Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.

An abnormally large jaw. Macrognathia can be associated with pituitary gigantism, tumors, and other disorders. Macrognathia can often be corrected with surgery. Also known as prognathic mandible.

A condition in which the external sex organs are prematurely or abnormally enlarged. Macrogenitosomia is associated with hormonal disorders that may also create changes in the internal sex organs.

Literally, referring to any abnormally large cell; in practice, referring to an abnormally large red blood cell. For example, macrocytic anemia is characterized by abnormally large red blood cells. The opposite of macrocytic is microcytic.

An abnormally large head. The opposite of macrocephaly is microcephaly. Macrocephaly can be a normal variant or be a sign of pressure within the growing head during childhood, such as from hydrocephalus.

Referring to the macrobiota, a region’s living organisms that are large enough to be seen with the naked eye.

A disease of the large blood vessels in which fat and blood clots build up and stick to the vessel walls, blocking the flow of blood. Types of macroangiopathy include coronary artery disease (macroangiopathy in the heart), cerebrovascular disease (macroangiopathy in the brain), and peripheral vascular disease (macroangiopathy that affects, for example, vessels in the legs).

Prefix from the Greek “makros” meaning large or long. Examples of terms involving macro- include macrobiotic, macrocephaly, macrocytic, macroglossia, macrophage, macroscopic, and macrosomia. The opposite of macro- is micro-.

Machupo virus: a virus of the Arenaviridae family of viruses that was discovered in 1963 as the cause of an outbreak of hemorrhagic fever in Bolivia. Symptoms of Bolivian hemorrhagic fever include pain, high fever, and bleeding from multiple body sites. The illness can be rapidly fatal. Since discovery of the Machupo virus in the 1960s there have been isolated outbreaks of the illness…

A machine used to help rehabilitate a limb (an arm or leg). The continuous passive motion (CPM) machine is attached to, for example, a knee that has had surgery. The CPM machine then constantly moves the knee through a range of motion for a period of time while the patient relaxes.

A sign to detect hydrocephalus and brain abscess. Percussion (tapping) on the skull at a particular spot (near the junction of the frontal, temporal and parietal bones) yields an unusually resonant sound in the presence of hydrocephalus or a brain abscess. Named for Sir William Macewen (1848-1924), a surgeon in Glascow, Scotland who also described Macewen’s operation for inguinal hernia.