And why it would spontaneously start up again upon the deactivation of the bypass machinery, even though it wouldn't start after the six electrical shocks, is even more unclear. Was the bypass machinery supposed to have somehow been interacting with the defect to keep her heart from starting?

It seems to me if you're going to build a show around medical mysteries, making solving those mysteries a major part of the show, you might want to explain some of these biggies.

Thanks for reading and commenting. Glad you enjoyed the review.

I have one more UQ: Why did her wrist snap? Congenital heart defects cause osteoporosis?? I'm sure it was just another red herring, but still very irritating.

I can contribute something to UQ #7. One of the major risks of heart/lung bypass is blood clots. The processing of the blood through the machine can actually damage the structure of red blood cells, making clots more likely. So, it's not an issue of forcing clots that were already there into the brain. The problem is that bypass can create clots, and the risk increases the longer you're on the machine. CPR wouldn't have the same risk, although it is not nearly as effective in pumping blood through the body, and obviously can't be sustained as long. That's why House didn't want to start bypass until absolutely necessary.

Just from reading the review (sorry, hope it doesn't annoy everyone that I don't actually watch the show and have the nerve to comment) I would agree with FenwayBen that it was possibly meant to be a 2-hour ep and was shortened. Unless there are always this many UQs?

Anyway, to (mis)quote someone from over at the Lost blog, I come here for Cecil Rose, not a forum thread! I do enjoy your writing style; keep up the good work.

I have been collecting bookmarks on all the conditions that flash by in House episodes and thinking of publishing them in a blog entry for those that wanted to look for futher information.

But then in researching I discovered there's already a better source for a medical discussion of the issues on "House" and I'll just point you to him. It's a blog maintained by a young doctor, known there only as "Scott". He comments with extensive links on all the medical issues in each "House" episode. Not so much on the drama or relationships.
Check him out at:

http://www.politedissent.com/house_pd.html

By the way, he doesn't comment on why her wrist snapped, either, except to say that bone cancer is a likely cause of such pathological fractures, and that's why they charge down that particular wrong path. But, as to since it wasn't bone cancer, what the real cause of the weakness might be, he doesn't comment either. There is a whole list of possible causative factors on the "pathological fracture" link, but none seem to this laymman to be related to congenital heart defects.

Taking that link leads you into a UK based physician's desk reference sort of medical-encyclopedia-on-the-web where the medically inclined can wile away many fascinating hours.

Not much. Michael Ausiello over at TV Guide reports that House will have four new underlings next year, but that Drs. Chase, Foreman, and Cameron will also be back in some as yet unspecified capacity.

See http://www.tvguide.com/Ask-Ausiello/house/070627-05