Horror films help entertain people suffering from the hot weather, and that is why summer theaters are packed. This year, hospital settings are the most dominant theme in this genre.
Korean films in this genre are catching our attention these days. In "The Cut", a dead body wakes up and walks around. "Return" depicts the birth of a serial killer who regains consciousness during surgery. In "Black House", a psychopath kills innocent victims and shows no remorse.
A movie often exaggerates and distorts facts to some degree. Consequently, the viewers may accept incorrect medical information as true. Now, let's check what is medically true and what is not as depicted in these films.
Young dead bodies: not "eligible" for medical purposes-
In "The Cut", most of the cadavers are young female bodies. A specially manufactured "cadaver" was used to highlight their vividness. The artificial bodies show blue blood vessels, and exude liquids upon the touch of a scalpel.
In reality, however, medical students learn anatomy with "old bodies" of those who died of age or disease.
A medically "recyclable" body should be intact in appearance. A young person does not die of a natural cause in most cases. A young man usually kills himself or gets killed in an accident. Thus, the "integrity" of the body is damaged. Hospital staff members in charge of the "cadaver supply" confirm, "A young cadaver is an exception. You can encounter one maybe twice a year".
The ad for the film says that 80% of all cadavers are unclaimed bodies. Without the consent of the surviving family members, a body is not allowed to be used medically.
Furthermore, a cadaver does not have blue vessels. Prior to medical use, the blood is drained out and the body is embalmed.
Moreover, the cadaver in the film looks reddish. A real cadaver, however, looks yellowish like the bark of an old oak tree.
Regaining consciousness? -- no anesthesia-
The main character in Return experiences vivid consciousness during a surgery. The posttraumatic shock drives him to becoming a serial killer. Regaining consciousness during a surgery simply means gaining back one's awakened mental status.
"In-surgery" consciousness is not 100% fictitious. According to foreign studies, one or two out of 1,000 patients experience the same.
The possibility, however, lies in the weak physical condition of, for example, an old patient. In this case, dispensing a large dose of an anesthetic agent threatens the life of the patient. In other cases, a woman undergoing a C-section might experience it. In this case, concern about the fetus in the womb restricts the use of the agent.
It is extremely rare for a patient to experience all the pain of surgery without moving an inch. Under a strong anesthetic influence, a patient cannot comprehend the conversation of doctors or the sound of the medical devices.
Experts explain that if a patient feels pain, and maintains consciousness during an operation, it's not because she regains her consciousness, but because the anesthesia is not properly administered.
Psychopath – an anachronistic term-
A psychopath as depicted in "Black House" refers to a person with mental disorder. Thus, the person does not feel guilty even after brutally killing a human being. The person has a problem with the frontal lobe, which controls human emotions toward the pain of the other human beings. In other words, a psychopath is a human who does not have a human mind.
It is not difficult to find psychopaths in our daily life. A psychopath uses an alias, and lies repeatedly to cheat others for his satisfaction or benefit.
In contemporary medical society, the term "psychopath" is anachronistic. A new term, "antisocial personality disorder" has replaced the old one. A German doctor first coined the word "psychopath". Heated debates followed over the definition of the term. Now, doctors use the term "antisocial personality disorder", pushing the former more and more out of context of daily medical society.
(Contributions from Seoul National University medical doctors Kwon Jun-su and Lim Yeong-jin, and staff member Kim In-gwan.)
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