Frame o' Reference

We see the world only from our own point of view, no doubt about it. Yesterday when I was writing about AAA, I figured the whole world would know I was talking about the automotive and travel outfit. But when I Googled it to get the logo what came up right in the top row but the picture on the left of somebody’s  operation! Those two thingies that look like shoehorns hold back the tissues so the surgical team can really dig in. And the shiny red bulge? That’s the inside of the person's glistening pink insides.I looked around the website this picture was from and learned what these three little A’s stand for. The answer:  Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm which happens when the big vessel that supplies blood to the abdomen, pelvis, and legs becomes abnormally large and/or balloons outward. Your aorta leaves your heart, see, then ascends, arches, and descends through the chest until it reaches the diaphragm where it passes the diaphragm and continues down the abdomen. Then it splits to form the two iliac arteries that go to the legs. Basically it looks like a little dancing man. Well, a dancing man with no head and no arms. This information was followed by some riveting Q and A, including the tantalizing question “What's inside an aortic aneurysm?” (Answer: a laminated blood clot layered like plywood if you can picture it.)But I also found on the same page all these great pictures of medical conditions. I saved this eyeball for you to see....as well as the this one showing the heart break of psoriasis as the old ad used to call it..But best of all I found this video of the actual  procedure and all I can say is the phrase “Tripe A” will never again bring to mind tow trucks and flat tires. Amazing![youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PSPo6SwZbAg&feature=related]

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