Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.

A raised, itchy area of skin that may be a sign of an allergic reaction. It can be rounded or flat-topped but is always elevated above the surrounding skin. It reflects circumscribed dermal edema (local swelling of the skin). The hives are usually well circumscribed but may be coalescent and will blanch with pressure. A single spot…

Acronym for the Human Immunodeficiency Virus, the cause of AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome). HIV has also been called the human lymphotropic virus type III, the lymphadenopathy-associated virus and the lymphadenopathy virus. No matter what name is applied, it is a retrovirus. (A retrovirus has an RNA genome and a reverse transcriptase enzyme. Using the reverse transcriptase, the virus uses its RNA as a…

An account of a patient that puts his or her illness or behavior in context. A social history may include aspects of the patient’s developmental, family, and medical history, as well as relevant information about life events, social class, race, religion, and occupation.

An account of how and when a person met developmental milestones, such as walking and talking. For adults, information on social-emotional development may be included. Used primarily in the diagnosis of developmental disorders.

The study of the form of structures seen under the microscope (light, electron, infrared ). Also called microscopic anatomy, as opposed to gross anatomy which involves structures that can be observed with the naked eye. The word “anatomy” comes from the Greek ana- meaning up or through + tome meaning a cutting. Anatomy was once a “cutting up” because the…

Tissue. As in histocompatible (tissue compatible) and histology (the study of tissues, especially under the microscope).

A type of white blood cell, also called a macrophage, that is created by the bone marrow. They usually stay in place, but when histiocytes are stimulated by infection or inflammation they become active, attacking bacteria and other foreign matter in the body.

A substance that plays a major role in many allergic reactions, dilating blood vessels and making the vessel walls abnormally permeable. Histamine is part of the body’s natural allergic response to substances such as pollens. Antihistamines work by preventing the release of histamine from certain cells (mast cells) thereby blocking the allergic reaction.

This is a parasite (louse-borne) disease that was first recognized in the trenches of World War I and so was called trench fever. It is estimated to have affected more than a million people in Russia and on the war fronts in Europe. Trench fever was again a major problem in the military in World War II…

Histidine.