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Jocular doctors find 'dangerous subtext' in nursery rhymes

HALIFAX - All the king's horses and all the king's men not only couldn't put Humpty Dumpty back together again, they may have made his fall off the wall even worse.

A study on head injuries in nursery rhymes appears in the light-hearted Christmas issue of the Canadian Medical Association Journal.

Researchers at Dalhousie University in Halifax took a critical eye at the consequences of six nursery rhymes:

Humpty Dumpty

Jack and Jill

Hush-a-bye-baby

Ten Little Monkeys

It's Raining, It's Pouring

Ring Around the Rosie

They say the children's literature raises several medical issues, such as whether the response to injury was appropriate, and the need to use precise medical language.

In the case of Humpty, Sarah Giles and Sarah Shea question the medical training and equipment used by the mounted first responders.

They likely lacked a spinal board, which could put Humpty's back at unnecessary risk. And the presence of "all the king's men" suggests a lack of crowd control.

"It's Raining, It's Pouring" tells the story of the "old man" who "went to bed and bumped his head and couldn't get up in the morning."

Giles and Shea say an accurate sequence of events is needed in this case. He may have suffered from severe obstructive sleep apnea, foul play or even "post-coital MI."

In an attempt to offer a more realistic and accurate portrayal, the authors suggest a "A Medically Sound Nursery Rhyme."

Written by CBC News Online staff

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