Here’s a story about an operation carried out by two inexperienced doctors. Things are getting really weird. They’re operating on a fallopian tube, or so they think. Are they going to pull it off?
First of all, what is a fallopian tube? Well, it’s either of the pair of tubes that carry the egg from the ovary to the uterus.
Here’s an image of the female reproductive system. One of the fallopian tubes, as well as the uterus and one of the ovaries are shown in red boxes. These are words we’re going to talk about in this article.
But there’s even more anatomy vocabulary for you to learn in this article. Not only vocabulary related to the female reproductive system, so, no worries, if this isn’t your favorite system. You’re going to see some other body parts as well. Anyways, here’s the story.
The patient is lying on the operating table in the operating room, waiting for the operation to begin.
Nobody likes operations, but sometimes they are necessary to save life. Did you ever have an operation? Write down below in the comments.
Doctor Wilkes: Could you put the lancet away, Doctor Beffany? I don’t need it anymore.
Doctor Beffany: Sure, let’s cleanse the duodenum and large intestine of blood so that we can see them better.
The duodenum is the part of the small intestine that is right below your stomach. The main part of the large intestine is called the colon. In the image below you can see the duodenum and the colon in red boxes. There’s also the esophagus that is going to appear in a minute in our bloody story.
Let’s go on with the story…
Doctor Wilkes: Oh, I’m so happy you’re assisting with the operation. I wouldn’t know what to do, this is my first operation ever.
Doctor Beffany: Oh, is it? Well, it just so happens that it’s also my first operation. But don’t worry, we’re going to make it.
Doctor Wilkes: Sure we are. Just one thing, you know we’re not operating on the organs you just mentioned, right?
Doctor Beffany: Oh, looks like I must get back on track.
Doctor Wilkes: OK, first of all let’s not play with the scissors like that or we’re going to lacerate all the organs severely.
Doctor Beffany: You’re right, I almost cut the esophagus. This would really suck. In the image above you can see where the esophagus is.
Doctor Wilkes: Yeah, it would, except it’s not the esophagus. It’s the trachea, I think.
Doctor Beffany: It can’t be the trachea, it’s too close to the uterus. And look, here are the ovaries. So, looks like it must be the fallopian tube.
In the image near the beginning of this article you can see the uterus and the ovaries, as well as the fallopian tubes. As far as the trachea is concerned, you can see it here:
The trachea is also known as the windpipe.
Doctor Wilkes: Yes, you’re right, it can’t be anything else. Good, so now that we know what it is, let’s cut it slightly to see what’s inside.
Doctor Beffany: Well, I don’t think we actually know what we are doing. I think we should consult a more experienced doctor.
After consulting Doctor Perez, a great authority on internal diseases.
Doctor Wilkes: How is it possible that we didn’t notice it was a man?
Doctor Beffany: I don’t get it. I was sure we were looking at the fallopian tube, not the urethra.
Vocabulary
| operating table | a special table in an operating room that a person lies on while having an operation |
| operating room | a room in a hospital where operations are done |
| lancet | a sharp tool used for cutting the skin |
| cleanse /ˈklɛnz/ | to make clean |
| duodenum /ˌduːwəˈdiːnəm/ | the part of the small intestine that is right below your stomach |
| large intestine | the end part of the intestine that is wider and shorter than the small intestine |
| assist | to give support or help |
| on track | happening the way that you expect or want things to happen, following a schedule, routine, etc. |
| lacerate | to cut or tear (sb’s flesh) deeply or roughly |
| esophagus /ɪˈsɑːfəgəs/ | the tube that leads from the mouth through the throat to the stomach |
| except | – used to introduce a statement that explains the reason why sth is not possible, will not happen, etc. |
| trachea /ˈtreɪkijə/ | a long tube in your neck and chest that carries air into and out of your lungs |
| uterus /ˈjuːtərəs/ plural uteri /ˈjuːtəˌraɪ/ | the organ in women and some female animals in which babies develop before birth |
| ovary /ˈoʊvəri/ | one of usually two organs in women and female animals that produce eggs and female hormones |
| fallopian tube | either of the pair of tubes that carry the egg from the ovary to the uterus |
| consult | to go to sb such as a doctor or lawyer for advice, to ask for the professional opinion of sb |
| authority | a person who is an expert on a subject |
| urethra /jʊˈriːθrə/ | the tube through which urine moves from the bladder and out of the body and that in men and male animals is also the means by which semen leaves the body |