Sclerotherapy is a medical procedure used to eliminate varicose veins and veins. Sclerotherapy involves an injection of a solution (generally a salt solution) directly into the vein. The solution irritates the lining of the blood vessel, causing it to collapse and stick together and the blood to clot.

Cobalamin (vitamin B12) deficiency is particularly common in the elderly (>65 years of age), but is often unrecognized because of its subtle clinical manifestations; although they can be potentially serious, particularly from a neuropsychiatric and hematological perspective.

Frostbite is an injury caused by freezing of the skin and underlying tissues. First your skin becomes very cold and red, then numb, hard and pale. Frostbite is most common on the fingers, toes, nose, ears, cheeks and chin. Exposed skin in cold, windy weather is most vulnerable to frostbite. But frostbite can occur on skin covered by gloves or other clothing.

Pyogenic granuloma (lobular capillary hemangioma[1] ) is a relatively common benign vascular lesion of the skin and mucosa whose exact cause is unknown. Also see the Medscape Reference article Oral Pyogenic Granuloma. Pyogenic granulomas are misnamed; they are neither infectious nor granulomatous. The lesion usually occurs in children and young adults as a solitary, glistening red papule or nodule that is prone to bleeding and ulceration. Pyogenic granulomas typically evolve rapidly over a period of a few weeks, most often on the head, neck, extremities, and upper trunk. Pyogenic granuloma often arises in pregnancy (or rarely with oral contraceptive usage), particularly on the gingiva or elsewhere in the oral mucosa, and then is termed the "pregnancy tumor." Other pyogenic granuloma variants that have been well documented include the disseminated, subcutaneous, intravenous, and medication-induced (for example, retinoid, antiretroviral, and oncologic agent) subtypes. Removal of pyogenic granuloma is indicated to alleviate any bleeding, discomfort, cosmetic distress, and diagnostic uncertainty. A number of malignant tumors may clinically mimic pyogenic granuloma, making histopathologic confirmation important if the presentation is atypical. Aside from cutaneous and oral lesions, pyogenic granuloma has been reported throughout the gastrointestinal tract and upper airway, at various ocular locations, the central nervous system, the bladder, and the internal vasculature. This article discusses only cutaneous and oral involvement.

As a curious child, you might remember staring at an older relative's thick stockings at the blue, gnarled veins lying under the skin like bumpy snakes. Known as varicose veins, these blood vessels, which return blood from the legs to the heart, are actually a more superficial system. The real, working venous system for the legs lies deeper, says to Robert A. Weiss, MD, assistant professor of dermatology at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore. This is good news, because it means that if the surface veins begin to clump up and bulge, they can be removed or destroyed without ruining circulation to the leg. The National Institutes of Health estimates that 60% of all men and women suffer from some form of vein disorder. A quarter of varicose vein sufferers are men, although Weiss notes that it is almost always women who seek help for spider veins.

A rotator cuff tear is a common injury, especially in sports like baseball or tennis, or in jobs like painting or cleaning windows. It usually happens over time from normal wear and tear, or if you repeat the same arm motion over and over. But it also can happen suddenly if you fall on your arm or lift something heavy. Your rotator cuff is a group of four muscles and tendons that stabilize your shoulder joint and let you lift and rotate your arms. There are two kinds of rotator cuff tears. A partial tear is when the tendon that protects the top of your shoulder is frayed or damaged. The other is a complete tear. That’s one that goes all the way through the tendon or pulls the tendon off the bone.

A coma is a prolonged state of unconsciousness. During a coma, a person is unresponsive to his or her environment. The person is alive and looks like he or she is sleeping. However, unlike in a deep sleep, the person cannot be awakened by any stimulation, including pain.

The Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) is the most common scoring system used to describe the level of consciousness in a person following a traumatic brain injury. Basically, it is used to help gauge the severity of an acute brain injury.

Simply put, there isn’t enough room for wisdom teeth because our jaws don’t grow to be big enough to have enough space for them to come in. Since there isn’t enough room for them to erupt properly, wisdom teeth tend to come in at an angle or they don’t fully emerge, which causes problems for the rest of the mouth. Third molars (the wisdom teeth) routinely damage the teeth right next door, called second molars. Dentists recommend removing wisdom teeth before they become a problem and to avoid a more complicated surgery. Read more at Ask the Dentist: https://askthedentist.com/wisdom-teeth-removal/

Inner Workings tells the story of the ceaseless pull of the human heart — even as it works against the very stoic realism of the brain.

A simple test of fingernail clippings could replace a blood draw as a way to diagnose and monitor type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), with huge implications for tracking the disease in the developing world. Research on this method by a team of Belgian researchers was reported July 28, 2015, at the 2015 American Association for Clinical Chemistry (AACC) Annual Meeting and Clinical Lab Expo in Atlanta. The team, led by Joris R. Delanghe, MD, PhD, of the Department of Global Chemistry, Microbiology and Immunology at Ghent University, collected nail clippings from 25 people with T2DM and 25 without the disease. The clippings were ground into a powder and tested with an inexpensive FT-IR photometer to measure how much the protein in the nails had bonded with sugar molecules, a process known as glycation. “We found a striking difference in the measurements between the control group and the patients with diabetes,” Delanghe said. In an interview with Evidence-Based Diabetes Management, he said replacing the standard blood test to measure glycated hemoglobin is a huge advantage. In many cultures, he said, “Taking blood is something that cannot be tolerated.” - See more at: http://www.ajmc.com/journals/evidence-based-diabetes-management/2015/september-2015/fingernail-tests-may-offer-cheap-simple-way-to-diagnose-diabetes#sthash.XQxnBcNO.dpuf

A man's age matters. As men get older, the chances of conceiving and having a healthy child decline. Male fertility starts to decline after 40 when sperm quality decreases. This means it takes longer for their partners to conceive and when they do, there's an increased risk of miscarriage.

This operation can be performed as an open or laparoscopic (keyhole procedure). During the operation the sigmoid colon is removed. This involves taking away the blood vessels and lymph nodes to that part of the bowel. The surgeon then re-makes the join (anastomosis) between the remaining left side of the colon and the top of the rectum. The surgeon may use either sutures or special staples to make this join.

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.

This short course reviews the main features of EKG tracings. A method for analyzing EKGs is also presented. This method includes assessment of rhythm, calculating heart rate, observing P-wave forms, measurement of EKG intervals and segments and the evaluation of other relevant waves.

Multiple myeloma is a cancer formed by malignant plasma cells. Normal plasma cells are found in the bone marrow and are an important part of the immune system. The immune system is made up of several types of cells that work together to fight infections and other diseases. Lymphocytes (lymph cells) are the main cell type of the immune system. The major types of lymphocytes are T cells and B cells.

Transvenous cardiac pace maker, also called endocardial pacing, is a potentially life saving intervention used primarily to correct profound bradycardia. It can be used to treat symptomatic bradycardias that do not respond to transcutaneous pacing or to drug therapy.

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Electrical cardioversion is a procedure in which an electric current is used to reset the heart's rhythm back to its regular pattern (normal sinus rhythm). The low-voltage electric current enters the body through metal paddles or patches applied to the chest wall.