For patients and caregivers, understanding clinical progression, diagnostic imaging results, and pharmacological treatment options is vital for managing acute and chronic health conditions.
A rash caused by skin contact with an allergen is referred to by the medical term "allergic contact dermatitis." Allergic contact dermatitis occurs when the body identifies a foreign substance as being a potential threat and responds by releasing chemicals called histamines.
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Morphine is a sedative used to treat pain. Often an adverse response to morphine will be due to something other than an immune reaction. True allergies to morphine are rare, but when they do occur, it can be life-threatening.
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Cervical nerves are nerves that pass from the spinal cord through openings between the vertebrae of the neck. There are eight cervical nerves, which are numbered C1 through C8 from the top of the neck to the shoulders. These nerves are vital to numerous functions in the head, shoulders, arms and trunk.
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The myelin sheath is a fatty layer that protects nerve cells, extending to cover the nerve throughout its length, except in small, unmyelinated gaps known as the nodes of Ranvier.
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Thirty-one pairs of nerves exit the spinal cord through openings in the vertebral column. These are spinal nerves. There are four main areas of the vertebral spine: the cervical spine, or neck; the thoracic spine, or chest; the lumbar spine, or lower back; and the sacrum, or tailbone.
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Cigarette smokers may feel that their tobacco addiction is far less harmful than smoking an illegal drug such as marijuana. Marijuana smokers who abstain from tobacco sometimes boast that their drug of choice is safer than cigarettes. The truth is that both tobacco and marijuana have damaging effects.
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The nervous system consists of three main nerve types. Sensory nerves supply humans with the ability to see, hear, smell, taste and feel. Motor nerves enable the brain to command the muscles of the body. Autonomic nerves regulate the function of the internal organs.
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Pain and instability in the vertebral joints of the lower spine cause many people to seek medical help. When conservative treatments such as medication, chiropractic adjustment or physical therapy fail to yield results, some may opt for surgery.
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Gout is a disorder in which uric acid crystals accumulate in the joints. The sharp edges of these crystals irritate the soft tissue of the joints, and cause inflammation and pain. Uric acid crystals are the waste products formed when purines, which are part of the nucleic acids that make up the genes, break down.
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In most cases, foot odor is the result of a relatively benign condition that can easily be remedied. However, sometimes a doctor must intervene in order to properly diagnose the cause of a persistent odor.
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The functions of the eye are influenced by impulses from several nerves in the skull called cranial nerves. The optic nerve translates visual information from the retina into nerve impulses that the brain can interpret.
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Numerous factors can influence the libido. Depression, anxiety, issues with body image or a past history of sexual abuse extinguish the desire for sex. Physical issues such as illness, fatigue and the use of certain medications can also reduce libido.
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The quadriceps femoris, or quad muscle, is located at the front of the thigh and is responsible for straightening the leg from a bent position. As indicated by its name, it is actually composed of four muscles: the rectus femoris, vastus medialis, vastus lateralis and vastus intermedialis.
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A rose by any other name could still prompt symptoms of allergy in those who are hypersensitive to the plant. Allergies are episodes of mistaken immunological identity. The body’s internal defense system identifies a harmful substance as a threat, and mounts an attack against it.
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