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.

Question: 1) Jim’s arm was severed above the elbow. Which
specific bone and muscles would have been severed by the shark
bite? 2)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? 3) 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)? 4) 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? 5)Would the
reattached nerves recover as quickly and completely as the
reattached muscles after Jim’s surgery? Why or why not?