Structure of Tetrodotoxin

Brianna's Diagnosis

Throughout the assignment we gave Brianna many diagnoses, and after learning more and more information we came to the conclusion that Brianna is suffering from a ventricular septal defect. At first Brianna’s symptoms seemed minimal, the tips of her fingers and lips were blue and her breathing was a bit faster than her brothers. We then diagnosed her with Cyanosis, a condition caused by a lack of oxygen in the blood which was resulting in the blue appearance of her lips. This cyanosis could be caused by Endocarditis (the inflammation of the inside of the heart). Brianna and Christopher’s mother could have caught an infection that passed through her bloodstream and infected Brianna leaving Christopher untouched or his immune system was stronger and getting more nutrition. Their mother’s immune system would most likely to be strong enough to fight it off before it reached her heart. The murmur Dr. Kurtz had heard before the twins were born has been found to belong to Brianna in the form of a whirring sound in between the lub and dub of her heart beat. At this point Brianna is also starting to have a cough. After arriving in the NICU vital signs showed Brianna’s heart rate (160), along with her breathing, (heavy and congested) were increased in comparison to her brothers. Her blood pressure is a low 85/55 and she is lethargic and disinterested in feeding. Her Arterial PO2 is a normal 100 indicating the problem isn’t with her lungs. We then figured the problem must be with either Brianna’s pulmonary or aortic valve, being PVS or AVS but after an echocardiogram revealed Brianna’s heart valves were normal we then gave her the diagnosis of Patent Ductus Arteriosis (PDA). This is a condition where the duct that skips going to the lungs is still open after the baby is born. After ruling out that diagnosis we settled on VSD or a Ventricular septal defect otherwise known as a "hole" in the heart. This is when there is a hole in the septum between the left...