Mordecai and Toxoplasmosis

Bye: Olivia and Sophie

Description of our Life Before Mordecai,

We are twenty-five and lower class, making us live in a cramped confined space in the suburbs, with our two cats and two kids, Mordecai and Willow. Our house is very small and our cats are free to roam the house as they may. We have a kitty litter box in one room in the back of our house and we don’t clean it frequently.

In Utero, Toxoplasmosis does not affect the development of the child in utero. If a child is infected with toxoplasmosis symptoms will occur, if they occur at all, later in life. So since the fetal development is normal, the first signs of skeletal, nervous, and digestive system development will occur around week 5. During this week the embryonic sac has divided into three sections. The ectoderm will become the skin and nervous system. The mesoderm will

become the skeletal system, reproductive system, and muscles. The endoderm will become the lungs, intestines and bladder, creating the digestive system. A t the beginning of skeletal development that bones are made of cartilage. As g rowth in the womb cont inues, o s teobla s t s and os teoc la s t s ( ce l l s responsible for the upkeep of bones) begin to replace the cartilage. This process, called ossification, occurs when osteoblasts take calcium and other salts and minerals from the bloodstream to harden the bones. This process of hardening bones does not stop until well into a person’s childhood.

After this point all the sections continue to grow and become more defined. If the child begins to show symptoms of toxoplasmosis later in life it may affect these systems but as of in utero development, all is normal.

In Birth, everything went well. Toxoplasmosis has no effect on the in utero development of people and therefore had no adverse affects on the birth itself. The birth occurred at Roxborough Memorial hospital. The birth weight of the baby was 5 lbs 6oz. Though this was not the case in our child’s delivery, in many births the child’s clavicle bone breaks due to the stress of delivery.

Mordecai

MordecaiSOPHIA HENNINGER ANATOMY OLIVIA SMITH

Growing up with Mordecai and his toxoplasmosis.

Toxoplasmosis is a disease that attacks the

most of the central nervous system.

Growing up with Toxoplasmosis

Toxoplasmosis Description What it does to birth

When born this disease will effect the size of the baby. It will make the baby smaller but not to the point of prematurity.

Throughout Toddler Life

Throughout the life of a toddler with toxoplasmosis they could gradually have very frequent fevers and accessional seizures.

Throughout Rest of Life

Throughout the rest of life the child will have seizures and fevers. This could

become more and more frequent throughout the life of the patient.

Cure

There is no cure but you can cure it symptomatically.

Breast Feeding

When he was first born we could breastfed Mordecai five times a day. First when he just woke up. Then after his morning nap. Again around noon, then after his afternoon nap and lastly when he was just about to go to bed.   The breast milk would provide antibodies to fight off viruses and bacteria that could be extremely harmful to him in his early stages of life, breastfeeding for at least 6 months decreases ear infections and advances the vitamins in the baby as well. After 6 months of breastfeeding we started to incorporate baby foods! Because Mordecai was developing a more secure digestive system things like apple sauce and pureed foods. After Mordecai grew to be about 18 we months we stopped breastfeeding and started him on more solid foods. Advances in his digestive track led us to feed him cheerios and solid food cut up to small pieces

Bone Development Bones can change all the way

into adulthood and our child is no different. Mordecai is developing normally which means his bones are transitioning from cartilage to bone. This process is called endochondral ossification. The steps of this process are as follows, the cartilage begins to ossify. Then blood vessels begin to form with the bone and after that the marrow cavity begins to form. Next growth plates are forming in bones and around the ends of marrow cavity to expand the bone. After that, blood vessels in the ends of the cartilage begin to turn into bone. Eventually these processes stop, resulting in a mature bone. The density of bones can be affected by diet and exercise throughout a person’s entire life. To ensure the health and prosperity of Mordecai, we as parents have encouraged him to be active and make good food choices.

Here is a diagram of toxoplasmosis and how it occurs and what it does.

Scenarios Explanation

Due to Mordecai’s condition, he is prone to seizures. At the playground while playing tag with classmates, he was chasing someone up a ladder. At this point he had a seizure. He fell off the ladder and landed on his arm, causing an impacted fracture in his right radius and scaphoid, as well as a hairline fracture in his right ulna. An impacted fracture is one of the more severe types of fractures. It often leads to bone fragments lodged or floating in nearby tissues. For this to heal in Mordecai’s case, surgical plates, screws and rods had to be implanted into his wrist to make sure it would heal correctly. For the hairline f r a c t u re, s i n c e t h e i r w a s n o displacement, a simple cast is needed to make sure the ulna heals correctly.

S k e l e t a l S y s t e m T h o u g h impacted fractures were described in scenario six, there are many different t ypes o f f rac ture s , inc lud ing greenstick, compound, transverse, and oblique fractures. Each of these types of fractures have their own specific

complications but the body has three basic steps it takes to heal the fractures on it’s own. In modern medicine, when you fracture a bone, you go to the hospital and if needed, a doctor sets it back in place and it is then casted. After casting, the body does the rest on it’s own. When the bone first breaks, blood vessels inside the bone are severed. The body responds by forming a clot called the fracture hematoma. In time, blood vessels form within the hematoma and begin aiding in the healing process. In a few days, the hematoma begin to form into a soft callus. Connective t i s sues, such as co l lagen and fibrocartilage, then begin to form a bone callus. This process may take weeks. After this harder callus is form osteoblasts, the cells in charge of the production of bone begin to fill the gap where the fracture was. This is a long process, but in most cases no severe problems occur and the patient will make a full recovery.

Skeletal Systems Cont.Bones, like many other parts of the human body have layers. The outermost layer is called the periosteum. This is where

tendons attach to bones and where the inner layers of the bone get their blood supply. Compact bone is right beneath the periosteum. This is the hard part of the bone that provides the protection for the body. There are canals in compact bone that allow for blood vessel to transport blood to the marrow. Marrow is the sponge-like material that fills larger bones.

Though impacted fractures were described in scenario six, there are many different types of fractures, including greenstick, compound, transverse, and oblique fractures. Each of these types of fractures have their own specific complications but the body has three basic steps it takes to heal the fractures on it’s own. In modern medicine, when you fracture a bone, you go to the hospital and if needed, a doctor sets it back in place and it is then casted. After casting, the body does the rest on it’s own. When the bone first breaks, blood vessels inside the bone are severed. The body responds by forming a clot called the fracture hematoma. In time, blood vessels form within the hematoma and begin aiding in the healing process. In a few days, the hematoma begin to form into a soft callus. Connective tissues, such as collagen and fibrocartilage, then begin to form a bone callus. This process may take weeks. After this harder callus is form osteoblasts, the cells in charge of the production of bone begin to fill the gap where the fracture was. This is a long process, but in most cases no severe problems occur and the patient will make a full recovery.

Website Citations:

Infants skulls are different from adult skulls due to the

separated plates that form it. During delivery, this is useful because it allows the head to

reshape to fit through the cervix. Fontanels are the soft

tissue in between the skull plates. They allow the plates to

shift during birth and allow room for brain growth.

There are three main types of joints, hinge, pivot, and ball and socket. Ball and socket

joints allow the most movement and an example of

this joint would be your shoulder. A hinge joint allows you to move something back

and forth in a single direction. An example would be your

elbow. A pivot joint would be the type of joint that allows

you to turn your head.

Nervous and Digestive SystemSkeletal System Cont.

Neurons process and transmit signals within the nervous system. There are four main parts of neurons. The soma is the center of the cell and contains the nucleus. Dendrites are the extensions of the neuron that collect stimuli for the cell. The axon is like a wire that carries information away from the soma. There are also specialized synapses that release specific chemicals to communicate with other specified neurons. Saliva has many important functions within the digestive system. It lubricates the food to eat to allow it to easily travel down the esophagus. Saliva also is the first step food takes to be broken down. There are enzymes that start by initially breaking down starches.

http://www.breastfeeding.com/?MsdVisit=1

http://www.webmd.com/parenting/baby/breastfeeding-9/nursing-basics

http://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/toxoplasmosis-11036

http://www.webmd.com/baby/tc/toxoplasmosis-during-pregnancy-topic-overview

http://www.schoolhealth.com/human-skeleton-model-with-skeletal-system-chart

Olivia SmithSophia Henninger