Reynolds: Medical Mysteries

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Ann Reynolds and Kenneth Wapner, with Corinne Mol, Medical Mysteries : From the Bizarre to the Deadly ... The Cases that have Baffled Doctors. New York : Hyperion, 2009. 228 pages; includes bibliographical references and index.

I have been fascinated by medical oddities. Ripley's Believe It or Not and Guiness Book of World Records spawned my interest in medical oddities. How can we forget Robert Wadlow, a young man who died in his early twenties from an enlarged pituitary gland?

I love to watch the Discovery Health channel on cable. In addition to the shows that focus on child birth and weight loss, the channel presents episodes that deal with medical anomalies like the beautiful girl who had "Mermaid's Syndrome", a condition in which she was born with with her legs fused together; or children with "Progeria", a condition in which the children age rapidly beyond their chronological years.

This book is a quick, fascinating read. Each of the twenty-three chapters presents unique conditions. Chapters follow a consistent layout of describing the person with the condition, an explanation of what the condition is, and ultimately what is done as a result of their condition and where doctors and technology are at in understanding and treating these conditions. The book is presented in a way that a non-medical person can understand. Amazingly a lot of these conditions revolve around the lack of sleep.

Take a peek! Learn about "Surfer's Syndrome", "Fatal Familial Insomnia" and "Prosopagosia", the inability to see faces. I dare you to read just one.

-- Notes by AJ