| Disease |
Description |
Notes |
| Episode 1-01: Pilot |
| Neurocysticercosis |
A parasitic infection of the central nervous system possibly caused by tapeworm larvae. |
Caused by the patient’s consumption of undercooked worms. Diagnosed following a search of the patient’s home. |
| Episode 1-02: Paternity |
| SSPE (Subacute sclerosing panencephalitis) |
An incurable but maneagable chronic encephalitis caused by defective measles virus. |
Acquired by the patient as an infant, remaining latent until young adulthood. Diagnosed after the discovery that the patient was adopted (his biological mother was unvaccinated and thus the patient was unprotected for the first six months of his life by defences inherited from her). |
| Episode 1-03: Occam's Razor |
| Colchicine poisoning |
Colchicine blocks mitosis (the process of cell division), causing abdominal pain, rash, nausea, fever, kidney failure and low blood pressure. |
Caused by a pharmacist mistakenly providing medication for gout, rather than a cough. |
| Episode 1-04: Maternity |
| Echovirus 11 |
An enterovirus which lodges in the intestinal tract, it is potentially fatal to newborn babies. |
Transmitted by non-medical staff on the maternity ward. One newborn dies as a result of an epidemic of Echo-11. This is also known as "Munter's Syndrome". |
| Episode 1-05: Damned If You Do |
| Copper allergy |
Severe adverse reaction to contact with copper. |
Aggravated by the patient's 20-year-old IUD (Intrauterine device), installed prior to her becoming a nun. |
| Episode 1-06: The Socratic Method |
| Wilson's disease |
An autosomal recessive hereditary disease, characterized by the accumulation of copper in tissues, which manifests itself with neurological symptoms and liver disease. |
Ended a prolonged period of mental illness after the patient was misdiagnosed with schizophrenia. |
| Episode 1-07: Fidelity |
| African sleeping sickness |
Fatal parasitic disease causing, among other symptoms, fatigue, and if untreated coma and death. |
Diagnosed in spite of the patient never having visited Africa, it transpires that she acquired it through an affair with her husband's friend. |
| Episode 1-08: Poison |
| Phosmet poisoning |
Phosmet is a non-systemic, organophosphate insecticide, which is highly toxic to humans. |
Two pupils from the same school were poisoned after they purchased designer clothing from the back of a van, also used to transport insecticides, which was parked outside their school. |
| Episode 1-09: DNR |
| AVM (Arteriovenous malformation) |
A congenital disorder of the veins and arteries, with the potentially ability to cause strokes and death. |
An intradural AVM caused compression of the patient's spine, leaving him paralysed and being misdiagnosed with ALS (Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis), also known as Lou Gehrig's disease. |
| Episode 1-10: Histories |
| Rabies |
A viral zoonotic disease that causes acute encephalitis. |
The patient (a homeless woman) contracted the disease after being bitten by a bat. As the patient had already developed neurological symptoms, the disease proved fatal. |
| Episode 1-11: Detox |
| Naphthalene poisoning |
Napthalene is a crystalline, aromatic, white, solid hydrocarbon, best known as the primary ingredient of mothballs. Exposure can cause internal bleeding and acute liver failure. |
The patient was poisoned due to naphthalene-secreting termites which had built a nest in his bedroom wall. |
| Episode 1-12: Sports Medicine |
| Cadmium poisoning |
Cadmium is extremely toxic, and even small amounts in the body can cause respiratory problems and kidney failure. The bones become softer and easier to break as well. |
The patient was smoking marijuana that was grown in soil that was slightly contaminated with cadmium. |
