--- Alberto Monteiro <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
<snip> 
> In the ER Episode I watched yesterday, Dr Weaver
> said something
> like "check <medical stuff> to see if there is any
> zebra"
> 
> Zebra? This is a br soccer slang. What does it mean
> in English?

It's medical slang for an unusual illness or
condition; 'when one hears hoofbeats, it's usually a
horse, not a zebra.'  If someone in a big-city ER has
a flushed face, hypertension and is terribly anxious
and jittery, one of the first things I'd want to rule
out is illicit drugs.  Pheochromocytomas are quite
rare - 'a zebra' - whereas cocaine/crack is common -
'a horse.'

And no, this is _not_ my own peculiar terminology;
it's well-established in any teaching hospital.  ;)

You Don't Want To Be In The Hospital Garden Maru
(aka vegetable patch...)
You Don't Want A Celestial Discharge Either Maru

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