The skeleton does much more than hold us upright.

We explore bones, cartilage, joints, growth, repair, and bone remodeling. Along the way, we see how the skeletal system protects organs, stores minerals, supports blood cell production, and provides the framework on which muscles generate movement.

Sources and further reading:

1. Moore KL, Dalley AF II, Agur AMR. Clinically oriented anatomy. 8th ed. Baltimore: Wolters Kluwer; 2017.
2. Hall JE, Hall ME. Guyton and Hall textbook of medical physiology. 14th ed. Philadelphia: Elsevier; 2020.

Educational content only. Not a substitute for individualized medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.

A 66-year-old man arrives at the hospital after hours of severe chest pain. What follows allows us to trace the physiology of a myocardial infarction step by step.

We examine atherosclerosis, coronary artery obstruction, electrocardiographic changes, myocardial injury, cardiogenic shock, and mechanical complications. This clinical case illustrates why time can profoundly influence the outcome of a heart attack.

Sources and further reading:

1. Ribeiro WN, Yamada AT, Benvenuti LA. Case 4/2014: a 66-year-old man with acute myocardial infarction and death in asystole after primary coronary angioplasty. Arq Bras Cardiol. 2014;103(3):e31-e36. doi:10.5935/abc.20140129.
2. Thygesen K, Alpert JS, Jaffe AS, et al. Fourth universal definition of myocardial infarction (2018). J Am Coll Cardiol. 2018;72(18):2231-2264. doi:10.1016/j.jacc.2018.08.1038.

Educational content only. Not a substitute for individualized medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.