umami? Who discovered it? Umami is the flavor of savory deliciousness (it means savoriness in Japanese), and is separate from the other fourContinue reading “Episode 9: Why is umami so delicious?”

Dyspnea is common. We all experience it when we exercise or, if we have medical problems like asthma, when we’re acutely ill. And dyspnea is a common symptom reported by hospitalized patients. As a medical student, I learned early on to ask about chest pain. I also learned that, if the answer was “yes”, I shouldContinue reading “Episode 8: Why is dyspnea an anginal equivalent?”

For this episode of the podcast, Avi and the team discussed “normal” saline and why it isn’t so normal. This was based largely on the tweetorial he posted on New Year’s Eve, 2019. A Little History Saline was originally used in the 1830s by a Scottish physician named Thomas Latta to treat cholera patients duringContinue reading “Episode 7: Is saline nephrotoxic?”

Many of you know that azithromycin is often used as part of the treatment of acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). And this is done even when there is no evidence of a bacterial infection. That means there are two possible explanations: (1) it’s just assumed that there is a bacterial infection there,Continue reading “Episode 6: Why is azithromycin anti-inflammatory?”

On this episode of the podcast, the group answered a question that is often addressed with a wave of the hand: How do diuretics lead to metabolic alkalosis? Along the way, we dissected what is meant by contraction alkalosis, introduced a protein that none of us had heard of until exploring this question, and foundContinue reading “Episode 5: How do diuretics lead to metabolic alkalosis?”