Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.

Flat cells that look like fish scales that line many body organs. The word “squamous” came from the Latin squama meaning “the scale of a fish or serpent.” Squamous cells make up most of the cells in the outer layer of the skin (the epidermis), the passages of the respiratory and digestive tracts, and the linings of the hollow…

This condition results from an immune (allergic) reaction to gluten, a protein found in wheat and related grains and present in many foods that we eat. Sprue causes impaired absorption and digestion of nutrients through the small intestine. Symptoms include frequent diarrhea and weight loss. A skin condition called dermatitis herpetiformis can be associated with celiac sprue. The…

Also known as “floaters”, blurry spots that drift in front of the eyes but do not block vision. The blur is the result of debris from the vitreous casting a shadow on the retina. The spot is the image formed by a deposit of protein drifting about in the vitreous, the clear jelly-like substance that fills the middle…

An infection caused by the fungus Sporothrix schenckii, typically involving the skin. Persons handling thorny plants, sphagnum moss, or baled hay are at increased risk of developing sporotrichosis. The first sign is usually a small painless bump resembling an insect bite. The bump can be red, pink, or purple in color, and it usually appears on the finger,…

Occurring upon occasion or in a scattered, isolated, or seemingly random way.

A miscarriage, that is, any pregnancy that is not viable (the fetus cannot survive) or in which the fetus is born before the 20th week of pregnancy. Spontaneous abortion occurs in at least 15-20% of all recognized pregnancies and usually takes place before the 13th week of pregnancy. A spontaneous abortion is as opposed to an induced abortion. In a spontaneous abortion,…

Inflammation of one or more of the vertebrae of the spine. Diffuse inflammation of the spine is seen, for example, in the disease ankylosing spondylitis. Localized spondylitis is seen with infections of a certain area of the spine, such as in Pott’s disease (tuberculosis of the spine).

Multiple personality disorder, a neurosis in which the personality becomes dissociated into two or more distinct parts each of which becomes dominant and controls behavior from time to time to the exclusion of the other parts. A modern name for this condition is dissociative identity disorder.

Abnormal enlargement of the spleen. Splenomegaly is a sign of an underlying condition, such as severe liver disease, leukemia, or mononucleosis. Patients with splenomegaly should avoid activities that risk trauma to the abdomen, including contact sports, because of risk of bleeding from the injured spleen.

An organ that is located in the upper-left part of the abdomen, not far from the stomach, that produces lymphocytes, which are important elements in the immune system. The spleen is the largest lymphatic organ in the body. The spleen also filters blood, serves as a major reservoir for blood, and destroys blood cells that are aged (or abnormal, as…