Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.

A stasis ulcer is an ulcer (a crater) that develops in an area in which the circulation is sluggish and the venous return (the return of venous blood toward the heart) is poor. A common location for stasis ulcers is on the ankle. Stasis refers to a stoppage or slowdown in the flow of blood (or other body fluid such as lymph).…

A stoppage or slowdown in the flow of blood or other body fluid, such as lymph. For example, a stasis ulcer is an ulcer that develops in an area in which the circulation is sluggish and the venous return (the return of venous blood toward the heart) is poor. A common location for stasis ulcers is the ankle.

A group of bacteria that cause a multitude of diseases. Under a microscope, staphylococcus bacteria are round and bunched together. They can cause illness directly by infection or indirectly through products they make, such as the toxins responsible for food poisoning and toxic shock syndrome. The best-known member of the staphylococcus family is Staphylococcus aureus. A drug resistant form of Staphylococcus aureus…

Infection with one of the Staphylococcal bacteria. Staph infection can cause pus-filled abscesses on the skin or internal organs, and can migrate through the blood to infect the heart, brain, and other areas. Treatment is with antibiotics and drainage of abscesses as needed. A particularly dangerous form of this infection is methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, commonly referred to as MRSA.

A stirrup-shaped bone in the middle ear. The stapes transmits sound vibrations from the incus, another little bone in the middle ear, to the oval window adjacent to the inner ear. The stapes is the smallest bone in the body. Pronounced stay-peas. Stapes, a Late Latin word meaning stirrup, cannot have been a classical Latin term because the Romans…

1. A diagnostic and treatment process that a clinician should follow for a certain type of patient, illness, or clinical circumstance. Adjuvant chemotherapy for lung cancer is “a new standard of care, but not necessarily the only standard of care.” (New England Journal of Medicine, 2004) 2. In legal terms, the level at which the average, prudent provider in a given…

One of several conditions characterized by intense inflammation of the skin, such as from erysipelas or ergotism. Erysipelas is a type of spreading hot, bright-red strep skin infection. Ergotism is an intensely painful burning sensation in the limbs and extremities caused by ergotamines from a fungus (Claviceps purpurea) that can contaminate rye and wheat. The fungus produces…

Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor, one of a family of antidepressant medications (brand names: Celexa, Luvox, Paxil, Prozac, Zoloft) that affect the neurotransmitter serotonin.

Flat cells that look like fish scales that line many body organs. The word “squamous” came from the Latin squama meaning “the scale of a fish or serpent.” Squamous cells make up most of the cells in the outer layer of the skin (the epidermis), the passages of the respiratory and digestive tracts, and the linings of the hollow…

This condition results from an immune (allergic) reaction to gluten, a protein found in wheat and related grains and present in many foods that we eat. Sprue causes impaired absorption and digestion of nutrients through the small intestine. Symptoms include frequent diarrhea and weight loss. A skin condition called dermatitis herpetiformis can be associated with celiac sprue. The…