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Contamination usually occurs in the presence of the host. Particle size > 5 μm. direct physical contact – touching an infected individual, including sexual contact indirect physical contact – usually by touching a contaminated surface, including soil (fomite) fecal–oral transmission – usually from unwashed hands, contaminated food or water sources due to lack of sanitation and hygiene, an important transmission route in pediatrics, veterinary medicine and developing countries.Transmission can also be indirect, via another organism, either a vector (e.g. a mosquito or fly) or an intermediate host (e.g. tapeworm in pigs can be transmitted to humans who ingest improperly cooked pork). Indirect transmission could involve zoonoses or, more typically, larger pathogens like macroparasites with more complex life cycles. Transmissions can be autochthonous (i.e. between two individuals in the same place) or may involve travel of the microorganism or the affected hosts. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disease_spread |
In medicine, reflexes are often used to assess the health of the nervous system. Doctors will typically grade the activity of a reflex on a scale from 0 to 4. While 2+ is considered normal, some healthy individuals are hypo-reflexive and register all reflexes at 1+, while others are hyper-reflexive and register all reflexes at 3+. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reflex_action |
In medicine, sampling is gathering of matter from the body to aid in the process of a medical diagnosis and/or evaluation of an indication for treatment, further medical tests or other procedures. In this sense, the sample is the gathered matter, and the sampling tool or sampler is the person or material to collect the sample. Sampling is a prerequisite for many medical tests, but generally not for medical history, physical examination and radiologic tests. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sampling_(medicine) |
In medicine, shifting dullness refers to a sign elicited on physical examination for ascites (fluid in the peritoneal cavity). The test is performed by first percussing the midline of the abdomen to elicit a resonant note due to gas in the abdomen. If there is no area of resonance, then the test cannot be performed. Percussion is then moved progressively more laterally (away from the examiner) – this is depicted as the red section in the diagram on the right – until the note becomes dull, as depicted by the green section. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shifting_dullness |
The examiner's index finger remains on the resonant side, and the middle finger remains on the dull side, straddling the fluid-air level. The patient is then asked to lean on their right lateral side (assuming the examiner used the traditional right-sided approach). This stabilises the patient by positioning them between the examiner's hands and body. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shifting_dullness |
It is imperative that the examiner's fingers stay in the same position. After waiting sufficient time for any fluid to shift (up to 30 seconds), the dull position is then percussed. It may now be resonant. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shifting_dullness |
The percussion may now be performed down the anterior side until a new dullness is found. To confirm a positive result it is recommended that the now resonant area become dull again when the patient is back in the supine position. If the borders between tympanitic (resonant) and dull notes remain the same, the person probably does not have ascites, or has less than 2 litres of free fluid present. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shifting_dullness |
If the fluid causing the dullness was not free, then the air-fluid level would not move. Shifting dullness is usually present if the volume of ascitic fluid is up to 500 mL ml. If low volume ascites is suspected, then an attempt to elicit the puddle sign may be performed. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shifting_dullness |
In medicine, silver is incorporated into wound dressings and used as an antibiotic coating in medical devices. Wound dressings containing silver sulfadiazine or silver nanomaterials are used to treat external infections. Silver is also used in some medical applications, such as urinary catheters (where tentative evidence indicates it reduces catheter-related urinary tract infections) and in endotracheal breathing tubes (where evidence suggests it reduces ventilator-associated pneumonia). | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silver_ions |
The silver ion is bioactive and in sufficient concentration readily kills bacteria in vitro. Silver ions interfere with enzymes in the bacteria that transport nutrients, form structures, and synthesise cell walls; these ions also bond with the bacteria's genetic material. Silver and silver nanoparticles are used as an antimicrobial in a variety of industrial, healthcare, and domestic application: for example, infusing clothing with nanosilver particles thus allows them to stay odourless for longer. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silver_ions |
Bacteria can, however, develop resistance to the antimicrobial action of silver. Silver compounds are taken up by the body like mercury compounds, but lack the toxicity of the latter. Silver and its alloys are used in cranial surgery to replace bone, and silver–tin–mercury amalgams are used in dentistry. Silver diammine fluoride, the fluoride salt of a coordination complex with the formula F, is a topical medicament (drug) used to treat and prevent dental caries (cavities) and relieve dentinal hypersensitivity. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silver_ions |
In medicine, some blood tests are conducted on capillary blood obtained by fingerstick (or fingerprick) (or, for neonates, by an analogous heelprick). The site, free of surface arterial flow, where the blood is to be collected is sterilized with a topical germicide, and the skin pierced with a sterile lancet. After a droplet has formed, capillary blood is captured in a capillary tube (usually relying on surface tension). Blood cells drawn from fingersticks have a tendency to undergo hemolysis, especially if the finger is "milked" to obtain more blood. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fingerstick |
In medicine, specifically gastroenterology, the Child–Pugh score (or the Child–Turcotte–Pugh (CTP) score or Child Criteria) is used to assess the prognosis of chronic liver disease, mainly cirrhosis. Although it was originally used to predict mortality during surgery, it is now used to determine the prognosis, as well as the required strength of treatment and the necessity of liver transplantation. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Child–Pugh_score |
In medicine, specifically in end-of-life care, palliative sedation (also known as terminal sedation, continuous deep sedation, or sedation for intractable distress of a dying patient) is the palliative practice of relieving distress in a terminally ill person in the last hours or days of a dying person's life, usually by means of a continuous intravenous or subcutaneous infusion of a sedative drug, or by means of a specialized catheter designed to provide comfortable and discreet administration of ongoing medications via the rectal route. As of 2013, approximately tens of millions of people a year were unable to resolve their needs of physical, psychological, or spiritual suffering at their time of death. Due to the amount of pain a dying person may face, palliative care is considered important. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palliative_sedation |
Proponents claim palliative sedation can provide a more peaceful and ethical solution for such people.Palliative sedation is an option of last resort for the people whose symptoms cannot be controlled by any other means. It is not considered a form of euthanasia or physician-assisted suicide, as the goal of palliative sedation is to control symptoms, rather than to shorten or end the person's life.Palliative sedation is legal everywhere and has been administered since the hospice care movement began in the 1960s. The practice of palliative sedation has been a topic of debate and controversy as many view it as a form of slow euthanasia or mercy killing, associated with many ethical questions. Discussion of this practice occurs in medical literature, but there is no consensus because of unclear definitions and guidelines, with many differences in practice across the world. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palliative_sedation |
In medicine, systolic hypertension is defined as an elevated systolic blood pressure (SBP). If the systolic blood pressure is elevated (>140) with a normal (<90) diastolic blood pressure (DBP), it is called isolated systolic hypertension. Eighty percent of people with systolic hypertension are over the age of 65 years old. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isolated_systolic_hypertension |
In medicine, tapering is the practice of gradually reducing the dosage of a medication to reduce or discontinue it. Generally, tapering is done is to avoid or minimize withdrawal symptoms that arise from neurobiological adaptation to the drug.Prescribed psychotropic drugs that may require tapering due to this physical dependence include opioids, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, antipsychotics, anticonvulsants, and benzodiazepines. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tapering_(medicine) |
In medicine, the "J curve" refers to a graph in which the x-axis measures either of two treatable symptoms (blood pressure or blood cholesterol level) while the y-axis measures the chance that a patient will develop cardiovascular disease (CVD). It is well known that high blood pressure or high cholesterol levels increase a patient's risk. What is less well known is that plots of large populations against CVD mortality often take the shape of a J curve which indicates that patients with very low blood pressure and/or low cholesterol levels are also at increased risk. == References == | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J_curve |
In medicine, the FIO2 is the assumed percentage of oxygen concentration participating in gas exchange in the alveoli. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fraction_of_inspired_oxygen |
In medicine, the Golden S sign is a sign seen on imaging of the chest that suggests a central lung mass or lung collapse. It was first described by Dr. Ross Golden (1889-1975) in 1925 in association with bronchial carcinoma, but it is also seen in metastatic cancer, enlarged lymph nodes, and collapse of the right upper lobe of the lung.Dr. Golden became the first professor of radiology when he joined Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center in 1922. It was there that he became the first chairman of the Department of Radiology until his retirement in 1954. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_S_sign |
He then became the visiting professor of radiology at UCLA Medical, 1954–1975. Dr. Golden is considered a pioneer in the field of Diagnostic Radiology when it was in its infancy, and was the author of many books, journals and periodicals on the subject. He was (twice) president of the Roentgen Ray Society as well as a trustee of the New York Academy of Medicine, and chairman of Radiological Services for the American Medical Association. Among his many honors and accolades, he was honored by President Nehru of India in 1956 for his assistance in improving radiological services throughout that country. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_S_sign |
In medicine, the Ilizarov apparatus is a type of external fixation apparatus used in orthopedic surgery to lengthen or to reshape the damaged bones of an arm or a leg; used as a limb-sparing technique for treating complex fractures and open bone fractures; and used to treat an infected non-union of bones, which cannot be surgically resolved. The Ilizarov apparatus corrects angular deformity in a leg, corrects differences in the lengths of the legs of the patient, and resolves osteopathic non-unions; further developments of the Ilizarov apparatus progressed to the development of the Taylor Spatial Frame. Dr. Gavriil Abramovich Ilizarov developed the Ilizarov apparatus as a limb-sparing surgical remedy for the treatment of the osteopathic non-unions of patients with unhealed broken limbs. Consequent to a patient lengthening, rather than shortening, the adjustable-rod frame of his external-fixation apparatus, Dr. Ilizarov observed the formation of a fibrocartilage callus at and around the site of the bone fracture, and so discovered the phenomenon of distraction osteogenesis, the regeneration of bone and soft tissues that culminates in the creation of new bone.In 1987, Dr. Victor Frankel introduced to U.S. medicine the Ilizarov apparatus and Dr. Ilizarov's surgical techniques for repairing the broken bones of damaged limbs. The mechanical functions of the Ilizarov apparatus derive from the mechanics of the shaft bow harness for a horse. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ilizarov_apparatus |
In medicine, the caloric reflex test (sometimes termed 'vestibular caloric stimulation') is a test of the vestibulo-ocular reflex that involves irrigating cold or warm water or air into the external auditory canal. This method was developed by Robert Bárány, who won a Nobel prize in 1914 for this discovery. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caloric_reflex_test |
In medicine, the cardiac examination, also precordial exam, is performed as part of a physical examination, or when a patient presents with chest pain suggestive of a cardiovascular pathology. It would typically be modified depending on the indication and integrated with other examinations especially the respiratory examination. Like all medical examinations, the cardiac examination follows the standard structure of inspection, palpation and auscultation. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Precordial_examination |
In medicine, the cingulate island sign is a finding on FDG-PET brain scans that metabolism in the posterior cingulate cortex is preserved. It can help to identify dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) and distinguish it from Alzheimer's disease and other dementias. == References == | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cingulate_island_sign |
In medicine, the dense artery sign or hyperdense artery sign is an increased radiodensity of an artery as seen on computer tomography (CT) scans, and is a radiologic sign of early ischemic stroke. In earlier studies of medical imaging in patients with strokes, it was the earliest sign of ischemic stroke in a significant minority of cases. Its appearance portends a poor prognosis for the patient.The sign has been observed in the middle cerebral artery (MCA), posterior cerebral artery (PCA), vertebral artery, and basilar artery; these have been called the dense MCA sign, dense PCA sign, dense vertebral artery sign, and dense basilar artery sign, respectively. Rarely, a hypodense artery sign can occur due to fat embolism. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dense_artery_sign |
In medicine, the diffusion of photons can be used to create images of the body (mainly brain and breast) and has contributed much to the advance of certain fields of research, such as neuroscience. This technique is known as diffuse optical imaging. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photon_diffusion |
In medicine, the etiology of an illness or condition refers to the frequent studies to determine one or more factors that come together to cause the illness. Relatedly, when disease is widespread, epidemiological studies investigate what associated factors, such as location, sex, exposure to chemicals, and many others, make a population more or less likely to have an illness, condition, or disease, thus helping determine its etiology. Sometimes determining etiology is an imprecise process. In the past, the etiology of a common sailor's disease, scurvy, was long unknown. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Origin_theory |
When large, ocean-going ships were built, sailors began to put to sea for long periods of time, and often lacked fresh fruit and vegetables. Without knowing the precise cause, Captain James Cook suspected scurvy was caused by the lack of vegetables in the diet. Based on his suspicion, he forced his crew to eat sauerkraut, a cabbage preparation, every day, and based upon the positive outcomes, he inferred that it prevented scurvy, even though he did not know precisely why. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Origin_theory |
It took about another two hundred years to discover the precise etiology; the lack of vitamin C in a sailor's diet. The following are examples of intrinsic factors: Inherited conditions, or conditions that are passed down to you from your parents. An example of this is hemophilia, a disorder that leads to excessive bleeding. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Origin_theory |
Metabolic and endocrine, or hormone, disorders. These are abnormalities in the chemical signaling and interaction in the body. For example, Diabetes mellitus is an endocrine disease that causes high blood sugar. Neoplastic disorders or cancer where the cells of the body grow out of control. Problems with immunity, such as allergies, which are an overreaction of the immune system. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Origin_theory |
In medicine, the fecal fat test is a diagnostic test for fat malabsorption conditions, which lead to excess fat in the feces (steatorrhea). | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fecal_fat_test |
In medicine, the fluid wave test or fluid thrill test is a test for ascites (free fluid in the peritoneal cavity). It is performed by having the patient (or a colleague) push their hands down on the midline of the abdomen. The examiner then taps one flank, while feeling on the other flank for the tap. The pressure on the midline prevents vibrations through the abdominal wall while the fluid allows the tap to be felt on the other side. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fluid_wave_test |
The result is considered positive if tap can be felt on the other side. However, even with the midline pressure, transmission through the skin must be excluded. A positive fluid wave test indicates that there is a free fluid (ascites) in the abdomen. When one side of the abdomen is pressed, the other side may also be painful due to the transfer of the fluid in it. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fluid_wave_test |
In medicine, the hygiene hypothesis states that early childhood exposure to particular microorganisms (such as the gut flora and helminth parasites) protects against allergies by strengthening the immune system. In particular, a lack of such exposure is thought to lead to poor immune tolerance. The time period for exposure begins before birth and ends at school age.While early versions of the hypothesis referred to microorganism exposure in general, later versions apply to a specific set of microbes that have co-evolved with humans. The updates have been given various names, including the microbiome depletion hypothesis, the microflora hypothesis, and the "old friends" hypothesis. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hygiene_hypothesis |
There is a significant amount of evidence supporting the idea that lack of exposure to these microbes is linked to allergies or other conditions, although it is still rejected by many scientists.The term "hygiene hypothesis" has been described as a misnomer because people incorrectly interpret it as referring to their own cleanliness. Having worse personal hygiene, such as not washing hands before eating, only increases the risk of infection without affecting the risk of allergies or immune disorders. Hygiene is essential for protecting vulnerable populations such as the elderly from infections, preventing the spread of antibiotic resistance, and combating emerging infectious diseases such as Ebola or COVID-19. The hygiene hypothesis does not suggest that having more infections during childhood would be an overall benefit. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hygiene_hypothesis |
In medicine, the ileal pouch–anal anastomosis (IPAA), also known as restorative proctocolectomy (RPC), ileal-anal reservoir (IAR), an ileo-anal pouch, ileal-anal pullthrough, or sometimes referred to as a J-pouch, S-pouch, W-pouch, or a pelvic pouch, is an anastomosis of a reservoir pouch made from ileum (small intestine) to the anus, bypassing the former site of the colon in cases where the colon and rectum have been removed. The pouch retains and restores functionality of the anus, with stools passed under voluntary control of the person, preventing fecal incontinence and serving as an alternative to a total proctocolectomy with ileostomy. During a total proctocolectomy, a surgeon removes a person's diseased colon, rectum, and anus. For the ileostomy, the end of the small intestine is brought to the surface of the body through an opening in the abdominal wall for waste to be removed. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ileo-anal_pouch |
People with ileostomies wear an external bag, also known as an ostomy system or stoma appliance, to collect waste which can be emptied and changed as needed. With an optional ileo-anal pouch procedure, the pouch component is a surgically constructed internal intestinal reservoir; usually situated near where the rectum would normally be. It is formed by folding loops of small intestine (the ileum) back on themselves and stitching or stapling them together. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ileo-anal_pouch |
The internal walls are then removed thus forming a reservoir often referred to as a 'pouch'. The reservoir is then stitched or stapled into anal area where the bottom of the rectum was. The first pouch anal-anastomosis surgery in the world was performed by British surgeon Sir Alan Parks in 1976 at the London Hospital (called the Royal London Hospital since 1990). | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ileo-anal_pouch |
After the first surgery, he continued to develop the procedure at St Mark's Hospital in London along with his colleague Professor John Nicholls.Pouch surgery is elective, meaning it is entirely optional, and should be done on the basis of choice by people who doctors deem suitable for a pouch after medical evaluations. Pouch surgery is considered reconstructive with the benefit being for quality of life and not disease removal, similar in theory to a breast reconstruction after a mastectomy removes diseased breast tissue. Before a pouch is created, a person's diseased colon and rectum are removed. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ileo-anal_pouch |
After disease removal, standard medical screening exams for pouch candidates include but are not limited to biopsies, radiology imaging, sphincter function tests, fertility consultations for people of childbearing age with the wish to get pregnant, and psychological support due to intensity of the pouch operations.A similar ileal pouch without the anal anastomosis is a Kock pouch. A Kock pouch is also called a 'continent ileostomy' because while a person has a pouch constructed inside their body, it is located near the abdominal wall and empties via a stoma from the ileum at the person's convenience. A Kock pouch does not restore the anal function. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ileo-anal_pouch |
The procedure was first premiered by Finnish surgeon Dr. Nils Koch in Sweden during 1969. It was an evolution in bowel surgery because it created an ileum pouch for storage of waste inside the body eliminating the need for an external bag for waste collection. An ileostomy without a Koch pouch functions constantly, meaning, a patient with ileostomy by itself is incontinent because waste is always moving down the bowel and thus the need for an external appliance bag. Koch pouch surgery is also elective surgery that only provides a reconstructive benefit after disease removal. It should be the patient's optional choice based on how a person wants to live their life. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ileo-anal_pouch |
In medicine, the mean arterial pressure (MAP) is an average calculated blood pressure in an individual during a single cardiac cycle. Although methods of estimating MAP vary, a common calculation is to take one-third of the pulse pressure (the difference between the systolic and diastolic pressures), and add that amount to the diastolic pressure. A normal MAP is about 90 mmHg.MAP is altered by cardiac output and systemic vascular resistance. It is used clinically to estimate the risk of cardiovascular diseases, where a MAP of 90 mmHg or less is low risk, and a MAP of greater than 96 mmHg represents "stage one hypertension" with increased risk. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mean_arterial_pressure |
In medicine, the mean systemic pressure (mean systemic filling pressure (MSFP)) is defined as the mean pressure that exists in the circulatory system when there is no blood motion. A similar term, mean circulatory filling pressure, (MCFP) is defined as the mean pressure that exists in the combined circulatory system & pulmonary system when there is no blood motion. The value of MSP in animal experimental models is approximately 7 mm Hg. It is an indicator of how full the circulatory system is (i.e. the volume of blood in the system compared to the capacity of the system), and is influenced by the volume of circulating blood and the smooth muscle tone in the walls of the venous system (which determines the capacity of the system).MSP is measured in two ways experimentally, and as a result has two alternative naming conventions. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mean_systemic_pressure |
MSFP is measured after clamping the aortic root and the great veins at point of entry to right atrium. On the other hand, MCFP is measured experimentally by briefly inducing cardiac arrest or naturally during cardiac arrest once the blood redistributes. It may also be estimated in vivo using a series of inspiratory holds when a patient is on a mechanical ventilator. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mean_systemic_pressure |
It can be used to demonstrate effects of drugs on the venous tone while the circulating blood volume remains constant, or to measure haemodynamic changes during haemorrhage.Mean systemic pressure increases if there is an increase in blood volume or if there is a decrease in venous compliance (where blood is shifted from the veins to the arteries). An increase in mean systemic pressure is reflected in a shift of the vascular function curve to the right. Mean systemic pressure is decreased by a decrease in blood volume or by an increase in venous compliance (where blood is shifted from the arteries to the veins). A decrease in mean systemic pressure is reflected in a shift of the vascular function curve to the left. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mean_systemic_pressure |
In medicine, the number needed to harm (NNH) is an epidemiological measure that indicates how many persons on average need to be exposed to a risk factor over a specific period to cause harm in an average of one person who would not otherwise have been harmed. It is defined as the inverse of the absolute risk increase, and computed as 1 / ( I e − I u ) {\displaystyle 1/(I_{e}-I_{u})} , where I e {\displaystyle I_{e}} is the incidence in the treated (exposed) group, and I u {\displaystyle I_{u}} is the incidence in the control (unexposed) group. Intuitively, the lower the number needed to harm, the worse the risk factor, with 1 meaning that every exposed person is harmed. NNH is similar to number needed to treat (NNT), where NNT usually refers to a positive therapeutic result and NNH to a detrimental effect or risk factor. A combined measure, the number needed to treat for an additional beneficial or harmful outcome (NNTB/H), is also used. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Number_needed_to_harm |
In medicine, the partial pressure of carbon dioxide in arterial blood is called P a CO 2 {\displaystyle P_{a_{{\ce {CO2}}}}} or PaCO2. Measurement of P a CO 2 {\displaystyle P_{a_{{\ce {CO2}}}}} in the systemic circulation indicates the effectiveness of ventilation at the lungs' alveoli, given the diffusing capacity of the gas. It is a good indicator of respiratory function and the closely related factor of acid–base homeostasis, reflecting the amount of acid in the blood (without lactic acid). Normal values for humans are in the range 35–45 mmHg. Values less than this may indicate hyperventilation and (if blood pH is greater than 7.45) respiratory alkalosis. Values greater than 45 mmHg may indicate hypoventilation, and (if blood pH is less than 7.35) respiratory acidosis. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PCO2 |
In medicine, the phrase is often used for supposedly "magical remedies" which are not likely to work in practice. For instance, in the 2020 COVID-19 outbreak, when double lung transplantation for terminal COVID-19 patients was suggested, it was immediately denounced as a deus ex machina. In 2006, when electronic fetal heart monitoring was being touted as a preventive measure for cerebral palsy, The New England Journal of Medicine, denounced it as deus ex machina. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deus_ex_machina |
In medicine, the presence of elevated transaminases, commonly the transaminases alanine transaminase (ALT) and aspartate transaminase (AST), may be an indicator of liver dysfunction. Other terms include transaminasemia, transaminitis, and elevated liver enzymes (though they are not the only enzymes in the liver). Normal ranges for both ALT and AST vary by gender, age, and geography and are roughly 8-40 U/L (0.14-0.67 μkal/L). Mild transaminesemia refers to levels up to 250 U/L. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abnormal_liver_function_tests |
Drug-induced increases such as that found with the use of anti-tuberculosis agents such as isoniazid are limited typically to below 100 U/L for either ALT or AST. Muscle sources of the enzymes, such as intense exercise, are unrelated to liver function and can markedly increase AST and ALT. Cirrhosis of the liver or fulminant liver failure secondary to hepatitis commonly reach values for both ALT and AST in the >1000 U/L range; however, many people with liver disease have normal transaminases. Elevated transaminases that persist less than six months are termed "acute" in nature, and those values that persist for six months or more are termed "chronic" in nature. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abnormal_liver_function_tests |
In medicine, the term "disulfiram effect" refers to an adverse effect of a particular medication in causing an unpleasant hypersensitivity to alcohol, similar to the effect caused by disulfiram administration.Examples: Antibiotics (nitroimidazoles), e.g. metronidazole First-generation sulfonylureas, e.g. tolbutamide and chlorpropamide Several cephalosporin drugs, including cefoperazone, cefamandole and cefotetan, that have a N-methylthio-tetrazole moiety Griseofulvin, an oral antifungal drug Procarbazine Temposil, or citrated calcium carbimide, has the same function as disulfiram, but is weaker and safer. Coprine, which metabolizes to 1-aminocyclopropanol, a chemical having the same metabolic effects as disulfiram. It occurs naturally in the otherwise edible common ink cap mushroom (Coprinopsis atramentaria), hence its colloquial name "tippler's bane". Similar reactions have been recorded with Clitocybe clavipes and Suillellus luridus, although the agent in those species is unknown. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disulfiram |
In medicine, the term "labile" means susceptible to alteration or destruction. For example, a heat-labile protein is one that can be changed or destroyed at high temperatures. The opposite of labile in this context is "stable". | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lability |
In medicine, the term collodion baby applies to newborns who appear to have an extra layer of skin (known as a collodion membrane) that has a collodion-like quality. It is a descriptive term, not a specific diagnosis or disorder (as such, it is a syndrome). | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ichthyosis_lamellaris |
In medicine, the term sine qua non (in contrast with pathognomonic) is often used in regard to any sign, symptom, or finding whose absence would very likely mean absence of the target disease or condition. The test for such a sign, symptom, or finding would thereby have very high sensitivity and thus would rarely miss the condition and so a negative result should be reassuring since the disease being tested for is absent. Examples include: The absence of finding the corresponding underlying mutation excludes certain types of hereditary colon cancer. A vaginal pH of less than 4.5 practically excludes bacterial vaginosis. Sine qua non was the inspiration behind a brand name of a tricyclic antidepressant manufactured in Germany: (Sinequan) doxepin. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sine_qua_non |
In medicine, the terminal drop hypothesis is a hypothesis that a sharp reduction in cognitive capacity in older people is often correlated with impending death, typically within five years. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terminal_drop_hypothesis |
In medicine, the urea-to-creatinine ratio (UCR), known in the United States as BUN-to-creatinine ratio, is the ratio of the blood levels of urea (BUN) (mmol/L) and creatinine (Cr) (μmol/L). BUN only reflects the nitrogen content of urea (MW 28) and urea measurement reflects the whole of the molecule (MW 60), urea is just over twice BUN (60/28 = 2.14). In the United States, both quantities are given in mg/dL The ratio may be used to determine the cause of acute kidney injury or dehydration. The principle behind this ratio is the fact that both urea (BUN) and creatinine are freely filtered by the glomerulus; however, urea reabsorbed by the renal tubules can be regulated (increased or decreased) whereas creatinine reabsorption remains the same (minimal reabsorption). | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BUN-to-creatinine_ratio |
In medicine, the window period for a test designed to detect a specific disease (particularly infectious disease) is the time between first infection and when the test can reliably detect that infection. In antibody-based testing, the window period is dependent on the time taken for seroconversion. The window period is important to epidemiology and safe sex strategies, and in blood and organ donation, because during this time, an infected person or animal cannot be detected as infected but may still be able to infect others. For this reason, the most effective disease-prevention strategies combine testing with a waiting period longer than the test's window period. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Window_period |
In medicine, therapeutic irrigation or lavage ( lə-VAHZH or LAV-ij) is cleaning or rinsing. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Therapeutic_irrigation |
In medicine, there are two important and different types of cyborgs: the restorative and the enhanced. Restorative technologies "restore lost function, organs, and limbs." The key aspect of restorative cyborgization is the repair of broken or missing processes to revert to a healthy or average level of function. There is no enhancement to the original faculties and processes that were lost. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyborg |
On the contrary, the enhanced cyborg "follows a principle, and it is the principle of optimal performance: maximising output (the information or modifications obtained) and minimising input (the energy expended in the process)". Thus, the enhanced cyborg intends to exceed normal processes or even gain new functions that were not originally present. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyborg |
Although prostheses in general supplement lost or damaged body parts with the integration of a mechanical artifice, bionic implants in medicine allow model organs or body parts to mimic the original function more closely. Michael Chorost wrote a memoir of his experience with cochlear implants, or bionic ears, titled Rebuilt: How Becoming Part Computer Made Me More Human. Jesse Sullivan became one of the first people to operate a fully robotic limb through a nerve-muscle graft, enabling him a complex range of motions beyond that of previous prosthetics. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyborg |
By 2004, a fully functioning artificial heart was developed. The continued technological development of bionic and (bio-)nanotechnologies begins to raise the question of enhancement, and of the future possibilities for cyborgs which surpass the original functionality of the biological model. The ethics and desirability of "enhancement prosthetics" have been debated; their proponents include the transhumanist movement, with its belief that new technologies can assist the human race in developing beyond its present, normative limitations such as aging and disease, as well as other, more general inabilities, such as limitations on speed, strength, endurance, and intelligence. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyborg |
Opponents of the concept describe what they believe to be biases which propel the development and acceptance of such technologies; namely, a bias towards functionality and efficiency that may compel assent to a view of human people which de-emphasizes as defining characteristics actual manifestations of humanity and personhood, in favor of definition in terms of upgrades, versions, and utility.A brain–computer interface, or BCI, provides a direct path of communication from the brain to an external device, effectively creating a cyborg. Research into invasive BCIs, which utilize electrodes implanted directly into the grey matter of the brain, has focused on restoring damaged eyesight in the blind and providing functionality to paralyzed people, most notably those with severe cases, such as locked-in syndrome. This technology could enable people who are missing a limb or are in a wheelchair the power to control the devices that aid them through neural signals sent from the brain implants directly to computers or the devices. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyborg |
It is possible that this technology will also eventually be used with healthy people.Deep brain stimulation is a neurological surgical procedure used for therapeutic purposes. This process has aided in treating patients diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, Tourette syndrome, epilepsy, chronic headaches, and mental disorders. After the patient is unconscious, through anesthesia, brain pacemakers or electrodes, are implanted into the region of the brain where the cause of the disease is present. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyborg |
The region of the brain is then stimulated by bursts of electric current to disrupt the oncoming surge of seizures. Like all invasive procedures, deep brain stimulation may put the patient at a higher risk. However, there have been more improvements in recent years with deep brain stimulation than any available drug treatment.Retinal implants are another form of cyborgization in medicine. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyborg |
The theory behind retinal stimulation to restore vision to people suffering from retinitis pigmentosa and vision loss due to aging (conditions in which people have an abnormally low number of retinal ganglion cells) is that the retinal implant and electrical stimulation would act as a substitute for the missing ganglion cells (cells which connect the eye to the brain). While work to perfect this technology is still being done, there have already been major advances in the use of electronic stimulation of the retina to allow the eye to sense patterns of light. A specialized camera is worn by the subject, such as on the frames of their glasses, which converts the image into a pattern of electrical stimulation. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyborg |
A chip located in the user's eye would then electrically stimulate the retina with this pattern by exciting certain nerve endings which transmit the image to the optic centers of the brain and the image would then appear to the user. If technological advances proceed as planned, this technology may be used by thousands of blind people and restore vision to most of them. A similar process has been created to aid people who have lost their vocal cords. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyborg |
This experimental device would do away with previously used robotic-sounding voice simulators. The transmission of sound would start with a surgery to redirect the nerve that controls the voice and sound production to a muscle in the neck, where a nearby sensor would be able to pick up its electrical signals. The signals would then move to a processor which would control the timing and pitch of a voice simulator. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyborg |
That simulator would then vibrate producing a multi-tonal sound that could be shaped into words by the mouth.An article published in Nature Materials in 2012 reported research on "cyborg tissues" (engineered human tissues with embedded three-dimensional mesh of nanoscale wires), with possible medical implications.In 2014, researchers from the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign and Washington University in St. Louis had developed a device that could keep a heart beating endlessly. By using 3D printing and computer modeling, these scientists developed an electronic membrane that could successfully replace pacemakers. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyborg |
The device utilizes a "spider-web like network of sensors and electrodes" to monitor and maintain a normal heart rate with electrical stimuli. Unlike traditional pacemakers that are similar from patient to patient, the elastic heart glove is made custom by using high-resolution imaging technology. The first prototype was created to fit a rabbit's heart, operating the organ in an oxygen and nutrient-rich solution. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyborg |
The stretchable material and circuits of the apparatus were first constructed by Professor John A. Rogers in which the electrodes are arranged in an s-shape design to allow them to expand and bend without breaking. Although the device is only currently used as a research tool to study changes in heart rate, in the future the membrane may serve as a safeguard against heart attacks.Automated insulin delivery systems, colloquially also known as the "artificial pancreas", are a substitute for the lack of natural insulin production by the body, most notably in Type 1 diabetes. Currently available systems combine a continuous glucose monitor with an insulin pump that can be remote controlled, forming a control loop that automatically adjusts the insulin dosage depending on the current blood glucose level. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyborg |
Examples of commercial systems that implement such a control loop are the MiniMed 670G from Medtronic and the t:slim x2 from Tandem Diabetes Care. Do-it-yourself artificial pancreas technologies also exist, though these are not verified or approved by any regulatory agency. Upcoming next-generation artificial pancreas technologies include automatic glucagon infusion in addition to insulin, to help prevent hypoglycemia and improve efficiency. One example of such a bi-hormonal system is the Beta Bionics iLet. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyborg |
In medicine, this property is used to create droppers and IV infusion sets which have a standardized diameter, in such a way that 1 millilitre is equivalent to 20 drops. When smaller amounts are necessary (such as paediatrics), microdroppers or paediatric infusion sets are used, in which 1 millilitre = 60 microdrops. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pendant_drop_method |
In medicine, traumatology (from Greek trauma, meaning injury or wound) is the study of wounds and injuries caused by accidents or violence to a person, and the surgical therapy and repair of the damage. Traumatology is a branch of medicine. It is often considered a subset of surgery and in countries without the specialty of trauma surgery it is most often a sub-specialty to orthopedic surgery. Traumatology may also be known as accident surgery. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trauma_medicine |
In medicine, triage (, ) is a process by which care providers such as medical professionals and those with first aid knowledge determine the order of priority for providing treatment to injured individuals and/or inform the rationing of limited supplies so that they go to those who can most benefit from it. Triage is usually relied upon when there are more injured individuals than available care providers (known as a mass casualty incident), or when there are more injured individuals than supplies to treat them. The methodologies of triage vary by institution, locality, and country but have the same universal underlying concepts. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manchester_Triage_System |
In most cases, the triage process places the most injured and most able to be helped as the first priority, with the most terminally injured the last priority (except in the case of reverse triage). Triage systems vary dramatically based on a variety of factors, and can follow specific, measurable metrics, like trauma scoring systems, or can be based on the medical opinion of the provider. Triage is an imperfect practice, and can be largely subjective, especially when based on general opinion rather than a score. This is because triage needs to balance multiple and sometimes contradictory objectives simultaneously, most of them being fundamental to personhood: likelihood of death, efficacy of treatment, patients' remaining lifespan, ethics, and religion. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manchester_Triage_System |
In medicine, up to 5% carbon dioxide (130 times atmospheric concentration) is added to oxygen for stimulation of breathing after apnea and to stabilize the O2/CO2 balance in blood. Carbon dioxide can be mixed with up to 50% oxygen, forming an inhalable gas; this is known as Carbogen and has a variety of medical and research uses. Another medical use are the mofette, dry spas that use carbon dioxide from post-volcanic discharge for therapeutic purposes. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbonic_gas |
In medicine, vein graft failure (VGF) is a condition in which vein grafts, which are used as alternative conduits in bypass surgeries (e.g. CABG), get occluded. Veins, mainly the great saphenous vein (GSV) are the most frequently used conduits in bypass surgeries (CABG or PABG), due to their ease of use and availability. Some structural changes of intima thickening and vein wall remodeling are necessary for vein graft adaptation to the arterial environment. The reasons why some of the grafts progress to clinical stenosis is unknown. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vein_graft_failure |
The patency rates of saphenous vein grafts after CABG at 1 year is approximately 80%. After 5 years the patency rate drops to 65% and at 10 years GSV patency rates are approximately 50%, with only half of the veins are atherosclerosis free. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vein_graft_failure |
VGF may be identified in asymptomatic patients, but can also produce symptoms of ischemia, depending on the area of the supplied territory of the heart, and the function of native arteries and other grafts. VGF has been closely correlated with revascularization, myocardial infarction and death. Treatment of occluded GSVs can be performed by percutaneous coronary intervention or redo CABG and is considered to be challenging, and thus preventing their obstruction is of great importance. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vein_graft_failure |
In medicine, venipuncture or venepuncture is the process of obtaining intravenous access for the purpose of venous blood sampling (also called phlebotomy) or intravenous therapy. In healthcare, this procedure is performed by medical laboratory scientists, medical practitioners, some EMTs, paramedics, phlebotomists, dialysis technicians, and other nursing staff. In veterinary medicine, the procedure is performed by veterinarians and veterinary technicians. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venipuncture |
It is essential to follow a standard procedure for the collection of blood specimens to get accurate laboratory results. Any error in collecting the blood or filling the test tubes may lead to erroneous laboratory results.Venipuncture is one of the most routinely performed invasive procedures and is carried out for any of five reasons: to obtain blood for diagnostic purposes; to monitor levels of blood components; to administer therapeutic treatments including medications, nutrition, or chemotherapy; to remove blood due to excess levels of iron or erythrocytes (red blood cells); or to collect blood for later uses, mainly transfusion either in the donor or in another person.Blood analysis is an important diagnostic tool available to clinicians within healthcare. Blood is most commonly obtained from the superficial veins of the upper limb. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venipuncture |
The median cubital vein, which lies within the cubital fossa anterior to the elbow, is close to the surface of the skin without many large nerves positioned nearby. Other veins that can be used in the cubital fossa for venipuncture include the cephalic, basilic, and median antebrachial veins.Minute quantities of blood may be taken by fingerstick sampling and collected from infants by means of a heelprick or from scalp veins with a winged infusion needle. Phlebotomy (incision into a vein) is also the treatment of certain diseases such as hemochromatosis and primary and secondary polycythemia. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venipuncture |
In medieval Armenian culture, the eternity sign symbolized the concept of everlasting, celestial life. Since the 5th century, it appeared on Armenian steles; later it became part of khachkar symbolism. Around the 8th century the use of the Armenian symbol of eternity had become a long established national iconographical practice, and it has kept its meaning in modern times. Besides being one of the main components of khachkars, it can be found on church walls, tomb stones and other architectural monuments. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armenian_eternity_sign |
Notable churches with the eternity sign include the Mashtots Hayrapet Church of Garni, Horomayr Monastery, Nor Varagavank, Tsitsernavank Monastery. An identical symbol appears in the reliefs of the Divriği Great Mosque and Hospital, and is likely a borrowing from earlier Armenian churches of the area. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armenian_eternity_sign |
It can also be found on Armenian manuscripts. The eternity sign is used on the logos of government agencies and on commemorative coins, as well as Armenian government agencies and non-government organizations and institutions in Armenia and the Armenian diaspora.The symbol is also used by Armenian neopagan organizations and their followers. It is called by them "Arevakhach" (Արեւախաչ, "sun cross"). | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armenian_eternity_sign |
In medieval Britain there was an egg throwing festival held in the churches at Easter. The priest would give out one hard-boiled egg which was tossed around the nave of the church and the choirboy who was holding the egg when the clock struck twelve would get to keep it.In one version of the game the idea is to toss an egg so it falls on the ground without breaking. This is possible on, for example, grassy meadows. In Germany, children invented a way to spin the egg during the toss so that it lands on its tip still spinning.Dutch children play a game called "egg sales" in which one child sells an egg to another. The new owner then throws the egg in the grass and if it does not break it must be returned to the seller. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egg_tossing |
In medieval China during the Song dynasty, a meteorite strike event was recorded by Shen Kuo in 1064 AD near Changzhou. He reported "a loud noise that sounded like a thunder was heard in the sky; a giant star, almost like the moon, appeared in the southeast" and later finding the crater and the still-hot meteorite within, nearby.Two of the oldest recorded meteorite falls in Europe are the Elbogen (1400) and Ensisheim (1492) meteorites. The German physicist, Ernst Florens Chladni, was the first to publish (in 1794) the idea that meteorites might be rocks that originated not from Earth, but from space. His booklet was "On the Origin of the Iron Masses Found by Pallas and Others Similar to it, and on Some Associated Natural Phenomena". | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meteorite |
In this he compiled all available data on several meteorite finds and falls concluded that they must have their origins in outer space. The scientific community of the time responded with resistance and mockery. It took nearly ten years before a general acceptance of the origin of meteorites was achieved through the work of the French scientist Jean-Baptiste Biot and the British chemist, Edward Howard. Biot's study, initiated by the French Academy of Sciences, was compelled by a fall of thousands of meteorites on 26 April 1803 from the skies of L'Aigle, France. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meteorite |
In medieval Denmark, then including parts of Germany and Sweden, starch from the tubers (also from A. maculatum) was used to stiffen clerical collars, but as the tubers contain a caustic sap that caused blistering of the hands, this was abandoned when starch from wheat became available. Today colonies of A. cylindraceum are still found close to church sites, although the species seems to have died out in southern Sweden. == References == | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arum_cylindraceum |
In medieval England and Wales a licence to crenellate granted the holder permission to fortify their property. Such licences were granted by the king, and by the rulers of the counties palatine within their jurisdictions, e.g. by the Bishops of Durham and the Earls of Chester and after 1351 by the Dukes of Lancaster. The castles in England vastly outnumbered the licences to crenellate. Royal pardons were obtainable on the payment of an arbitrarily-determined fine by a person who had fortified without licence. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battlement |
The surviving records of such licences, generally issued by letters patent, provide valuable evidence for the dating of ancient buildings. A list of licences issued by the English Crown between the 12th and the 16th centuries was compiled by Turner & Parker and expanded and corrected by Philip Davis and published in The Castle Studies Group Journal.There has been academic debate over the purpose of licensing. The view of military-focused historians is that licensing restricted the number of fortifications that could be used against a royal army. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battlement |
The modern view, proposed notably by Charles Coulson, is that battlements became an architectural status-symbol much sought after by the socially ambitious, in Coulson's words: "Licences to crenellate were mainly symbolic representations of lordly status: castellation was the architectural expression of noble rank". They indicated to the observer that the grantee had obtained "royal recognition, acknowledgment and compliment". They could, however, provide a basic deterrent against wandering bands of thieves, and it is suggested that the function of battlements was comparable to the modern practice of householders fitting highly visible CC TV and burglar alarms, often merely dummies. The crown usually did not charge for the granting of such licences, but occasionally charged a fee of about half a mark. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battlement |
In medieval England, rangers, originally called under-foresters, were the most junior officials employed to "range" through the countryside enforcing the forest law imposed by William the Conqueror to protect the "vert and venison". Their duties were originally confined to seeing that the Forest Law was enforced in the borders, or purlieus, of the royal forests. Above them were the Foresters-in-Fee (later called Woodwards), then the Verderers, then the Justices in Eyre. Their duties corresponded in some respects with that of a mounted forester.The term ranger seems to correspond to the Medieval Latin word regardatores which appeared in 1217 in the Charter of the Forest. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Park_ranger |
Regardatores was later rendered as rangers in the English translations of the Charter. However, others translate regardatores as regarders. For example, the fifth clause of the Charter of the Forest is commonly translated thus: "Our regarders shall go through the forests making the regard as it used to be made at the time of the first coronation of the aforesaid King Henry our grandfather, and not otherwise." | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Park_ranger |
A "regard" is considered to be an inspection of the forest. The earliest letters patent found mentioning the term refer to a commission of a ranger in 1341. Documents from 1455 state that England had "all manner and singular Offices of Foresters and Rangers of our said Forests".One of the first appearances of ranger in literature is in Edmund Spenser's poem The Shepheardes Calendar from 1579: " walk not widely, as they were wont, for fear of rangers and the great hunt." The office of Ranger of Windsor Great Park appears to have been created in 1601. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Park_ranger |
In medieval English courts, the principle originated of Nemo moriturus praesumitur mentiri — "no-one on the point of death should be presumed to be lying". An incident in which a dying declaration was admitted as evidence has been found in a 1202 case. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dying_declaration |
In medieval English units, the rope of garlic was a set unit of 15 heads of garlic. 15 such ropes made up the "hundred" of garlic. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rope_(unit) |
In medieval Europe, a march or mark was, in broad terms, any kind of borderland, as opposed to a national "heartland". More specifically, a march was a border between realms or a neutral buffer zone under joint control of two states in which different laws might apply. In both of these senses, marches served a political purpose, such as providing warning of military incursions or regulating cross-border trade. Marches gave rise to titles such as marquess (masculine) or marchioness (feminine) in England, marqués (masculine) and marquesa (feminine) in Spanish-speaker countries, as well as in the Catalan and Galician regions, marquês (masculine) and marquesa (feminine) in Portuguese-speaker countries, markesa (both masculine and feminine) in Basque, marquis (masculine) or marquise (feminine) in France and Scotland, margrave (German: Markgraf, lit. 'march count'; masculine) or margravine (German: Markgräfin, lit. 'march countess', feminine) in Germany, and corresponding titles in other European states. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/March_(territory) |
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