Q

QuestionAnatomy and Physiology

# Case 2: The Bloated Mrs. Blanc Your next call is to the home of Mrs. Blanc. As before, you have three witnesses to interview. Witness statements: - Ms. Magenta: "Between you and me, she's really let herself go. She has fat deposits in all of these strange places, like around her face and trunk, and a weird hump on her back. If you ask me, some exercise may do her some good!" - Col. Lemon: "Not that I want to talk about such things, but she's seemed bloated, a bit swollen, lately. She even told me that her blood pressure has gone up!" - Ms. Feather: "The poor dear. She's been sick so much lately with all kinds of infections. Personally, I think her immune system needs boosting. But my herbal teas don't seem to help." What are your initial thoughts, based upon the witnesses' statements? Does one hormone come to mind that could produce these effects? Your next step is to speak with Mrs. Blanc. During the interview you notice a bottle of pills on her nightstand. You log the pills as evidence and send them off to the lab for analysis. The lab report shows the pills to be the medication prednisone, which you know to be a glucocorticoid similar to the hormone cortisol. Is this finding significant? Why or why not? Based upon the witness statements and the laboratory analysis, what is your final diagnosis? Explain your reasonin