Home managed to counter many of the medical dramas seen at the time, focusing on the rarest and most unusual cases the world had ever seen. While shows like ER depended on frightening events like accidents or collisions, Home has strived to transform the most ordinary examples into one of the most gripping television series ever broadcast. Thus, even 12 years after its end, it is still considered one of the most intense dramas in history.

But with so many weird and wacky cases, it can be difficult for fans to understand a lot of the terminology. Plus, since many of these medical cases come with a ton of obscure symptoms, it’s even harder for viewers to understand the severity of the situation. So it’s important that fans learn about the strangest cases so they can truly understand how unique this series is.

10 A patient needs a dose of attention

Cushing’s syndrome

Cushing’s syndrome is caused by the overproduction of certain adrenal hormones, causing the patient to gain significant weight, regardless of their efforts to lose it. The condition was first introduced in Season 1, Episode 16, “Heavy,” in which a 10-year-old girl with the condition unfortunately suffers a heart attack in the playground. But in “Deception,” the patient suffers from Munchausen syndrome and mimics the symptoms of Cushing’s syndrome.

Related

Every Season of House MD, Ranked

House is one of the most entertaining medical dramas out there right now and each season has offered something special to the audience.

As such, this episode almost feels like a puzzle, with House and the audience having to figure out whether this patient is truly suffering or just being made fun of. Throughout the episode, the team throws a number of diagnoses into the ring, but it seems that the patient always comes back positive. But Cameron notices that she’s a regular at the hospital, and suspects that her real problem is the need to fake illnesses in order to get the attention of medical professionals. So, in addition to showing how rare and scary Cushing’s syndrome is, it also highlights how easily it can be overshadowed by a range of other health issues.

9 Fans can see things from a completely new perspective

Leptospirosis

Long time fans of Home You will understand how horrible leptospirosis is thanks to the camera techniques used throughout this episode. Here, the camera uses an omniscient point of view, giving the impression that the audience is locked inside the camera. The patient in this episode is paralyzed in most of his body but can still follow the doctor with his eyes, leading House to assume that he is suffering from locked-in syndrome.

After suffering a heart attack, kidney failure, and more, the team is at a loss for what to do. Suddenly, Thirteen notices a severe rash on her wrist, which she believes to be from the patient’s urine. The team deduces that the patient is actually suffering from leptospirosis, a bacterial infection that is spread through animal urine and can also mimic the symptoms of locked-in syndrome. So, in addition to showing the horrors of this disease, this episode does well to explore how some infections are transmitted.

8 Cancer in an unexpected place

Breast cancer in the knee

Breast cancer is unfortunately very common, but this episode shows that the disease can strike just about anywhere. After a tragic climbing accident, a mother is unable to move her hands. Despite a double mastectomy, the team performs an MRI as a safety precaution. Later, the patient goes blind, leading the doctors to discuss a variety of theories. As the episode progresses, the patient’s condition deteriorates rapidly until Dr. House has a flash of genius. He discovered that breast tissue sometimes mixes with tissue from the developing fetus and ends up in the wrong part of the body. The patient then begins a new series of chemotherapy and prepares for tumor removal.

This is a great example of how Home keeps viewers on the edge of their seats. Although fans expect this patient to have a very rare disease, it seems she simply has an atypical presentation. So even when fans least expect it, Home always works to subvert the norm.

7 House of Representatives Gives New Meaning to Very Rare Disease

Erdheim-Chester disease

“All In” strives to dramatize a very rare disease, ensuring that the audience can enjoy a heavy dose of adrenaline-filled drama. In this episode, a patient presents with bloody diarrhea, liver failure, and kidney failure. Although Cuddy is eager to give the patient fluids and send him straight home, this fairly common case excites House. He encouraged his team to perform a colonoscopy to check for Erdheim-Chester disease, a condition with fewer than 300 confirmed cases.

But, as fans can imagine, Home The doctor was right and the patient was treated for this incredibly rare disease in less than 24 hours, saving the young boy’s life. In reality, Erdheim-Chester disease is a blood disorder that tends to affect the bone marrow, so it seems the writers were looking to put their own spin on this unusual disease and keep the audience on the edge of their seats as the diagnostic team is forced to fight a ticking time bomb.

6 Little Boy Fights His Unborn Twin

Chimerism

“Cane & Able” features one of the rarest disorders on the planet, and many fans have no idea where this story is going. Chimerism occurs when fertilized cells fuse to form a single form. This phenomenon usually occurs very often during cell development and has only been discovered in about 40 humans.

Throughout this episode, fans discover that the patient was conceived through IVF, meaning that during the insemination process, two embryos were accidentally injected. So while the child continues to suffer from heart and lung problems, the team still doesn’t know where these problems come from. So, the little boy must have absorbed his twin and his DNA is trying to become more dominant. Again, there’s no denying that this is a pretty crazy episode, but it successfully shows that even the most harmful symptoms can manifest from the rarest of diseases.

5 Patient’s Hatred of Water Leads to Terrifying Diagnosis

Rage

Thanks to the advent of vaccines and improved safety measures, rabies is surprisingly rare. But this episode shows that even a rare disease can be terrifying. The patient in this episode has a few minor symptoms: electrolyte imbalance, high blood sugar, and sensitivity to light, all signs that suggest more common diseases like meningitis. But when the team discovers that the patient is living in a tent filled with bats, the whole situation changes.

So the team learned that the patient had been exhibiting a key symptom of rabies all along: hydrophobia. So when the patient spat out water and complained that it tasted like poison, he wasn’t lying. This episode is proof that Home doesn’t always randomly pick the most obscure diseases and try to build a story around them. This episode is listed halfway through because it highlights that sometimes the show successfully uses a more common disease and distorts the symptoms so that it’s not as noticeable.

4 Death row patient makes serious mistake

Methanol poisoning

The opening episode of season 2 begins with House visiting a prisoner on death row. As fans expected, the man is agitated and his vital signs are dropping rapidly. So House convinces him to drink alcohol to help increase his heart rate. Later, Chase discovers that the patient’s blood gases contain copycat fluid. The prisoner therefore admitted to having drunk the liquid with the intention of committing suicide, which caused him methanol poisoning.

Methanol is much stronger than alcohol, but when consumed, it has the same side effects as alcohol poisoning. So even though the patient appeared to be drunk, he was actually poisoning himself. This episode also tries to untangle the ethical issues surrounding death row and argues that a patient should receive medical care based on their current condition, not their past behavior. As such, this episode ranks fourth because, while the patient’s condition is not too extreme, the conversations surrounding this patient are very impactful.

3 Tired Woman Receives Medieval Diagnosis

Bubonic plague

Most fans associate the bubonic plague with the Black Death and assume that the disease has been eradicated. But “Sleeping Dogs Lie” shows that the disease is alive and well and ready to ravage a merciless patient. The patient in this episode seems fairly normal and complains of having trouble sleeping. However, after countless tests, scans, and examinations, House discovers a strange growth under his armpit.

The doctor then notes that his dog has recently been in the Southwest, suggesting that he has been bitten by a flea. So while the disease in this episode is not as serious as the Black Death, it does surprise the audience and shows how quickly an infection can develop if left untreated.

2 Nonverbal patient communicates his bizarre observations

Baylisascaris

The penultimate condition on this list is quite shocking and can easily make even the most dedicated viewer sick. This episode centers around a non-verbal child who exhibits unusual behaviors and a cough. Yet nothing seems out of the ordinary and the little boy continues to draw wavy lines on a piece of paper.

As usual, the team runs countless tests and still has no leads. But, after Foreman inspects the child’s sandbox, House concludes that the lines the patient has drawn are actually replicas of the parasites trapped in his brain. It’s a perfect example of how the show sets up clues early and encourages the audience to play along to see if they can challenge House’s superior intellect.

1 Dr. House Meets His Double

Mirror syndrome

Probably the strangest medical case of Home This is mirror syndrome, a form of brain damage that causes a person to imitate the personality of those around them. So, in “Mirror, Mirror,” the patient has a thousand and one things wrong with him, all of which change depending on the environment.

So it seems that to heighten the darkness and complexity, the writers like to experiment with undetermined medical conditions. This way, the audience isn’t forced to endure the same diagnosis week after week and gets the chance to delve into something much more exciting. This condition also highlights how Homestands out from its competitors by ensuring that it can reference a range of unknown conditions while remaining based on a certain medical accuracy.