Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.

The body’s rest cycle. Sleep is triggered by a complex group of hormones that are active in the main, and that respond to cues from the body itself and the environment. About 80 percent of sleep is dreamless, and is known as non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep. During NREM sleep, the breathing and heart rate are slow…

SLE (systemic lupus erythematosus) is a chronic inflammatory condition caused by an autoimmune disease. An autoimmune disease occurs when the body’s tissues are attacked by its own immune system. Patients with lupus have unusual antibodies in their blood that are targeted against their own body tissues. Lupus can cause disease of the skin, heart, lungs, kidneys, joints, and nervous system. When only the…

An ear that is slanted more than usual. Technically, an ear is slanted when the angle of the slope of the auricle is more than 15 degrees from the perpendicular. Considered a minor anomaly. The presence of 2 or more minor anomalies in a child increases the probability that the child has a major malformation.

The skull is a collection of bones which encase the brain and give form to the head and face. The bones of the skull include the following: the frontal, parietal, occipital, temporal, sphenoid, ethmoid, zygomatic, maxilla, nasal, vomer, palatine, inferior concha, and mandible. The early English word “skulle” came from the Nordic words “skal” and “skul” meaning a bowl. It is also…

A graft technique in which a piece of skin from a nearby area remains attached at one of its corners, while the main part of the piece is reattached over the area that needs to be covered.

Skin erosion is a loss of some or all of the epidermis (the outer layer) leaving a denuded surface. Erosion is an eating away of a surface. The word “erosion” comes from the Latin “erodere” meaning to eat out.

The color of skin which is complexly determined. Skin color depends on many factors including reddening caused by inflammation, the hemoglobin level in the blood, and the darkening caused by increased deposition of the pigment melanin. Melanin itself is a polymer that comes in two types — a red-yellow form known as pheomelanin and a black-brown form known…

The body’s outer covering, which protects against heat and light, injury, and infection. Skin regulates body temperature and stores water, fat, and vitamin D. The skin, which weighs about 6 pounds, is the body’s largest organ. It is made up of two main layers: the epidermis and the dermis. The outer layer of the skin (epidermis) is mostly…

The human body has 206 bones. These consist of 80 axial (head and trunk) bones and 126 appendicular (upper and lower extremity) bones. Axial bones: The 80 axial bones comprise 29 bones in the head and 51 bones in the trunk. Head bones: The 29 head bones consist of 8 cranial bones, 14 facial bones, the hyoid bone,…

Along with smooth and cardiac muscle, one of the types of muscle tissue in the body. Skeletal muscle represents the majority of muscle tissue. It is the type of muscle that powers movement of the skeleton, as in walking and lifting.