Mom always said pretty on the inside is pretty on the outside. So now I know that she was right. Everything inside me is normal, my doctor tells me. And that’s good news.

But look at me revealed by magnets and radio waves—what a horrifying mug with those googly eyeballs! I’m ready for Haloween any time.

The MRI image in the middle above reveals a miniature, snow-capped Mt. Fuji tucked into the center of my head (perched on top of an egg and waiting to explode, I think).

Over on the right that big white circle is my brain stem and my nose is pointing to the top of the image. Look carefully to see my ears and a shoulder, too.

The pictures on the left are from an MR angiogram and show my blood vessels. Those big white lines down the back of my neck are veins. The little white spot (just below the H which stands for ‘head’) is the main plughole where all the blood is collected and sent down into the veins to return to the heart.

The lower picture is a closeup of more veins. What a complicated tangle. Obviously, kittens have been running amok in there. Or maybe I’m really a 1973 SuperBeetle…I think this looks like the wiring diagram from “How to Keep Your Volkswagen Alive.” Which one connects to the lights?

Check out the unusual spelling of my name: kurisutenn makuuirinn. Romanized katakana loses something in the translation. No wonder everybody in the hospital just calls me “Kristen.” Posted by kuri at September 08, 2001 12:17 AM