Sperm Meets Egg: Weeks 1 to 3 of Pregnancy. Something magical is about to happen! Watch as the ovulation process occurs, and then millions of sperm swim upstream on a quest to fertilize an egg. ... The egg travels down the fallopian tube, pushed by tiny hairs and awaits the arrival or sperm.

Lumbar puncture is a common emergency department procedure used to obtain information about the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) for diagnostic and, less commonly, therapeutic reasons. Please refer to the full article on Lumbar Puncture for more details on the lumbar puncture procedure. Lumbar puncture is typically performed via “blind” surface landmark guidance. The surface landmark technique is reported to be successful in a high percentage of attempted lumbar punctures; however, surface landmark identification of underlying structures has been shown to be accurate only 30% of the time. [1] Unsuccessful identification of proper landmarks often leads to increased difficulty in obtaining CSF, if the procedure is performed, and a higher rate of complications. Few alternatives are available in these cases. If available, fluoroscopic-guided lumbar puncture may be performed. If not, treatment is sometimes initiated empirically without obtaining CSF. Disadvantages of using fluoroscopy include limited availability or necessary transport of the patient outside of the emergency department, inability to directly visualize the spinal canal, and inherent radiation exposure

Tension pneumothorax describes the progressive accumulation of air in the pleural cavity (normally a potential space) through a defect in the visceral pleura. This leads to positive pressure being maintained and increasing throughout the respiratory cycle causing vessels within the mediastinum to be compressed with catastrophic consequences if left untreated. Clinical signs include hypoxia, hypotension, tachycardia, reduced breath sounds and hyper resonance ipsilaterally, with tracheal deviation (away from the affected side) and distended neck veins being late clinical signs.

Take your left leg and place your ankle against the knee. Hold the position for a moment before changing legs. This helps stretch the tiny piriformis muscle, which sometimes becomes inflamed and presses against the sciatic nerve causing pain. Repeat by switching sides and doing the same exercise with the other leg.

White stretch marks are unsightly marks that are found along the thighs, abdomen and upper arms. These are marks that could be due to a recent weight loss, trauma or pregnancy. Stretch marks can affect your confidence if you wear revealing outfits and so you should do all you can to remove them.

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.

Chronic angina is a prevalent manifestation of cardiovascular disease and is most commonly due to insufficient oxygen supply from fixed epicardial lesions in the coronary arteries.

During endoscopic carpal tunnel release surgery , the transverse carpal ligament is cut. This releases pressure on the median nerve, relieving carpal tunnel syndrome symptoms. The small incisions in the palm are closed with stitches. The gap where the ligament was cut will eventually fill with scar tissue.

Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are infections of the urethra, bladder, ureters, or the kidneys, which comprise the urinary tract. E. coli bacteria cause the majority of UTIs, but many other bacteria, fungi, and parasites may also cause UTIs. Females have a higher risk for UTIs than most males, probably because of their anatomy; other risk factors for UTIs include any condition that may impede urine flow (e.g., enlarged prostate, kidney stones, congenital urinary tract abnormalities, and inflammation). Patients with catheters or those who undergo urinary surgery and men with enlarged prostates are at higher risk for UTIs.

Nerves are the organs that make up the peripheral nervous system (PNS). They serve as information pipelines that allow the brain and spinal cord to communicate with other tissues and organs. Inside the nerves are the axon processes of sensory and motor neurons (nerve cells).

Cardioversion takes minutes. The patient is sedated (for a few minutes) and then a shock is delivered. The heart nearly always goes back to regular sinus rhythm. ... Patients without prior ablation or heart surgery rarely develop non-right atrial flutter.

Dehydration can also be a cause of kidney stones. A common symptom is having a lower left abdominal pain, fever, nausea, groin pain and vomiting. Lower left abdominal pain can also be caused by an infection of the kidneys. It usually begins with the bladder and then reaches out to the kidneys.

Neurogenic shock is a distributive type of shock resulting in low blood pressure, occasionally with a slowed heart rate, that is attributed to the disruption of the autonomic pathways within the spinal cord. It can occur after damage to the central nervous system such as spinal cord injury.

Papillary fibroelastoma is the third most common primary tumor of the heart and is most likely to involve the cardiac valves. Like myxomas, they arise from the endocardium in most patients and since these tumors are often incidental findings at echocardiography or autopsy, the true incidence is difficult to estimate. Most patients are older than 60 years, which also contrasts with myxomas. Papillary fibroelastomas can embolize, leading to severe neurological complications and therefore, surgical removal is advised, although there is controversy regarding small incidental lesions and the need for surgery.

A modified radical mastectomy is a procedure in which the entire breast is removed, including the skin, areola, nipple, and most axillary lymph nodes; the pectoralis major muscle is spared. Historically, a modified radical mastectomy was the primary method of treatment of breast cancer. [1, 2] As the treatment of breast cancer evolved, breast conservation has become more widely used. [3, 4] However, mastectomy still remains a viable option for women with breast cancer. [5, 6]

Our specialists treat conditions that are recurrent and hard to treat. Simply put, TPIAT a procedure that lets surgeons remove the pancreas, take out islet cells – the cells in the pancreas that make insulin – and put those islet cells into the liver. Patients then take pancreatic enzymes to help them digest food.

Removing Blood Clot From the Artery or Veins

The heart, blood vessels, and blood are the parts that make up the circulatory system, which is defined as a closed system of blood vessels for the transport of gasses and nutrients. The heart is the key organ in the circulatory system. As a hollow, muscular pump, its main function is to propel blood throughout the body.

A ureteral stent, sometimes as well called ureteric stent, is a thin tube inserted into the ureter to prevent or treat obstruction of the urine flow from the kidney. The length of the stents used in adult patients varies between 24 to 30 cm.