Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.

The branch of medicine that employs operations in the treatment of disease or injury. Surgery can involve cutting, abrading, suturing, or otherwise physically changing body tissues and organs.

A fluid secreted by the cells of the alveoli (the tiny air sacs in the lungs) that serves to reduce the surface tension of pulmonary fluids; surfactant contributes to the elastic properties of pulmonary tissue, preventing the alveoli from collapsing.

Abbreviated SVT. A regular, abnormally fast heart beat (tachycardia) caused by rapid firing of electrical impulses from a focus above the atrioventricular node (A-V node) in the heart. Called supraventricular because the tachycardia originates above the ventricles of the heart.

Treatment given to prevent, control, or relieve complications and side effects and to improve the patient’s comfort and quality of life.

This refers to having the back or dorsal surface downward. A person who is in a supine position is lying face up as opposed to prone.

Rotation of the arm or leg outward. In the case of supination of the arm, the palm of the hand faces forward.

In antomy, above or over top of. As opposed to inferior. The heart is superior to the stomach. The superior surface of the tongue rests against the palate.

A non-medical term popularized in the media to refer to foods that can have health-promoting properties such as reducing one’s risk of disease or improving any aspect of physical or emotional health. So-called superfoods may have an unusually high content of antioxidants, vitamins, or other nutrients. Examples of health promoting foods that have been referred to as…

In anatomy, on the surface or shallow. As opposed to deep. The skin is superficial to the muscles. The cornea is on the superficial surface of the eye.

An informal term for a bacterium that has become resistant to antibiotics that usually are used to treat it, such as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) or any multidrug-resistant bacterium. The following types of bacteria have all been described antibiotic-resistant threats to patients in healthcare settings or have been referred to in the media as “superbugs”: