Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.

Acute radiation syndrome.

Abnormal rapid heart rhythms (arrhythmias) that originate in the lower chambers of the heart (the ventricles). Ventricular arrhythmias include ventricular tachycardia and ventricular fibrillation. Both are life threatening arrhythmias most commonly associated with heart attacks or scarring of the heart muscle from previous heart attack.

Abnormally slow heart rhythms, medically termed bradycardia.

Abnormally rapid heart rhythms, medically termed tachycardia.

Abnormal heart rhythm due to electrical disturbances in the atria (the upper chambers of the heart) or the AV node “relay station”, leading to fast heart beats. Examples of atrial arrhythmias includes atrial fibrillation, atrial flutter, and paroxysmal atrial tachycardia (PAT).

The normal increase in heart rate that occurs during inspiration (when you breathe in). This is a natural response and is more accentuated in children than adults. The “sinus” refers to the natural pacemaker of the heart which is called the sinoatrial (or sinus) node. It is located in the wall of the right atrium (the right upper chamber of the…

An abnormal heart rhythm. In an arrhythmia the heartbeats may be too slow, too rapid, too irregular, or too early. Rapid arrhythmias (greater than 100 beats per minute) are called tachycardias. Slow arrhythmias (slower than 60 beats per minute) are called bradycardias. Irregular heart rhythms are called fibrillations (as in atrial fibrillation and ventricular fibrillation). When a single heartbeat occurs…

Tiny muscles that act as the hair erector muscles. The arrectores pilorum play a key role in goose bumps, a temporary local change in the skin The chain of events leading to this skin change starts with a stimulus such as cold or fear. That stimulus causes a nerve discharge from the sympathetic nervous system, a portion of the…

A microscopic band of muscle tissue which connects a hair follicle to the dermis. When stimulated, the arrector pili will contract and cause the hair to become more perpendicular to the skin surface (stand on end).

In genetics, an arrayed library consists of (in technical terms) individual primary recombinant clones which are hosted in phage, cosmid, YAC, or another vector that have been placed in two- dimensional arrays in microtiter dishes (plastic dishes with an orderly array of tiny wells). Each primary clone can be identified by the identity of the plate…