Chapter 2, Problem 1MCFU

My first college roommate, Sara Gelbart, seemed the ideal roommate when I first met her. A good student, she was thoughtful, outgoing, and fun. By October, however, I was really worried about her. I noticed that she rarely wanted to come to the dining hall with our group of friends. When she did come, she just seemed to pick at her food. She also spent a lot of time at the athletic center, running 5 to 8 miles almost daily. I wasn’t surprised when she started losing significant amounts of weight. What worried me was her lack of willingness to talk about her nutritional habits and health. She told me that she was plenty healthy, just a bit “nuts” about being fit! She also kidded that I’d be healthier if I worked out more often with her. While she was certainly right about that, I was worried that she had a serious eating disorder and wasn’t sure what I could do to help. She politely told me to “mind my own business” when I asked her if she had ever spoken with anyone about her health…

Seth, a thirty-eight year-old white male of Scandinavian descent, has lived his entire life in Southern Florida. He is very concerned with maintaining a "healthy" appearance. Seth is very athletic and especially enjoys surfing. He has been surfing since the age of twelve and he started making surfboards while he was in high school. After obtaining a college degree in marketing Seth decided to start his own business making surfboards and giving surfing lessons for a local resort near his home. During a routine physical examination the physician assistant that Seth sees commented on the presence and appearance of a small growth (approximately 2-cm in diameter) above Seth’s right eyebrow. This growth was shiny with a pearly border, a central ulcer and engorged surface blood vessels. The physician assistant was concerned that this might be a tumor and asked Seth a number of questions to aid in the diagnosis. Seth reported that he noticed this growth approximately six months ago but thought…

Mr Ojomu is a 42 year male of African origin.  He has a demanding desk-based job and frequently has to work long hours.  He rarely eats regular meals and so has developed a habit of snacking on foods with high salt, fat and sugar contents.  He routinely drinks at least 4 cups of coffee a day and at least one bottle of coca-cola.  Recently he has noticed that he has put on weight and easily gets out of breath when walking, he feels tired on waking, often suffers muscular aches and pains and experiences bouts of anxiety over his workload.  a) Using The Respiratory system explain what steps Mr Ojomu should take to improve his overall physical and mental health. Include in your answer how the body systems you have selected work together to normalise body functions.