Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.

Perjorative term for children with xeroderma pigmentosum, a genetic disease with such extraordinary sensitivity to sunlight that ordinary sun exposure results in the development of skin cancer at a very early age. Children with xeroderma pigmentosum (XP) can only play outdoors safely after nightfall.

1. The Valsalva maneuver in which a person tries to exhale forcibly with a closed glottis (windpipe) so that no air goes out through the mouth or nose.2. The renowned Italian anatomist, pathologist, physician, and surgeon Antonio Maria Valsalva (1666-1723) who first described the maneuver.

A nerve that supplies nerve fibers to the pharynx (throat), larynx (voice box), trachea (windpipe), lungs, heart, esophagus, and intestinal tract, as far as the transverse portion of the colon. The vagus nerve also brings sensory information back to the brain from the ear, tongue, pharynx, and larynx. The vagus nerve is the tenth cranial nerve. It originates in the medulla oblongata, a part of the brain stem, and extends…

Inflammation of the vagina. The vagina is the muscular canal extending from the cervix to the outside of the body. Vaginitis is often caused by a fungus. A woman with this condition may have itching or burning and may notice a discharge. Vaginitis is a common condition. There are factors that predispose a woman to develop vaginitis. For example, women who have diabetes have vaginitis more often than…

Infection of the vagina caused by a fungus known as Candida. A vaginal yeast infection is characterized by itching, burning, soreness, pain during intercourse and/or urination, and vaginal discharge that is typically cheesy white in color. The diagnosis is confirmed through identification of the yeast under a microscope from a specimen scraped from the vaginal area. A vaginal yeast infection is treated with topical medications applied in and around the…

The vaginal opening is called the vestibule of the vagina. In medicine, a vestibule is a space or cavity at the entrance to a canal, channel, tube, vessel. In ancient Rome, the “vestibulum” was an entrance or enclosed porch leading into the house.

The exterior opening to the vagina, the muscular canal that extends from the cervix to the outside of the female body. Also called vaginal introitus and vaginal vestibule.

A thin membrane which completely or partially occludes the vaginal opening. This fold of mucous membrane is usually present at birth at the orifice of the vagina. It is also called the hymen, a Greek word meaning “skin” or “membrane.” The ancient Greeks applied the word “hymen” to all kinds of membranes including, for example, the membrane that surrounds the…

The vaginal opening is called the introitus of the vagina. The Latin word “introitus” comes from “intro”, into, within + “ire”, to go = to go into. In anatomy, an introitus is thus an entrance, one that goes into a canal or hollow organ such as the vagina.

Removal of the uterus through a surgical incision made within the vagina. With a vaginal hysterectomy, the scar is not outwardly visible. A vaginal hysterectomy is as opposed to an abdominal hysterectomy in which the incision is made in the abdominal wall.