July 23, 2013

Madame Maggot

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This article was published in Scientific American’s former blog network and reflects the views of the author, not necessarily those of Scientific American

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Image of the Week #101, July 23rd, 2013:From:What's Worse Than Fecal Transplants? This Gal. by Kalliopi Monoyios at Symbiartic. Source: Kalliopi Monoyios Fecal transplants are no joke - they can provide almost instantaneous relief from the debilitating symptoms of Clostridium difficile infections. But the "ick" factor is proving a difficult hurdle to overcome in bringing this medical procedure to the fore. In response to a reminder that there are many other equally gross medical procedures, SciAm blogger and scientific illustrator Kalliopi Monoyios dreamed up a Miss Gross-merica contest in which the stars of the grossest medical procedures vie for our favor by demonstrating their talents and parading around in bikinis, etc. Behold Madame Maggot, skilled at keeping open wounds from becoming gangrenous by feasting on the decaying flesh before it has a chance to take over. We think you'll agree that she makes "biosurgery" look good.

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