The New Sudoku Players' Forum

[Bigtone53]

tarek,

Good luck, but I sure hope that my heart does not have 700+ species living in it

[mikejapan]

It's a "big puddlle" (less than 6 letters/more than 6 letters - your spelling isn't very good) that was outside your house last Tuesday.

The formation of the puddlle was caused by lots of rain drops - that ceased to be when they created the puddlle. Also they flowed together to form it.

The puddlle is part of the entity of rainfall.

It's evaporated now so we can't touch it and it was wetter at the beginning than at the end.

It had a life ie; formed, existed then evaporated

It has been scientifically proven that approx 700 forms of life inhabit the average puddlle ranging from microbes and small insects to fish and hippopotami.

[MCC]

It has nothing to do with the heart or its plumbing.

But tarek, you're certainly a lot warmer than mike is.

It's a "big puddlle" (less than 6 letters/more than 6 letters - your spelling isn't very good) that was outside your house last Tuesday.

The formation of the puddlle was caused by lots of rain drops - that ceased to be when they created the puddlle. Also they flowed together to form it.

The puddlle is part of the entity of rainfall.

It's evaporated now so we can't touch it and it was wetter at the beginning than at the end.

It had a life ie; formed, existed then evaporated

It has been scientifically proven that approx 700 forms of life inhabit the average puddlle ranging from microbes and small insects to fish and hippopotami.

It's the parasitic infected of the undercook fish and hippopotami meat you should be worried about.
I suppose there is some sort of clue in the above statement.


MCC

[Para]

With the heart being a closer guess. I think it might be the gastro-intestinal tract. I mean there's loads of species of bacteria living in your gastro-intestinal tract. The beginning is wetter, as fluid is extracted throughout the gastro-intestinal tract. And for the ending of others, well we all know what happens with our food. And surely there is some kind of flow, but that is more a peristaltic movement. Also it meets the >6 and <6 demand. And i think the alternative answer of 5 letters would be bowel.
(just checking off the hints).

Para

[mikejapan]

Lower intestine?

[coloin]

continuing to "digest" this medical theme

"colon" or large intestine also fits

but hey..... are we all closet physicians ?

C

[MCC]

I think I'll have to give it to Para for being in the right area although coloin has got the right answer with "large intestine or colon".

The "gastro-intestinal tract" includes both the large and small intestines, but it is in the large intestine that fluid is extracted.

Mike's "lower intestine" is a bit ambiguous, it could mean the last part of the intestines; food is passed from the stomach to the small intestine then to the large intestine and then excreted, lower could also mean lower in the body which would make it the small intestine, which is below the large intestine.

But how does the above explain the riddle

My beginning is the ending of others.

MCC

[mikejapan]

It's a tansplanted intestine made from several pigs' intestines tied together.

[MCC]

It's a tansplanted intestine made from several pigs' intestines tied together.

Sausages


MCC

P.S. This is not the answer to the riddle.

[Bigtone53]

My beginning is the ending of others.

Appendix? The beginning of the large intestine I believe and certainly the cause of many people's endings when inflamed and untreated.

(PS and completely OT - interesting that the basic requests for help with puzzles have dried up completely under the new management. Perhaps it is not user-friendly)

[underquark]

And now that it's barbecue season, remember to wash your hands and cook meat properly:

http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/full/354/13/e12/DC1

[MCC]

Well done Bigtone53.
The appendix is the link the riddle refers to, it is at the beginning of the large intestine and at the end of many a text book.


MCC

[MCC]

This puzzle looks more like a caecum than an appendix (which, incidentally, isn't the
beginning of the large intestine as that honour goes to the ileocaecal valve with the
appendix being an add-on, an afterthought as it were at the end of the cul-de-sac of
the bowel, but never mind, I'm not bitter).

If this were a forum for medical practitioners then maybe "ileocaecal valve" would be a more appropriate answer, and as for the appendix being an afterthought.

Addendum: An appendix; an addition.

Loren G. Martin, professor of physiology at Oklahoma State University, replies:
"For years, the appendix was credited with very little physiological function.
We now know, however, that the appendix serves an important role in the fetus
and in young adults. Endocrine cells appear in the appendix of the human fetus
at around the 11th week of development. These endocrine cells of the fetal
appendix have been shown to produce various biogenic amines and peptide hormones,
compounds that assist with various biological control (homeostatic) mechanisms.
There had been little prior evidence of this or any other role of the appendix
in animal research, because the appendix does not exist in domestic mammals.

"Among adult humans, the appendix is now thought to be involved primarily in
immune functions. Lymphoid tissue begins to accumulate in the appendix shortly
after birth and reaches a peak between the second and third decades of life,
decreasing rapidly thereafter and practically disappearing after the age of 60.
During the early years of development, however, the appendix has been shown to
function as a lymphoid organ, assisting with the maturation of B lymphocytes
(one variety of white blood cell) and in the production of the class of antibodies
known as immunoglobulin A (IgA) antibodies. Researchers have also shown that
the appendix is involved in the production of molecules that help to direct
the movement of lymphocytes to various other locations in the body.
"In this context, the function of the appendix appears to be to expose white
blood cells to the wide variety of antigens, or foreign substances, present in
the gastrointestinal tract. Thus, the appendix probably helps to suppress
potentially destructive humoral (blood- and lymph-borne) antibody responses
while promoting local immunity. The appendix--like the tiny structures called
Peyer's patches in other areas of the gastrointestinal tract--takes up antigens
from the contents of the intestines and reacts to these contents. This local
immune system plays a vital role in the physiological immune response and in
the control of food, drug, microbial or viral antigens. The connection between
these local immune reactions and inflammatory bowel diseases, as well as autoimmune
reactions in which the individual's own tissues are attacked by the immune system,
is currently under investigation.


"In the past, the appendix was often routinely removed and discarded during other
abdominal surgeries to prevent any possibility of a later attack of appendicitis;
the appendix is now spared in case it is needed later for reconstructive surgery
if the urinary bladder is removed. In such surgery, a section of the intestine is
formed into a replacement bladder, and the appendix is used to re-create a
'sphincter muscle' so that the patient remains continent (able to retain urine).
In addition, the appendix has been successfully fashioned into a makeshift replacement
for a diseased ureter, allowing urine to flow from the kidneys to the bladder. As
a result, the appendix, once regarded as a nonfunctional tissue, is now regarded
as an important 'back-up' that can be used in a variety of reconstructive surgical
techniques. It is no longer routinely removed and discarded if it is healthy.

October 21, 1999

MCC

[underquark]

But four years after the Professor wrote this, some of his own colleagues thought it still prudent to whip the thing out if it looked or felt iffy:

J Okla State Med Assoc. 2003 Sep;96(9):431-3. Appendectomy at the time of cesarean section. Kraus SF, Abell RD, Schipul AH.

The current world literature estimates the incidence of appendicitis in pregnancy at approximately 1 case per 1500 normal deliveries. Observations of one physician and review of records from Saint Anthony Hospital in Oklahoma City have suggested potential benefit to routine examination of the appendix at the time of cesarean section and removal if it appears pathologic. The medical literature was reviewed regarding appendicitis in pregnancy and incidental or indicated appendectomy at the time of cesarean section. Many authors have described difficulties with diagnosis, as well as potential complications of appendicitis in pregnancy. Studies have confirmed the safety of performing incidental appendectomy at the time of cesarean section. The authors, therefore, propose that clinicians visualize and palpate the appendix at all cesarean sections, and remove those with evidence of inflammation or disease.



And from Belgium...

Acta Chir Belg. 2003 Feb;103(1):87-9. Should every patient undergoing laparoscopy for clinical diagnosis of appendicitis have an appendicectomy? Navez B, Therasse A.

In cases of clinically suspected acute appendicitis, the rate of negative laparoscopic exploration ranges from 8 to 15%. In that situation, should we remove an apparently normal appendix or should we leave it in place? If there is no evidence of another cause to explain the acute right iliac fossa pain, it seems reasonable to proceed with an appendicectomy even if the appendix looks normal, because the rate of re-operation for recurrent symptoms is up to 6% and an endo-appendicitis which is defined as inflammation of the appendicular mucosa can be present in 11% to 26% of the cases. Anyway, the therapeutic decision is also influenced by the discussion between the physician and the patient before operation as well as by his past medical history. Good information about the risks and advantages of removal and nonremoval of an apparently normal appendix must be given.


This argument is unwinnable, by the way, as medical literature is awash with conflicting views, many with cast-iron, statistically full-proof evidence. The half-life of medical knowledge (the time taken for half of what a doctor knows to be absolute, true fact to be proven to actually be rubbish) has been estimated at 4½ years.

88.2% of statistics are made up on the spot.

[MCC]

...This argument is unwinnable, by the way, as medical literature is awash with conflicting views, many with cast-iron, statistically full-proof evidence. The half-life of medical knowledge (the time taken for half of what a doctor knows to be absolute, true fact to be proven to actually be rubbish) has been estimated at 4½ years.

88.2% of statistics are made up on the spot.

I could sworn it was 14.4%

More on the appendix.
That old surgical adage - If in doubt, whip it out.

The appendix is part of the lymphatic system, which is part of the immune system, which is part of the body's defence against infection.
Lymphoid system.
If the appendix is inflamed, it could be that it is active against some sort of infection, like the tonsils. The problem being, when surgeons examine the appendix, they can't tell if it is inflamed because it is fighting an infection or if the appendix itself is infected, so to be on the safe side, they whip it out.


MCC