So we're going to go through the right nostril
through the right side of the nasal cavity and we're going to advance
posteriorly - not up, posteriorly. You can see it kind of pushing through the septum there
and we're going to help direct it because this septum has a hole in it, which is not normal.
- Ohh oh.
- [Chuckles] Well, going in...
Welcome back to The Anatomy Lab everyone. If any of you have ever
been tested for COVID 19, you may have been tested with this - "the brain swab",
is what many of my patients like to nickname it. But this is called the nasopharyngeal swab,
and you'd be surprised how many people are worried about this getting close to the brain.
So, today's video we're going to talk about that - is it even possible? How close does it
get? We're gonna actually show you on a cadaver and show you how far back this swab will get,
and for good measure, we're gonna do it on Justin as well and he's super excited about it.
Justin: No, I’m not.
He is. So, let's get to this.
[Intro]
Now, to fully appreciate the brain swab or the nasopharyngeal swab,
we need to go over some relevant anatomy and we have an awesome dissection
to show you. This is a sagittal section or a sagittal cut which divides the body into
right and left sides. And students who learn anatomy, these sagittal sections are invaluable
to help them learn internal structures which is going to help us with our story, especially
because we can see the brain and its relationship to these passageways that we need to talk about.
This passageway here is called the pharynx, which is a fancy pants name for the word throat.
If I jump back over to here, this is called the nasal cavity.
And one structure that a lot of you have heard about before that I’m pulling up here
is called the nasal septum. That divides the nasal cavity into right and left sides
and we're obviously going to go into one side or the other when we do the nasopharyngeal swab.
But just take a look closely here, you can see we cut that edge so you could see this right side of
the nasal cavity of note, this structure here is called a turbinate which helps to moisturize and
warm air as you breathe it in because your lungs are little 'princess tissues' that only like
warm and moist air. But to just jump back a little further - remember, this whole
region was called the pharynx, but right there, specifically behind the nasal cavity, they call
it the nasal pharynx and this is where we need to get to for the nasopharyngeal or the "brain swab".
So, let's go ahead and try this. So now that I am equipped with the nasopharyngeal swab,
we can proceed with the procedure. So, we're going to go through the right nostril, through the right
side of the nasal cavity and we're going to advance posteriorly - not up, posteriorly.
You can see it kind of pushing through the septum there and we're going to help direct
it because this septum has a hole in it which is not normal, and now we're all the way back
to the nasal pharynx, which they often even recommend doing a little twist here which
Justin's gonna be really excited about, but that gives you guys an idea - is the distance pretty
far? Yeah, that's quite remarkable and you get an idea why some people don't love the procedure.
But is there any worry for the brain tissue? Obviously absolutely not. As you can see, the swab
and the distance and the proximity of the brain plus all that bony protection that you have for
these bones that come all the way anteriorly and if even somebody messed up and went the complete
wrong direction, you'd run into a bony plate that wouldn't allow you to get close to the brain.
Of note though, kind of a cool factoid, you can see this is the sphenoidal sinus and this
is the pituitary gland right here, they will do surgery on the pituitary gland through the nasal
cavity like so but they have to bore through or drill through the bone to get there (keyword:
bore and drill through) so, obviously again, it takes some work to get to the brain tissue.
And so, Justin should feel very, very confident that he's going to be safe
during the procedure that we're about to perform on him.
[Music]
okay Justin... So you know, based on the anatomy presentation, there is
nothing to worry about, right?
Justin: Assuming you actually know what you're talking about, yes.
- Oh, what do you mean I know - of course I know what I’m talking about.
Justin: Let's just - let's just do this. Let's just do this.
- Okay, you know what? I even brought Geoffrey for moral support. So, here he is.
Go ahead and pull the mask down. Go ahead. And maybe relax a little bit.
Justin: Whatever man, just stay - - Here we go.
Justin: Should I hold my breath or something?
- Yeah, just be quiet.
- Ohh oh.
- [Chuckles] Well, going in...
Justin: Ohh.
- By the way, this is the same swab I used on the cadaver...
Justin: Seriously?
- And, there we go... [Chuckles] Justin: I can taste that.
- Yeah, you know, that's good news, you know? Because you still taste and smell.
Justin: I don't have COVID...
[Laughter]
- Well, you guys saw it Justin, survived. So there you have it everybody - the COVID swab, your brain
is safe and just to be clear, I didn't use the same swab on the cadaver that I used on Justin.
Justin: Oh well, that's good.
- Yeah, that would have been horrible and mean and a little bit barbaric, but on a more serious note
everyone, we want to say thank you to those who donate their bodies to science. We would not be
able to educate people in anatomical awesomeness. All the students that come through here in our lab
in person on a weekly basis are better off for it and now we're able to educate people on our social
platforms and so again, we're super grateful for those who donate their bodies to science.
Please put your comments below, questions - we love to hear from you guys. Like,
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