Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.

Relating to the back or posterior of a structure. As opposed to the ventral, or front, of the structure. Some of the dorsal surfaces of the body are the back, buttocks, calves, and the knuckle side of the hand.

An abnormal and persistent fear of fur. Sufferers of this fear avoid fur-bearing animals such as dogs, cats, foxes, beavers and rabbits because fur is repulsive to them. Perhaps some of these phobics associate fur with childhood stories about “the big bad wolf” and other fur-bearing predators. Their fear is not always unfounded, for many furry animals —…

A form of ultrasound that can detect and measure blood flow. Doppler ultrasound depends on the Doppler effect, a change in the frequency of a wave resulting here from the motion of a reflector, the red blood cell. There are several kinds of Doppler ultrasound: Color Doppler depicts blood flow in a region and is used as…

An important neurotransmitter (messenger) in the brain. Dopamine is classified as a catecholamine (a class of molecules that serve as neurotransmitters and hormones). It is a monoamine (a compound containing nitrogen formed from ammonia by replacement of one or more of the hydrogen atoms by hydrocarbon radicals). Dopamine is a precursor (forerunner) of adrenaline and a closely related molecule, noradrenaline. Dopamine is formed by the decarboxylation…

A condition that typically begins in childhood or adolescence with progressive difficulty in walking and, in some cases, spasticity and can be successfully treated with drugs. Segawa dystonia is an important variant of dopa-responsive dystonia. In Segawa dystonia, the symptoms fluctuate during the day from relative mobility in the morning to increasing disability in the afternoon and evening and after exercise. Dopa-responsive…

A genetic trait is considered dominant if it is expressed in a person who has only one copy of that gene. (In genetic terms, a dominant trait is one that is phenotypically expressed in heterozygotes). A dominant trait is opposed to a recessive trait which is expressed only when two copies of the gene are present. (In genetic terms,…

In biomedicine, a discrete portion of a protein that has its own function. The combination of domains in a single protein determines the overall function of the protein.

Pain, one of the four classic signs of inflammation together with calor, rubor, and tumor (heat, redness, and swelling, respectively).

A unit of measurement of pain. The term dol was invented by James Hardy and his research colleagues Herbert Wolff and Helen Goodell at Cornell University where from 1950 to 1959, they carried out pioneering experiments on pain. Hasrdy, Wolff and Goodell used precisely calibrated radiant heat directed to the foreheads or hands of trained experimental subjects.…

A bite wound inflicted by a dog. Approximately 880,000 dog bite victims seek emergency medical care at hospitals in the U.S. every year. The pressure exerted by the dog’s jaws during the bite can cause significant damage to the tissues under the skin, including bones, muscles, tendons, blood vessels, and nerves. The main medical issues to be…