It’s Like Pulling Teeth:
A Case Study in Physiology

Part I—The Hospital

At last the day had come. Mr. Thompson was having his wisdom teeth removed. He was tired of the aches and pains and the sight of his puffy face in the mirror every morning. He felt helpless, lying on the gurney watching the ceiling lights whiz by as he was being wheeled to surgery.

Mr. Thompson had selected this particular oral surgeon because of the sign outside his practice that read: “We cater to cowards.” But the surgeon still hadn’t seemed to understand Mr. Thompson’s fear of dental procedures; he had wanted to use a local anesthetic. Fortunately, the anesthesiologist was sympathetic to his request for a general anesthetic.

As the mask came over Mr. Thompson’s face, he felt so alone. It reminded him of how he felt as a boy, in the orphanage. Then the halothane started to take effect and he went under.

As surgery was about to begin, Mr. Thompson started twitching. The anesthesiologist saw Mr. Thompson’s heart rate increase, his muscle contractions become strong and widespread throughout his body, and the patient began to sweat profusely. As Mr. Thompson’s temperature quickly increased, the anesthesiologist injected a solution into the IV drip. Then Mr. Thompson went limp and all that could be heard was the sound of oxygen rushing through the ventilator, assisting Mr. Thompson’s breathing.

“Next time we do as I say and we use a local,” muttered the angry surgeon as he glared at Mr. Thompson.

Questions

1. How is heat generated in the body?
2. In this case, where halothane-induced heat production quickly elevated Mr. Thompson’s body temperature, where do you think most of the heat is generated?
3. What chemical reaction is responsible for generating the huge amount of heat?
4. Which processes use ATP as an energy source in skeletal muscle?

Image Credit: Silhouette by O. Elkan, courtesy of the National Library of Medicine.

Date Posted: 09/27/04 nas

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