Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.

In genetics, a statistical estimate of whether two loci (the sites of genes) are likely to lie near each other on a chromosome and are therefore likely to be inherited together as a package. LOD stands for logarithm of the odds (to the base 10). A LOD score of three or more is generally taken to indicate that…

Latin meaning a place of less resistance. A locus minoris resistentiae offers little resistance to microorganisms. For example, a damaged heart valve acts as a locus minoris resistentiae, a place where any bacteria in the bloodstream tend to settle. The concept of a locus minoris resistentiae is an old one but still a valid, useful way of…

Limited to a local region.

The bones, the joints, and the muscles that contract and relax to move the joints and bones.

Movement from one place to another. And the ability to locomote, to get from one place to the next. The locomotive system permits locomotion and consists of bones that are the framework of the skeleton, joints that hold the bones together and make movement possible, and muscles that contract and relax and make for movement. Locomotion is derived from…

The fluid that is discharged from the vagina for a week or so after childbirth. At first the lochia is primarily blood, followed by a more mucousy fluid that contains dried blood, and finally a clear-to-yellow discharge.

Treatment that affects the tumor and the area close to it.

Part of an organ that appears to be separate in some way from the rest. A lobe may be demarcated from the rest of the organ by a fissure (crack), sulcus (groove), connective tissue or simply by its shape. For example, there are the frontal, parietal, temporal, and occipital lobes of the brain. The word “lobe” from the Greek lobos meaning “a small rounded projection” long applied only to the…

Abbreviation for “last menstrual period.” By convention, pregnancies are dated in weeks starting from the first day of a woman’s last menstrual period (LMP). If her menstrual periods are regular and ovulation occurs on day 14 of her cycle, conception takes place about 2 weeks after her LMP. A woman is therefore considered to be 6 weeks pregnant 2…

Left lower quadrant (quarter). For example, the LLQ of the abdomen contains the descending portion of the colon.