House begrudgingly agrees to fill in for a sick professor and give a lecture on diagnostics to a class of medical students.
However, the farmer suffers an allergic reaction to the anti-venom and a test of the snake’s venom sac indicates that it did not recently bite anyone.
Cameron takes an excessively detailed medical history and puts her through several invasive and painful tests, only to discover a thyroid condition causing a depressed mental state and tendinitis.
House initially presents the third case as Carmen Electra complaining of leg pain after a round of miniature golf.
House reveals it took three days for doctors to diagnose the patient properly: He had a clotted aneurysm in his leg, leading to infarction.
Cuddy informs House that the only options are to either amputate his leg or perform a risky bypass surgery (which could either lead to a full recovery or kill him).
While he is unconscious, Stacy (as House's medical proxy) knowingly acts against his wishes and authorizes a middle course of treatment: surgery to remove the dead muscle in his leg.
During the lecture, House deduces that his absent colleague is often sick because he regularly drinks from a mug decorated by his children with lead paint.
[2] Fans have compared the episode's storytelling to the thriller The Usual Suspects (1995), which was directed by House executive producer Bryan Singer.
[2] Barclay was nominated for a Directors Guild of America Award, but lost to Michael Apted, who had directed the Rome episode "The Stolen Eagle".