Superman #23.1 “Bizzaro”: A Medical review

Superman #23.1 “Bizarro” Sholly Fisch, writer Jeff Johnson, penciler Generally, I enjoyed Bizarro. It was an interesting take on Bizarro, but the star of the comic was clearly Lex Luthor and his Machiavellian approach to science. That being said, I was annoyed by the clumsy biological technobabble scattered throughout the comic. A quick example: • “Cellular mitosis”? (Redundant. No scientist talks that way. What other type of mitosis is there? This would be like a car mechanic telling you there’s problem with your “automobile engine.”) What I really want to focus on though is Lex’s reasoning for why the creature is not following his commands: What if the creature’s brain cells are swelling like the rest of its body? Pressing against its indestructible skull?! The intercranial [sic] edema would cut off the blood flow to its brain — and reduce its intelligence to next to nothing. What Lex is describing is an increase in intracranial pressure (ICP) caused by swelling (or at least enlargement) of the brain. An increase in intracranial pressure is a serious medical problem. Commonly, it leads to headaches, vomiting and visual changes. Extreme cases result in loss of consciousness or even death. It does not, however, make one stupid. As the name suggests, “intracranial pressure” is the pressure inside the skull. Think of it as the blood pressure of the brain. Because ICP is lower than the blood pressure of the rest o...
Source: Polite Dissent - Category: Family Physicians Authors: Tags: newtag Source Type: blogs