Woman who donated her body to science didn't know her organs were in the wrong places
Students at Oregon Health and Science University in Portland made a surprising discovery during their gross anatomy class last spring.
As part of the class, students opened up cadavers in order to get a closer look at the organs. When students opened the chest cavity of Rose Marie Bentley, a woman who died at age 99 of natural causes, they noticed the blood vessels looked odd. When the time came to examine her abdominal cavity, they discovered the "organs of the digestive tract ... were transposed entirely right to left," Prof. Cameron Walker told USA Today. "I'd never seen this before and the students were every bit as fascinated."
Bentley, it turned out, had a rare condition called situs inversus with levocardia. Her heart was in the correct spot, but other organs, including her liver and spleen, were in the opposite locations from where they should have been. It's believed that Bentley is the oldest person to ever have had the condition, which happens in roughly 1 in every 22,000 births.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
There are only two documented cases of people with situs inversus making it to their 70s, and Walker estimates only 1 in 50 million people born with the condition live to see adulthood. Bentley's family said when she had her appendix removed, the doctor noted that it was in the wrong spot but didn't actually tell her that. Bentley's daughter, Louise Allee, told USA Today her mom "would think this was so cool. She would be tickled pink that she could teach something like this. She would probably get a big smile on her face, knowing that she was different, but made it through."
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
Today's political cartoons - October 23, 2024
Cartoons Wednesday's cartoons - loving thy neighbour, an HR matter, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Giuliani must hand assets to women he defamed
Speed Read The former New York City mayor must turn over his apartment and other possessions
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Abercrombie ex-CEO charged with sex crimes
Speed Read Mike Jeffries ran the brand during its heyday from 1992 to 2014
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
NASA's Europa Clipper blasts off, seeking an ocean
Speed Read The ship is headed toward Jupiter on a yearslong journey
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Detailed map of fly's brain holds clues to human mind
Speed Read This remarkable fruit fly brain analysis will aid in future human brain research
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Blind people will listen to next week's total eclipse
Speed Read While they can't see the event, they can hear it with a device that translates the sky's brightness into music
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Melting polar ice is messing with global timekeeping
Speed Read Ice loss caused by climate change is slowing the Earth's rotation
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
An amphibian that produces milk?
speed read Caecilians, worm-like amphibians that live underground, produce a milk-like substance for their hatchlings
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Jupiter's Europa has less oxygen than hoped
speed read Scientists say this makes it less likely that Jupiter's moon harbors life
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Why February 29 is a leap day
Speed Read It all started with Julius Caesar
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
US spacecraft nearing first private lunar landing
Speed Read If touchdown is successful, it will be the first U.S. mission to the moon since 1972
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published