Werewolves.....physicals....and lab tests. (Blood tests)

[Figarou]

I recently took a physical and passed everything but the EKG test. I was told I had a "Right Bundle Branch Block." Hmmmm....ok...something is wrong. I went ahead and did further tests.

I got an Echogram done. A stress test. Had some blood drawn, and I took a shot of something so the veins of my heart can show up in an x-ray. Turns out everything is normal. Doctor says I'm perfectly fine.


Now that got me thinking. An EKG told me something is wrong but further tests said I'm normal. Now...what about a werewolf? What kind of results will the doctor/lab technologist get if a werewolf went in for a physical?

Will the doctor find something that he thinks is wrong? Like an irregular heartbeat? Will that werewolf allow his blood to be drawn? What will show up if they did take some blood? Will the blood pressure be higher for a werewolf?


Post what you think. I'd like to know.

[Fang]

You know the answer to this question is varried because it all depends on wether you see a werewolf as science based or magical
If Lycanthropy is a disease it could possibly show up on a physical
but if lycanthropy is of a magical origin then it would not be found by any MD

[Figarou]

What if "lycanthropy" didn't show up as a "disease." Like something else but in high quantities?

You know...like high cholesterol.

As for science based or magical, that werewolf happens to be a living, breathing being. Blood is flowing through its veins. And it needs to eat to maintain itself. So...the body will show signs of life. But how different from human signs?

[Fang]

good point

[BlackWolfDS]

Well I think if it were science based and they took a blood test....they could find that the blood cells of a werewolf could look different. Size, functions, things like that. They would probably find that there would be more mitochondria than the normal person, that is if you believe that it takes energy to transform from one form to another. Just a thought

[MattSullivan]

Yay! our Figarous is healthy!

See Fig, i tolja you'd be okay

[RedEye]

If the Were' was in Smooth, here's what I'd suspect:
Low Heart rate and Low blood pressure (not abnormally so). Higher than normal levels of Protein and Fat in the blood. An O2 sat. of 95% or higher.
The bones would be either mutated (shape) or highly calcinated (strong).
There would be probably 25 to 50 percent more Red Blood Cells.
I suspect there would be some odd-looking Leucocites (white blood cells) that were really type R- cells (Repair cells). Creatinine would be low, because of a twenty to thirty percent larger set of kidneys. (For Poison control as well as territiry marking)
Blood Chemistry would be similar to that of a high-endurance athlete.
And, in Figarou's case, there would be little yellow duckie shaped cells, just because he's Figarou....
All in all, I'd suspect that the bloodwork would be odd- but not really out of the ballpark odd, since Wolves have very much similar blood to us.

[Terastas]

I'm sure the werewolf pack and its members would be aware of what to expect. How they would handle such depends on what a blood test could reveal. If it showed up as a standard medical problem, they could just pretend to accept the results and not take the medication. If, on the other hand, the werewolf gene could be identified by blood tests, werewolves would have to either get a doctor in the pack, or not go in for routine blood work at all.

[Shadow Wulf]

I hear the first thing that you should look for is the chromosones when it comes to genetic mutation and etc. They will probably check that once they see your physical isnt normal of that of a regular human. I think a werewolf in human for would be very similar to that of a regular person, but with some minor changes. A werewolf can probably pass most physicals, but I doubt it would be able to pass all.

Oh and congrats Fig, glad to hear your ok.

[Figarou]

Yay! our Figarous is healthy!

See Fig, i tolja you'd be okay

yup...
I'm healthy enough to continue tossing duckies!!


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I like your post, Redeye. It'll be interesting to know what other stuff the werewolf could have.

[Kaebora]

Heh, you text messeged my cell phone that the doc said you are fine, when I was in the middle of a script writing class. (Quite a plot twist. ) Thanks for considering I might be in a class Fig. And I'm glad to hear you're doing allright. I was a bit worried for awhile there. Throwing duckies must be good for your health after all.

[Fang]

Duckies: good for the heart

So we can call duckie tossing a good cardio exersise

[MattSullivan]

This forum just wouldn't be the same without our beloved Fig

[Figarou]

This forum just wouldn't be the same without our beloved Fig

Awwww....shucks. *blushes*

[Scott Gardener]

Came in late; I'm glad you're in good health, Fig!

Routine physicals might reveal the following, depending on the degree of depth of studies:

Polycythemia: the opposite of anemia. Werewolf physiology in my storylines include elevated red blood cell count. Sometimes occurs with dehydration.

Thrombocytosis: elevated platelets. Usually ignored or dismissed, since it doesn't usually represent significant problems. Actually, the real platelet count is normal; the extra "platelets" are actually the virus.

Manual blood smear microscopy: Unknown something in the blood in large numbers. This could lead to other tests being recommended. Only detectable if the lab tech or pathologist is paying attention, as these bodies are very small and only easily spotted at the highest magnification. None the less if found, they're so remarkable as to prompt significant attention; someone would know that the werewolf has a blood-borne something that is blatantly abnormal and could be mistaken for a serious health risk, prompting questions about foreign travel, considering the idea of exotic parasites or protozoal infections.

Elevated amylase and lipase: normal for canines, but elevated by human standards. If tested for--not routine unless someone is complaining of abdominal pain--the werewolf might be councilled on an urgent need for hospitalization for pancreatitis, an acute disease of a digestive organ, usually caused either by alcohol abuse or gallstones getting lodged in the bile duct.

Elevated BUN (blood urea nitrogen) and creatinine: could be mistaken for dehydration, though it would prompt a search for diabetes and a warning about possible kidney disease.

EKG: probably normal or a few "nonspecific changes." (Someone could have a bundle branch block and still be lycanthropic.)

Urine: high specific gravity, prompting advice to drink more water.

Physical exam: Any residual stigmata, such as sacrococcygeal fur and tissue tufts, would be dismissed as natural variants, though the latter would in neonatal settings prompt a search for neural tube defects (spina bifida).

Bottom line: Most findings would just suggest that the werewolf is dehydrated and needs to drink more water. My werewolves do, in fact, go through fluids pretty heavily anyway, especially during the initial infection process. A skilled pathologist might see the lycanthropic viral factor under a microscope--it's a lot bigger than a traditional virus, which is only visible under electron microscopy. Most seeing it would just think it's a platelet unless one used the highest magnification and noticed its distinct octahedral form, rather than the jagged randomness of platelet edges. Someone infected with lycanthropy could end up getting hospitalized for a serious abdominal disorder--a good plot device if you're wanting to write a medical drama werewolf story.

[Kaebora]

Very interesting. I hope you don't mind if I copy-paste that into my notes.

[Darth Canis]

I am a big fan of kelley armstrong's novels. She wrote bitten and a few other werewolf related novels that she includes in her series. I happen to share alot of her ideas when it comes to werewolves. In her books the werewolf pack does not see doctors becuase something can be found in their blood during lab tests that would look suspicious. So in the begining they actually pay off a "mob" doctor for when they get sliced up too bad. If they don't have the means to get to this special doc then they site religous reasons for not wanting blood drawn. So basically what i am saying is i beleive it would be something in the blood that would fluctuate levels and make them appear suspicious.

[PariahPoet]

I would think it mostly depends on what blood tests you're getting done- there are many kinds.


My mate's mother is a nurse and she jokes about medical shows on tv and how the doctor will always ask the lab techs to 'run some blood tests'. She says that's a lot like walking into a restaraunt and saying "I think I'll have the food!"

[RedEye]

The Were's in the book I'm trying to sell have two rather specific differences in their blood. Scott Gardener touched on it when he said
"Unknown something in the blood in large numbers".
My Were's have extra Red Blood cells stored in their Spleen (like a horse), and exertion will draw them out. THe other "somethings" look like White Cells; Leucocytes, but they aren't: They are Type-R cells (sort of a hyper stem cell) that accounts for the healing capability, and Type-I cells, which do the following: Act as a sort of "Super White Cell"-or Macrophage. In the case of Poisoning or Infection, they do the White cell thing and surround the harm-causing matter and get flushed out with the Urine. Unlike White Cells, they don't die after they do this, but rather release a trigger-chemical that "calls' other Type-I cells to congregate in the area, looking for other "not body" substances.
The Red Cells are slightly different, too; in that they are not the normal Disk shaped cells in unmutated Humans, but are instead, shaped like a figure "eight" and flatter than Non-mutated RBC's, carrying more Oxygen and being able to fit two into a capillary that would accomodate only a single non-mutated RBC.
There are also cysted-over Viroids: new Werewolves waiting for a new host to convert. They are literally all over the place, and you'll find them in just about every bodily structure and fluid: even the Reproductive fluids and cells are loaded with them, and if they wind up in a body that doesn't have the trigger that makes them go cystic, they become active and invade their new host; making it stronger, healthier, more robust, and just a bit Fuzzy and Toothy.
This is their Survival strategy: Community Improvement. The Werewolf is just a side effect.

[Figarou]

Oh...interesting stuff, Scott. I always wondered what could show up in a physical report for a werewolf.

[Kaebora]

I would think it mostly depends on what blood tests you're getting done- there are many kinds.


My mate's mother is a nurse and she jokes about medical shows on tv and how the doctor will always ask the lab techs to 'run some blood tests'. She says that's a lot like walking into a restaraunt and saying "I think I'll have the food!"

Yeah, I get what you mean. Many script writers for movies and TV today assume the audience isn't smart enough to understand, but it only proves the writers didn't do the research.

If this were to be incorperated into a werewolf film, it would be many times more interesting if the medical stuff was all layed out realistically like Scott explains it.

[Morkulv]

I don't think a werewolf has a different type of blood or something. They are still human.

[Kaebora]

That's not what we're here saying really. It has different properties that may hint at the person having a "condition". The overall speculation is that the blood contains virus-like things that resemble platelets, and is thus nearly undetectable. Mostly the same blood though. It's all fiction, but still sounds slightly more interesting than the "get bit - get infected - now werewolf" theory.

[Kzinistzerg]

I'd figure they'd look pretty surface-normal but there might be some subtle signs that something is odd. Maybe you'd need more in-depth tests... or maybe a nosy doctor to figure it out.

[Scott Gardener]

RedEye: glad to see I'm not the only one who's contemplated the biology of the situation.

It's always annoying when you know more than the movie's writers do about a topic. I can't think of now many times I see a movie or TV show that screws up basic biology facts--showing a single strand of DNA and describing it as if it's a whole chromosome is a common error. I've seen worse, though. My favorite would have to be a Star Trek: the Next Generation episode in which a cat exposed to a virus-like agent was supposedly reverting into whatever it evolved from, but reverted into a modern iguana. I expect this kind of screwed up biology in low budget B-movies, but not Star Trek.

I almost prefer it when the issue is avoided. X-Men did a good job admitting that "mutations" giving rise simultaneously to very diverse super-powers are an over-the-top notion best treated as fantastic rather than trying to be too realistic. But, the throw-away line about it being passed through the father momentarily blew it--since it pulled me back into trying to reconcile science, killing the sense of suspension of disbelief. The problem with the scene is, the only things that are passed on specifically from the father are on the Y chromosome. If super-power mutations came from the father, then only men would have them!

Your biology proposals are pretty sound. They're a little round-about, particularly with the bilobed RBCs, but then again, they're hardly any more over-the-top than mine. It's nice that if you're going to put forth a theory, you've read up on known facts first, so that you're working with instead of against them!