Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.

The clearness of hearing, a measure of how well a person hears.

This test measures how well you see at various distances. It is the familiar eye chart test. The eye chart itself — the usual one is called Snellen’s chart — is imprinted with block letters that line-by-line decrease in size, corresponding to the distance at which that line of letters is normally visible. The letters on…

A combining form indicating a relationship to a needle. As in acupuncture. From the Latin acus meaning needle.

A measure of the physiological response a drug produces in the body. A less active drug produces less response (and visa versa).

The things we normally do in daily living including any daily activity we perform for self-care such as feeding ourselves, bathing, dressing, grooming, work, homemaking, and leisure. The ability or inability to perform ADLs can be used as a very practical measure of ability/disability in many disorders.

The presence of Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection with a positive chest X-ray. Treatment of active tuberculosis is mandatory by law in the US. A highly contagious infection caused by the bacterium called Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Abbreviated TB. Tubercles (tiny lumps) are a characteristic finding in TB. Diagnosis may be made by skin test, which if positive should will be followed by a chest X-ray to…

Immunity produced by the body in response to stimulation by a disease-causing organism or other agent.

The active acceleration of a “good” death by use of drugs etc, whether by oneself or with the aid of a doctor. The word “euthanasia” comes from the Greek — “eu” meaning “goodly or well” + “thanatos” meaning “death.” So, euthanasia is literally the “good death.” In 18th-century England, that was what euthanasia meant, a “good” death,…

A receptor expressed on T cells which is involved in the adhesion of cells. ALCAM stands for activated leukocyte cell adhesion molecule. The gene encoding ALCAM is on chromosome 3 in region 3q13.1-q13.2. The ALCAM gene has been reported to be less active in breast tumors with a poor prognosis.

Charcoal that has been heated to increase its ability to absorb molecules. Activated charcoal is used to help relieve intestinal gas. It is also used to filter and purify liquids, to absorb poisons (as in gas mask filters), and in emergency situations to neutralize swallowed poisons.