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Wilson's disease is a rare inherited disorder that causes too much copper to accumulate in your liver, brain and other vital organs. Symptoms typically begin between the ages of 12 and 23. Copper plays a key role in the development of healthy nerves, bones, collagen and the skin pigment melanin. Normally, copper is absorbed from your food, and any excess is excreted through bile — a substance produced in your liver.
Very small currents can be imperceptible. Larger current passing through the body may make it impossible for a shock victim to let go of an energized object. Still larger currents can cause fibrillation of the heart and damage to tissues. Death caused by an electric shock is called electrocution.
Gallstone ileus is an important, though infrequent, cause of mechanical bowel obstruction, affecting older adult patients who often have other significant medical conditions. It is caused by impaction of a gallstone in the ileum after being passed through a biliary-enteric fistula. The diagnosis is often delayed since symptoms may be intermittent and investigations fail to identify the cause of the obstruction. The mainstay of treatment is removal of the obstructing stone after resuscitating the patient. Gallstone ileus continues to be associated with relatively high rates of morbidity and mortality.
Peritoneal dialysis (per-ih-toe-NEE-ul die-AL-uh-sis) is a way to remove waste products from your blood when your kidneys can no longer do the job adequately. A cleansing fluid flows through a tube (catheter) into part of your abdomen and filters waste products from your blood. After a prescribed period of time, the fluid with filtered waste products flows out of your abdomen and is discarded. Peritoneal dialysis differs from hemodialysis, a more commonly used blood-filtering procedure. With peritoneal dialysis, you can give yourself treatments at home, at work or while traveling. Peritoneal dialysis isn't an option for everyone wit