Question: THE CASE (adapted from “Shark Attack” by H. House) 8 year-old Jim Morris was swimming the Gulf of…

THE CASE (adapted from “Shark Attack” by H. House) 8 year-old
Jim Morris was swimming the Gulf off of Florida. While swimming,
Jim was bit in the arm by a bull shark. Nearby family and swimmers
grabbed Jim and shark, and after killing the shark, pried its’ jaws
open to remove Jim’s arm. Lifeguard applied a tourniquet and began
CPR on Jim until paramedics could arrive to stabilize Jim for
transport to the hospital. The severed part of his right arm was
packed in ice and taken with Jim in the event that it could be
reattached. At the hospital, surgeons noted that the severed arm
had little shredded tissue, and looked cleanly cut. The arm had
been severed 4 inches above the elbow. Doctors worked to mark the
muscles, blood vessels, and nerves in the arm and stump to be able
to align everything back up for reattachment surgery. During the
surgery, the orthopedic surgeon trimmed the bone on each side of
the cut to attach plates to keep the arm together. This procedure
would result in the right arm being 1 inch shorter than the left
after the surgery was complete. After reattaching the bones, the
muscles and nerves of the arm had to be reattached as well,
including the blood vessels. The surgery was completed
successfully, however the doctors cautioned Jim and his family that
he would likely never regain full and complete use of his arm and
hand.

THE QUESTIONS 1. Identify at least 5 organ systems (and their
functions) that the surgeons had to mark for reattachment. 2. Jim’s
arm was severed above the elbow. Which specific bone and muscles
would have been severed by the shark bite? 3. Which major nerves of
the brachial plexus would be have been severed? Which nerves of the
brachial plexus are likely to not be affected by Jim’s injury? 4.
After surgery, Jim is said to not be likely to regain full use of
his right arm. What are the normal movements associated with the
arm, forearm, wrist, and fingers? What joints are involved with
these movements (functional, structural, and plane type)? 5. Why
did the doctors say that full use of the arm would be unlikely?
What types of movements and activities would Jim have problems with
in the future? 6. Would the reattached nerves recover as quickly
and completely as the reattached muscles after Jim’s surgery? Why
or why not? 7. Imagine Jim were 80 instead of 8. Would the outcome
of this situation have been the same? Why or why not?