Practices of the Pregnant Self: Compliance With and Resistance To Prenatal Norms

A major challenge of medical anthropology is to assess howbiomedicine, as a vaguely-defined set of diverse texts,technologies, and practitioners, shapes the experience of selfand body. Through narrative analyses of in-depth, semi-structuredinterviews with 158 pregnant women in southern California, thispaper explores how the culture of biomedicine, encounteredformally at prenatal care check-ups and informally throughdiverse media, influences pregnant women's perceptions ofappropriate prenatal behavior. In the spirit of recent socialscientific work that draws on and challenges Foucauldian insightsto explore social relations in medicine, we posit a spectrum ofcompliance and resistance to biomedical norms upon whichindividual prenatal practices are assessed. We suggest thatpregnancy is, above all, characterized by a split subjectivity inwhich women straddle the authoritative and the subjugated, theobjective and the subjective, and the haptic as well as theoptic, in telling and often strategic ways. In so doing, weidentify the intersection between the disciplinary practices ofbiomedicine and the practices of pregnant women as a means offurnishing more fruitful insights into the oft-used term ``power'and its roles in constituting social relations in medicine.     

Zinc Secretion in the Oviduct of the Coturnix Quail

The oviduct from laying quail were used to investigate mechanisms of trace mineral secretion and the possible role of metallothionein in this process. Secretion of zinc occurred maximally at pH 5.4, which is close to the normal pH of the oviduct. Secretion occurred to a much greater extent in the isthmus and shell gland than in the magnum, the major protein-secretory section of the oviduct. Intraperitoneal administration of cadmium resulted in a marked reduction in Zn secretion from the oviduct of laying quail. This effect could not be correlated with metallothionein since metallothionein could not be detected in any section of the oviduct in control or Cd-induced quail. Small-molecular-weight metal-binding ligands were present in the isthmus and shell gland, which may play a role in trace mineral mobilization. Histological evaluation by light and elelctron microscopy show that Zn is transported from the smooth muscle cells through the connective tissue matrix in the extracellular space to the epithelial goblet cells. Presumably, Zn and other trace minerals are secreted from the secretory goblet cells into the egg.     

Unusually High Occurrence of Drug Reactions with Nafcillin

Five patients seen during a two-month period who developed untoward systemic reactions following high dose intravenous administration of nafcillin are described. Recovery was complete upon discontinuation of the drug. The clustering of these cases and the high incidence (5 of 5) of side effects are highly unusual, and suggest that the frequency of nafcillin reactions might be higher than previously suspected.     

Databases and software for the analysis of mutations in the human p53 gene, the human hprt gene and both the lacI and lacZ gene in transgenic rodents.

We have created databases and software applications for the analysis of DNA mutations at the humanp53gene, the humanhprtgene and both the rodent transgeniclacIandlacZlocus. The databases themselves are stand-alone dBASE files and the software for analysis of the databases runs on IBM-compatible computers. Each database has a separate software analysis program. The software created for these databases permit the filtering, ordering, report generation and display of information in the database. In addition, a significant number of routines have been developed for the analysis of single base substitutions. One method of obtaining the databases and software is via the World Wide Web (WWW). Open the following home page with a Web Browser: http://sunsite.unc.edu/dnam/mainpage.ht ml . Alternatively, the databases and programs are available via public FTP from: anonymous@sunsite.unc.edu . There is no password required to enter the system. The databases and software are found beneath the subdirectory: pub/academic/biology/dna-mutations. Two other programs are available at the site-a program for comparison of mutational spectra and a program for entry of mutational data into a relational database.     

The Clinician and Forensic Medicine

Although it is an intrinsic part of all medical practice forensic medicine often is either unrecognized as such or is consciously or subconsciously evaded. The failure to apply some rather basic and simple forensic principles that only the physician is capable of doing may result in problems to the patient ranging from frustration to near catastrophe. For physicians who are reasonably well equipped to understand the legal system, the successful conclusion of a legal case, including, sometimes, an appearance in court, can be stimulating and interesting.