Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.

Failure or refusal to comply. In medicine, the term noncompliance is commonly used in regard to a patient who does not take a prescribed medication or follow a prescribed course of treatment. A person who demonstrates noncompliance is said to be noncompliant.

Someone in his or her ninties, that is, between 90 and 99 years of age. 

Cancer of the lung which is not of the small cell carcinoma (oat cell carcinoma) type. The term “non-small cell lung cancer” applies to the various types of bronchogenic carcinomas (those arising from the lining of the bronchi) which include adenocarcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma, and large cell undifferentiated carcinoma. The distinctions between small and non-small cell lung cancer…

NREM (non-rapid eye movement) sleep is dreamless sleep. During NREM, the brain waves on the electroencephalographic (EEG) recording are typically slow and of high voltage, the breathing and heart rate are slow and regular, the blood pressure is low, and the sleeper is relatively still. NREM sleep is divided into 4 stages of increasing depth leading to REM…

A system of names used in a particular discipline, as in medicine and surgery, anatomy and biochemistry, etc. A standard system of nomenclature presupposes the existence of an organized classification of the entities within that field. From the Latin nomenclatura, a listing of names, from nomen, name, + calo, to proclaim. The USSR and other Communist countries used the term…

A small collection of tissue that is palpable (can be felt) at any level of the skin (in the epidermis, dermis, or subcutis) or in another tissue of the body. Nodules characteristically range in size from 1 to 2 cm in diameter.

Literally a knot, a node is a collection of tissue. For example a lymph node, is a collection of lymphoid tissue. A nodule is a small node, a little collection of tissue.

Excessive urinating at night. Nocturia can be normal and more common with aging. Nocturia can also be a sign of an underlying condition, such as diabetes or urinary infection.

Also called nocardiosis, infection with bacteria called Nocardia which tend to strike the lungs, brain and skin, particularly in people with an impaired immune system. The majority (about 80%) of cases of nocardiosis involves lung infection, brain abscess, or disseminated (widespread) disease from Nocardia. The remaining 20% of cases are localized to the skin and cause cellulitis (skin infection). The…

Nuclear magnetic resonance, an imaging technique that does not use radiation, but instead employs large magnetic forces to produce detailed images of body tissues.