Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.

Redness of the skin as a result of dilated capillaries, typically over the cheeks or neck. Blushing is an involuntary response of the nervous system that leads to widening of the capillaries in the involved skin. A blush is temporary, and it may be brought on by excitement, exercise, fever, or embarrassment. Also known as flush.

Lack of sharpness of vision with, as a result, the inability to see fine detail. Blurred vision can occur when a person who wears corrective lens is without them. Blurred vision can also be an important clue to eye disease.

A severe reduction in emotional expressiveness. People with depression and schizophrenia often show flat affect. A person with schizophrenia may not show the signs of normal emotion, perhaps may speak in a monotonous voice, have diminished facial expressions, and appear extremely apathetic. Also known as blunted affect.

(Caulophyllum thalictroides). A tall North American perennial plant with large blue berries. Blue cohosh is sold as an herbal dietary supplement that can induce labor. Blue cohosh contains the glycosides caulosaponin and caulophyllosaponin, which cause uterine contraction and constriction of the coronary arteries in experimental animals. There is considerable concern about the medical safety of blue…

A bluish coloration of the whites of the eyes. The blue color is caused by thinness and transparency of the collagen fibers of the sclera, allowing the veins in the underlying tissue to show through. Blue sclerae are characteristic of a number of conditions, particularly connective tissue disorders. These include osteogenesis imperfecta, Marfan’s syndrome, Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, pseudoxanthoma elasticum,…

(Caulophyllum thalictroides). A tall North American perennial plant with large blue berries. Blue cohosh is sold as an herbal dietary supplement that can induce labor. Blue cohosh contains the glycosides caulosaponin and caulophyllosaponin, which cause uterine contraction and constriction of the coronary arteries in experimental animals. There is considerable concern about the medical safety of blue…

A surgical procedure for a baby who is cyanotic (blue) due to a heart malformation that prevents blood from being fully oxygenated. The bluish color reflects the deoxygenated state of the blood. The surgery is designed to palliate or ideally correct the heart defect and relieve the cyanosis. The term originated with a pioneering heart operation named after…

A baby who is cyanotic (blue), due usually to a heart malformation that prevents the baby’s blood from being fully oxygenated. The bluish color reflects the deoxygenated state of the blood. (Oxygenated blood is red.) Sometimes the term “blue baby” is also applied to a child who is cyanotic due to failure by the lungs to oxygenate the blood.