Exam Tips
Common Antidotes Used in Toxicology
An antidote is an agent that counteracts the effects of a poison, toxin, or harmful substance on the body. They are specifically designed to neutralise or reverse the toxic effects caused by the substance, mitigating or preventing further harm and promoting...
Confounding, Bias and Effect Modification
Confounding factors A confounding factor is a variable that is associated with both the outcome of interest and the exposure of interest. In this constellation, the exposure of interest appears (spuriously) to be associated with the outcome of interest, while in...
Sialolithiasis
Sialolithiasis is a condition where a calcified stone (sialolith) forms within a salivary gland. The salivary glands The salivary glands are exocrine glands that produce saliva and secrete it into the oral cavity. There are three main salivary glands and...
Muscle Relaxants for the MRCEM Exam
Neuromuscular blocking drugs used in anaesthesia are also known as muscle relaxants. By specific blockade of the neuromuscular junction, they enable light anaesthesia to be used with adequate relaxation of the muscles of the abdomen and diaphragm. They also relax the...
Urticaria
Urticaria is a superficial swelling of the skin (epidermis and mucous membranes) resulting in a red, raised, itchy rash that can be localised or widespread. Angio-oedema is a deeper form of urticaria that causes swelling in the dermis and submucosal or subcutaneous...
The Importance of a Good Night’s Sleep
“There is a time for many words, and there is also a time for sleep.” Homer, The Odyssey Pulling an ‘all-nighter’ On several occasions over the years, I have decided to ‘pull an all-nighter’ and stay up to study for an exam the following day. On some occasions, it...
The Descending Tracts
The descending tracts are pathways whereby motor signals travel from the brain to the lower motor neurons to innervate muscles and cause movement. There are no synapses in the descending pathways. All of the neurons in the descending tracts are upper motor neurons,...
The Ascending Tracts
The ascending tracts are neural pathways located in the white matter that conduct afferent information from the peripheral nerves to the cerebral cortex. There are usually three neurons in an ascending pathway: First-order neurons, in which the cell body is in the...
Overview of the Cranial Nerves
There are twelve paired cranial nerves in total, and they all arise directly from the brain, in contrast to the spinal nerves, which arise from segments of the spinal cord. The cranial nerves are accordingly numbered by the location within the brainstem (superior to...
Understanding Vivas
“The spoken word was the first technology by which man was able to let go of his environment in order to grasp it in a new way.” Marshall McLuhan The dreaded viva voce The viva voce, or oral exam, has declined in popularity over recent years but is still a part of...
