Why can’t we twist our necks all the way around? Where does snot come from? What does the inside of a tooth look like? Inquisitive schoolchildren showered the panel with tricky questions in the Arvid Carlsson lecture hall during the annual International Science Festival Gothenburg.
This was the tenth consecutive year that Ask the Doctor was on the program of the Science Fair. Sahlgrenska Academy and Sahlgrenska University Hospital invited grammar school and junior high school students to Medicnarberget to find out everything they always wanted to know about how the body works.
Why can’t we twist our necks all the way around?
“Owls can twist their necks most of the way, but human beings have almost no joints that are up to the task,” replies Torgny Alstad, a dentist who is moderating the event.
Henrik Sjövall answers the question by doing the crawl with both arms so that they form big circles in the air. “The vertebrae of the neck are like buoys on rope-like structures called ligaments, which resist when you turn your head.”
What are bruises?
Torgny Alstad does his best to give all the waving hands a chance to have their curiosity satisfied.
“What makes people get bruises?” one of the students asks
“A bruise is caused by bleeding under the skin,” answers Lisa Nordqvist, a nurse at the emergency room of Sahlgrenska University Hospital. “It’s like a wound, but below the surface.”
“We were talking about hemoglobin a little earlier,” Henrik interjects. “Hemoglobin changes color when it breaks down. That’s why bruises turn blue and finally yellow.”
The students have a lot of questions about allergies, asthma and various diseases. How does a tumor develop? And why do you lose hair when you have cancer?
“People with cancer take strong medications that can cause adverse effects, one of which is that their hair starts to fall out,” Lisa says.
“Chemotherapy attacks all cells that reproduce, so the hair follicles are in the line of fire too,” Henrik says. “People often get their hair back, but sometimes they have to take such powerful medicine that the follicles are permanently damaged.”
“My wife had cancer and lost her hair during chemo,” Torgny adds. “It was curly when it grew back, which is just what she had always wished for.”
Reflection required
Lisa comments afterwards that the panelists have to walk a tightrope when answering the questions.
“We need to consider the consequences of our answers. We want students to understand the basic concept without getting anxious and frustrated. If somebody asks about cancer, we have to keep in mind that one of their relatives might have had the disease.” The other panelists nod their heads in agreement.
Both Henrik and Torgny come back year after year because it is such a pleasure.
“I used to treat a lot of children in my practice, and it’s a joy to see them again at such a fun event,” Torgny says. “Ask the Doctor is a great opportunity for children to learn more about their bodies, and I never get tired of fielding their questions.”
What was the thorniest problem they threw at you this time?
Henrik ponders for a while. “I guess it was when somebody wanted to know why girls are girls and boys are boys. I said it was good for procreation because it shuffles the gene pool—not a bad explanation if I say so myself. Sometimes the simplest questions are the hardest to answer.”
Members of the two panels at Ask the Doctor 2015
Torgny Alstad, Dentist
Henrik Sjövall, Physician
Lisa Nordqvist, Nurse
Helena Backlund Wasling, Researcher in Physiology
Carl Johan Behre, Physician
De deltog i de två panelerna i Fråga doktorn 2015: Torgny Alstad, tandläkare Henrik Sjövall, läkare Lisa Nordqvist, sjuksköterska Helena Backlund Wasling, forskare fysiologi Carl Johan Behre, läkare
TEXT OCH FOTO: ELIN LINDSTRÖM CLAESSEN