Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.

The condition in which the lungs cannot take in sufficient oxygen or expell sufficient carbon dioxide to meet the needs of the cells of the body. Also called pulmonary insufficiency.

Formerly known as hyaline membrane disease, a syndrome of respiratory difficulty in newborn infants caused by a deficiency of a molecule called surfactant. RDS almost always occurs in newborns born before 37 weeks of gestation. The more premature the baby is, the greater is the chance of developing RDS. RDS is more likely to occur in newborns of…

Respiratory depression: another term for hypoventilation, meaning that ventilation of the lungs is inadequate to perform needed gas exchange. Sometimes a respiratory rate of fewer than 12 breaths per minute is used as a definition of respiratory depression. Hypoventilation leads to an increased concentration of carbon dioxide in the blood (hypercapnia) and respiratory acidosis (a decrease in blood pH). Respiratory depression can result from a number of different disease processes.…

Having to do with respiration.

The act of inhaling and exhaling air in order to exchange oxygen for carbon dioxide.

The process of losing substance. For example, when bone is surgically reshaped, it undergoes both new formation and resorption.

Opposition to something, or the ability to withstand something. For example, some forms of the staphylococcus bacterium are resistant to treatment with antibiotics.

Something left behind. With residual disease, the disease has not been eradicated.

In medicine, a physician who has finished medical school and is receiving training in a specialized area, such as surgery, internal medicine, pathology, or radiology. Board certification in all medical and surgical specialties requires the satisfactory completion of a residency program and successful completion of a specialty board examination.

Any person, animal, plant, soil or substance in which an infectious agent normally lives and multiplies. The reservoir typically harbors the infectious agent without injury to itself and serves as a source from which other individuals can be infected. The infectious agent primarily depends on the reservoir for its survival. It is from the reservoir that the…