Bone is not a static part of the body — it's constantly being resorbed (broken down) and formed throughout your life. Your entire skeleton is replaced about every decade, according to the NIH. During your childhood and teenage years, bone formation occurs more quickly than bone resorption, resulting in growth. You reach your maximum bone density and strength around age 30, after which bone resorption slowly overtakes bone formation. Osteoporosis develops when there's an abnormal imbalance between bone resorption and formation — that is, resorption occurs too quickly, or formation too slowly.

Rehabilitation time for a meniscus repair is about 3 months. A meniscectomy requires less time for healing — approximately 3 to 4 weeks. Meniscus tears are extremely common knee injuries. With proper diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation, patients often return to their pre-injury abilities.

Radiosurgery: Radiosurgery devices, such as the CyberKnife Robotic Radiosurgery System, offer patients a new option for the treatment of lung cancer. The CyberKnife® System is used to treat lung cancer patients who cannot tolerate surgery, have an inoperable tumor, or are seeking an alternative to surgery.

A tracheotomy or a tracheostomy is an opening surgically created through the neck into the trachea (windpipe) to allow direct access to the breathing tube and is commonly done in an operating room under general anesthesia. A tube is usually placed through this opening to provide an airway and to remove secretions from the lungs. Breathing is done through the tracheostomy tube rather than through the nose and mouth. The term “tracheotomy” refers to the incision into the trachea (windpipe) that forms a temporary or permanent opening, which is called a “tracheostomy,” however; the terms are sometimes used interchangeably.

Wound healing is the process by which skin or other body tissue repairs itself after trauma. ... This process is divided into predictable phases: blood clotting (hemostasis), inflammation, tissue growth (proliferation) and tissue remodeling (maturation).

Peristalsis, involuntary movements of the longitudinal and circular muscles, primarily in the digestive tract but occasionally in other hollow tubes of the body, that occur in progressive wavelike contractions. Peristaltic waves occur in the esophagus, stomach, and intestines.

The deep veins play a significant role in propelling blood toward the heart. The one-way valves in deep veins prevent blood from flowing backward, and the muscles surrounding the deep veins compress them, helping force the blood toward the heart, just as squeezing a toothpaste tube ejects toothpaste.

A subdural hematoma is a collection of blood outside the brain. Subdural hematomas are usually caused by severe head injuries. The bleeding and increased pressure on the brain from a subdural hematoma can be life-threatening.

www.diabetes.org > Living With Diabetes > Treatment and Care > Medication > Insulin & Other Injectables Share: Print PageText Size:A A A Listen How Do Insulin Pumps Work? If you have been diagnosed with diabetes, you may feel overwhelmed by all the new information you have learned and will continue to learn about managing your diabetes. You already know your main goal should be to get your blood glucose (sugar) levels under control in order to increase your chances of a complication-free life. Many people know this, but need to know how to achieve good diabetes management, while balancing the day-to-day demands of diabetes with other life demands. An insulin pump can help you manage your diabetes. By using an insulin pump, you can match your insulin to your lifestyle, rather than getting an insulin injection and matching your life to how the insulin is working. When you work closely with your diabetes care team, insulin pumps can help you keep your blood glucose levels within your target ranges. People of all ages with type 1 diabetes use insulin pumps and people with type 2 diabetes have started to use them as well. - See more at: http://www.diabetes.org/living-with-diabetes/treatment-and-care/medication/insulin/how-do-insulin-pumps-work.html?referrer=https://www.google.com/#sthash.XD56v351.dpuf

See the War Inside Your Body

Nose cautery can help prevent nosebleeds. The doctor uses a chemical swab or an electric current to cauterize the inside of the nose. This seals the blood vessels and builds scar tissue to help prevent more bleeding. For this procedure, your doctor made the inside of your nose numb.

An egg cannot be fertilized when there are no sperm in the semen. The testicles continue to produce sperm, but the sperm are reabsorbed by the body. (This also happens to sperm that are not ejaculated after a while, regardless of whether you have had a vasectomy.) Sperm are made in the testicles. They pass through two tubes called the vasa deferentia to other glands and mix with seminal fluids to form semen. Vasectomy blocks each vas deferens and keeps sperm out of the seminal fluid. The sperm are absorbed by the body instead of being ejaculated.

The obstetric examination is distinct from other examinations in that you, the clinician, are trying to assess the health of two individuals – the mother and the fetus – simultaneously. From the initial history, you should be able to judge the health of the pregnancy, any risk factors that need to be addressed, and any concerns from the parents. The history is an opportunity for you to find out how much the parents know about pregnancy, labour and delivery and if they have any preferences to which these events are carried out. A carefully taken history will also direct your attention to specific signs during the examination. As such, it is important that you develop a concise and systematic method of taking the history and carrying out the examination so that you do not miss any important information. This article focuses primarily on the examination. Pregnancy is a sensitive issue, especially for the primigravida’s. Therefore, extra care is needed when you approach a pregnant woman. Always obtain expressed informed consent before examining her and have a chaperone accompany you throughout the examination. A walk-through of what you will be doing is a good way of reassuring the patient and allows the examination to go on smoothly. It is also important to let your patient know that if the examination is too painful, she can stop at any time she wants. Finally, before you begin, you should always wash your hands, especially at an OSCE station.

Physical Assessment of a Child

Rheumatic heart disease (RHD) is the most common acquired heart disease in children in many countries of the world, especially in developing countries. The global burden of disease caused by rheumatic fever currently falls disproportionately on children living in the developing world, especially where poverty is widespread. RHD is a chronic heart condition caused by rheumatic fever that can be prevented and controlled. Rheumatic fever is caused by a preceding group A streptococcal (strep) infection. Treating strep throat with antibiotics can prevent rheumatic fever. Moreover, regular antibiotics (usually monthly injections) can prevent patients with rheumatic fever from contracting further strep infections and causing progression of valve damage. Consequences of rheumatic heart disease Acute rheumatic fever primarily affects the heart, joints and central nervous system. The major importance of acute rheumatic fever is its ability to cause fibrosis of heart valves, leading to crippling valvular heart disease, heart failure and death. The decline of rheumatic fever in developed countries is believed to be the result of improved living conditions and availability of antibiotics for treatment of group A streptococcal infection. Overcrowding, poor housing conditions, undernutrition and lack of access to healthcare play a role in the persistence of this disease in developing countries.

Red blood cells, which form one of the major constituents of blood, are characterized by the absence of nuclei, hence they are unable to undergo cellular division or generate new erythrocytes from old ones. This eventually leads to cell disintegration, which typically occurs 4 months after the fully developed red blood cells have been in circulation within the bloodstream. During the degeneration of the red blood cells, some components of the hemoglobin are excreted from the body while other parts are conserved.

Neonatal resuscitation skills are essential for all health care providers who are involved in the delivery of newborns. The transition from fetus to newborn requires intervention by a skilled individual or team in approximately 10% of all deliveries. This figure is concerning because 81% of all babies in the United States are born in nonteaching, nonaffiliated level I or II hospitals. In such hospitals, the volume of delivery service may not be perceived as sufficient economic justification for the continuous in-hospital presence of personnel with high-risk delivery room experience, as recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG). [1] Perinatal asphyxia and extreme prematurity are the 2 complications of pregnancy that most frequently necessitate complex resuscitation by skilled personnel. However, only 60% of asphyxiated newborns can be predicted ante partum. The remaining newborns are not identified until the time of birth. Additionally, approximately 80% of low-birth-weight infants require resuscitation and stabilization at delivery. Nearly one half of newborn deaths (many of which involve extremely premature infants) occur during the first 24 hours after birth. Many of these early deaths also have a component of asphyxia or respiratory depression as an etiology. For the surviving infants, effective management of asphyxia in the first few minutes of life may influence long-term outcome. Even though prenatal care can identify many potential fetal difficulties ante partum, allowing maternal transfer to the referral center for care, many women who experience preterm labor are not identified prospectively and therefore are not appropriately transferred to a tertiary perinatal center. Consequently, many deliveries of extremely premature infants occur in smaller hospitals. For this reason, all personnel involved in delivery room care of the newborn should be trained adequately in all aspects of neonatal resuscitation. Additionally, equipment that is appropriately sized to resuscitate infants of all gestational ages should be available in all delivering institutions, even if the institution does not care for preterm or intensive care infants. Along with the necessary skills, the practitioner should approach any resuscitation with a good comprehension of transitional physiology and adaptation, as well as an understanding of the infant's response to resuscitation. Resuscitation involves much more than possessing an ordered list of technical skills and having a resuscitation team; it requires excellent assessment skills and a grounded understanding of physiology.

Thoracentesis is a procedure used to obtain a sample of fluid from the space around the lungs. Normally, only a thin layer of fluid is present in the area between the lungs and chest wall. However, some conditions can cause a large amount of fluid to accumulate. This collection of fluid is called a pleural effusion.

Renal artery stenosis is a narrowing of arteries that carry blood to one or both of the kidneys. Most often seen in older people with atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries), renal artery stenosis can worsen over time and often leads to hypertension (high blood pressure) and kidney damage.

Colon polyp facts Colon polyps are growths on the inner lining of the colon and are very common. Colon polyps are important because they may be, or may become malignant (cancerous). They also are important because based on their size, number, and microscopic anatomy (histology); they can predict which patients are more likely to develop more polyps and colon cancer. Changes in the genetic material of cells lining the colon are the cause of polyps. There are different types of colon polyps with differing tendencies to become malignant and abilities to predict the development of more polyps and cancer. It is important to recognize families with members who have familial genetic conditions causing polyps because some of these conditions are associated with a very high incidence of colon cancer, and the cancer can be prevented or discovered early.