Le Pétomane ("the Fartomaniac") was a famous French performer in the 19th century who, as well as many professional farters before him, did flatulence impressions and held shows. The performer Mr. Methane carries on le Pétomanes tradition today. Also, a 2002 fiction film Thunderpants revolves around a boy named Patrick Smash who has an ongoing flatulence problem from the time of his birth.Since the 1970s, farting has increasingly been featured in film, especially comedies such as Blazing Saddles and Scooby-Doo. Religion
In Islam, flatulence, if audible or odorous, invalidates wudu (ritual purity). Personal experiences
People find other peoples flatus unpleasant, but are unfazed by, and may even enjoy, the scent of their own. While there has been little research carried out upon the subject, some speculative guesses have been made as to why this might be so. For example, one explanation for this phenomenon is that people are very familiar with the scent of their own flatus, and that survival in nature may depend on the detection of and reaction to foreign scents. See also
References
Citations
General and cited references
Allen, V. (2007). On Farting: Language and Laughter in the Middle Ages. Palgrave MacMillan. ISBN 978-0-312-23493-5. Bolin, T. D. & Stanton, R. (1997). Wind Breaks. Allen & Unwin. ISBN 978-1-86448-321-5. Dawson, Jim (1999). Who Cut the Cheese? : A Cultural History of the Fart. Ten Speed Press. ISBN 1-58008-011-1. Dawson, Jim (2006). Blame it on the Dog: A Modern History of the Fart. Ten Speed Press. ISBN 1-58008-751-5. Franklin, Benjamin (2003). Japikse, Carl (ed.). Fart Proudly ((Reprint) ed.). Frog Ltd/Blue Snake.
The main active metabolite is 4-hydroxycyclophosphamide, which exists in equilibrium with its tautomer, aldophosphamide. Most of the aldophosphamide is then oxidised by the enzyme aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) to make carboxycyclophosphamide. A small proportion of aldophosphamide freely diffuses into cells, where it is decomposed into two compounds, phosphoramide mustard and acrolein. The active metabolites of cyclophosphamide are highly protein bound and distributed to all tissues, are assumed to cross the placenta and are known to be present in breast milk.It is specifically in the oxazaphosphorine group of medications.Cyclophosphamide metabolites are primarily excreted in the urine unchanged, and drug dosing should be appropriately adjusted in the setting of renal dysfunction. Drugs altering hepatic microsomal enzyme activity (e.g., alcohol, barbiturates, rifampicin, or phenytoin) may result in accelerated metabolism of cyclophosphamide into its active metabolites, increasing both pharmacologic and toxic effects of the drug; alternatively, drugs that inhibit hepatic microsomal enzymes (e.g. corticosteroids, tricyclic antidepressants, or allopurinol) result in slower conversion of cyclophosphamide into its metabolites and consequently reduced therapeutic and toxic effects.Cyclophosphamide reduces plasma pseudocholinesterase activity and may result in prolonged neuromuscular blockade when administered concurrently with succinylcholine. Tricyclic antidepressants and other anticholinergic agents can result in delayed bladder emptying and prolonged bladder exposure to acrolein. Mechanism of action
The main effect of cyclophosphamide is due to its metabolite phosphoramide mustard. This metabolite is only formed in cells that have low levels of ALDH. Phosphoramide mustard forms DNA crosslinks both between and within DNA strands at guanine N-7 positions (known as interstrand and intrastrand crosslinkages, respectively).