Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.

The more (or most) distant of two (or more) things. For example, the distal end of the femur (the thigh bone) is the end down by the knee; the end more distant from the torso. The distal bile duct is the far end of the cystic duct, the end away from the gallbladder. And the distal lymph node in a chain…

The process of cutting apart or separating tissue as, for example, in the study of anatomy or in the course of a surgical procedure.

To cut apart or separate tissue, as for anatomical study or in surgery. Also, an artery is said to dissect when its wall is torn, as in a dissecting aneurysm.

A failure to be able to “think straight.” Thoughts may come and go rapidly. The person may not be able to concentrate on one thought for very long and may be easily distracted, unable to focus attention. The person may be unable to connect thoughts into logical sequences, with thoughts becoming disorganized and fragmented. This…

An illness that stays “below the surface” of clinical detection. A subclinical disease has no or minimally recognizable clinical findings. It is distinct from a clinical disease, which has signs and symptoms that can be more easily recognized. Many diseases, including diabetes, hypothyroidism, rheumatoid arthritis, infections or cancers can be subclinical before surfacing as clinical diseases.

A condition involving inflammation and sometimes tearing of ligaments within the knee and lower leg. Treatment is by rest, casting if necessary, and sometimes surgery. Osgood-Schlatter disease is caused by repetitive stress or tension on a part of the growth area of the upper tibia (the apophysis). It is characterized by inflammation of the patellar tendon and surrounding soft tissues…

The ongoing systematic collection and analysis of data and the provision of information which leads to action being taken to prevent and control a disease, usually one of an infectious nature.

A system of classifying and naming diseases. The contemporary categories and codes for diseases are outlined in the World Health Organization’s “International Classification of Diseases.” Within some medical fields, there are standard nomenclatures. For example, DSM-IV, the 4th edition of “Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders” is a comprehensive classification of officially recognized psychiatric disorders. There…

Illness or sickness characterized by specific signs and symptoms.

A pair of long-term sexual partners in which one has a sexually transmitted infection and the other does not. The CDC has guidelines for counseling discordant couples in which the woman is HIV-infected and her husband is HIV-uninfected.