Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.

A group of gram-positive bacteria (order Actinomycetales) that produce various bioactive agents including antibiotics, enzymes, and vitamins. Streptomyces belong to this bacterial order.

This is a benign change in the skin caused by sun damage to the deeper layer of skin known as the dermis. It appears as patchy purplish blotches (bruises) on the skin. It is most common in elderly people after a minor trauma to the skin. Actinic purpura usually occurs on the forearms or backs of the…

Rough, scaly patches of skin that are considered precancerous and are due to sun exposure. Prevention is to cut sun exposure and wear sunscreen. Treatments include performing cryosurgery (freezing with liquid nitrogen), cutting the keratoses away, burning them, putting 5-fluorouracil on them, and using photodynamic therapy (injecting into the bloodstream a chemical that collects in actinic keratoses and makes them more sensitive to destruction…

Referring to the ultraviolet (UV) rays from sunlight and UV lamps. Sunburn is an actinic burn. An actinic keratosis is a skin lesion that is the consequence of chronic sun exposure.

The American College of Surgeons was formed in 1913 under the aegis of Dr. John Miller Turpin Finney “to elevate the standard of surgery, to establish a standard of competency and of character for practitioners of surgery, and to educate the public and the profession to understand that the practice of surgery calls for special…

A “nationwide community-based voluntary health organization dedicated to eliminating cancer as a major health problem by preventing cancer, saving lives and diminishing suffering from cancer through research, education, advocacy, and service.” The American Cancer Society is one of the oldest and largest voluntary health agencies in the United States. It is the largest source of private, nonprofit cancer…

A chemical created in foods when starches and other carbohydrates are overheated (over 120°C or 250°F) during cooking. There is concern that acrylamide may be a carcinogen (cause cancer). Acrylamide is used in papermaking, ore processing, permanent-press fabrics, and dye manufacture. Acrylamide is also polymerized to form polyacrylamides which are used as water-soluble stabilizers, for example,…

An abnormally excessive and persistent fear of heights. Sufferers experience severe anxiety even though they usually realize that, as a rule, heights pose no real threat to them. Derived from the Greek “acron”, height + “phobos”, fear.

The projection of the scapula (the shoulder blade) that forms the point of the shoulder. The acromion is part of the scapula. It protrudes laterally (away from the midline) and is triangular in shape. The top of the shoulder is acromial. The word “acromion” comes from the Greek “akron”, peak + “omos”, shoulder = the…

A gliding joint located between the acromion (a projection of the scapula that forms the point of the shoulder) and the clavicle (the collar bone). It is served and supported by the capsular, superior, and inferior acromioclavicular ligaments; the articular disk; and the coracoclavicular (trapezoid and conoid) ligaments. Abbreviated AC joint.