Vulcan in Vancouver

Vancouver patient oozes green blood

Doctors at Vancouver’s St. Paul’s Hospital came across something highly illogical when they tried to put an arterial line into a patient about to undergo surgery: his blood was dark green.

The green blood — reminiscent of the Vulcan blood found in Mr. Spock of Star Trek fame — came as a bit of a shock to Dr. Alana Flexman and her colleagues, who report on the unusual case in this week’s issue of the journal The Lancet.

The 42-year-old man was already a bit of a medical departure. He had fallen asleep while kneeling, and developed compartment syndrome in both legs.