Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.

Pertaining to the nails. Examples of medical terms involving “onycho-” include onychodystrophy (abnormal growth and development of the nails), onychomycosis (fungal infection of the nails), onychogryposis (abnormally curved nails) and onychoosteodysplasia (malformation of bones and nails).

In medicine, the first appearance of the signs or symptoms of an illness as, for example, the onset of rheumatoid arthritis.

A hallucinatory (dream-like) state that is caused by such conditions as prolonged sleep deprivation, sensory isolation, and drug use.

Failure from birth of central nervous system control over breathing while asleep. There are usually no breathing problems while awake. The involuntary (autonomic) control of respiration is impaired, but the voluntary control of ventilation which operates during waking hours is generally intact. There can, in addition, be problems with the motility of the esophagus and the colon. Reduced esophageal motility causes food to move too slowly down to…

The field of medicine that is devoted to cancer. Clinical oncology consists of three primary disciplines: medical oncology (the treatment of cancer with medicine, including chemotherapy), surgical oncology (the surgical aspects of cancer including biopsy, staging, and surgical resection of tumors), and radiation oncology (the treatment of cancer with therapeutic radiation).

A physician who specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of cancer. After a cancer diagnosis is made, it is the oncologist?s role to explain the cancer diagnosis and the meaning of the disease stage to the patient; discuss various treatment options; recommend the best course of treatment; deliver optimal care; and improve quality of life both through curative…

In medicine, the person who is ready to respond, the one on duty. As in “Who is the doctor on call this weekend?” or “This is the on call schedule.”

The subagency of the United Nations (UN) that is concerned with international health. Abbreviated WHO. Also known as Organisation Mondiale de la Sant’ (OMS).

Abbreviation for the Organisation Mondiale de la Sante, the French name for the World Health Organization (WHO).

A sheet of fat that is covered by peritoneum. The greater omentum is attached to the bottom edge of the stomach and hangs down in front of the intestines. Its other edge is attached to the transverse colon. The lesser omentum is attached to the top edge of the stomach and extends to the undersurface of the liver.