Vaginismus is unique because it may result from a combination of physical or non-physical causes—or seem to have none at all.

Tendons are thick cords that join your muscles to your bones. When these tendons become irritated or inflamed, it is called tendinitis. This condition causes acute pain and tenderness, making it difficult to move the affected joint. Read more

A pheochromocytoma (fee-o-kroe-moe-sy-TOE-muh) is a rare, usually noncancerous (benign) tumor that develops in cells in the center of an adrenal gland. You have two adrenal glands, one above each kidney. Your adrenal glands produce hormones that give instructions to virtually every organ and tissue in your body. If you have a pheochromocytoma, an adrenal gland releases hormones that cause persistent or episodic high blood pressure. If left untreated, a pheochromocytoma can result in severe or life-threatening damage to other body systems, especially the cardiovascular system. Most people with a pheochromocytoma are between the ages of 20 and 50, but the tumor can develop at any age. Surgical treatment to remove a pheochromocytoma usually returns blood pressure to normal.

Fulminant hepatic failure (FHF) or acute liver failure (ALF) is defined as the rapid development of acute liver injury with severe impairment of the synthetic function and hepatic encephalopathy in a patient without obvious, previous liver disease.

What damage does atherosclerosis cause? Plaque may partially or totally block the blood's flow through an artery in the heart, brain, pelvis, legs, arms or kidneys. Some of the diseases that may develop as a result of atherosclerosis include coronary heart disease, angina (chest pain), carotid artery disease, peripheral artery disease (PAD) and chronic kidney disease.

To remove a smaller stone in your ureter or kidney, your doctor may pass a thin lighted tube (ureteroscope) equipped with a camera through your urethra and bladder to your ureter. Once the stone is located, special tools can snare the stone or break it into pieces that will pass in your urine.

Pruritis is itchy skin that makes you want to scratch. It can be caused by many things. Normally, itchy skin isn't serious, but it can make you uncomfortable. Sometimes, itchy skin is caused by a serious medical condition. It can occur in association with a primary rash (e.g. dermatitis) or may occur because of hypersensitive nerves in the skin (neuropathic pruritus). ... Scratching a localised itch may lead to lichen simplex, prurigo or prurigo nodularis. Systemic causes of pruritus. Sytemic diseases may cause generalised pruritus.

Postpartum endometritis refers to infection of the decidua (ie, pregnancy endometrium). The infection may also extend into the myometrium (called endomyometritis) or involve the parametrium (called parametritis).

The cat's stomach is a sac-like structure designed to store large volumes of food and continue the digestive process. The esophagus carries food to the stomach, where it enters via a valve-like structure called the cardiac sphincter. On the interior surface of the stomach is a series of folds called gastric folds. These folds function to help grind and digest food. The inner stomach lining secretes acids and enzymes to break down food. Once the initial stomach digestive process is complete, the partially digested food exits the stomach through the pyloric sphincter area and then enters the duodenum (first segment of the small intestine). Once eaten, most food leaves the stomach within twelve hours after entering.

6 987 24 MORE How Does Anesthesia Work? Credit: itsmejust | Shutterstock If you’ve ever had surgery, unless you are super tough, you’ve gone through it with the benefit of anesthetics. But, how do these body-numbing elixirs work? Prior to the invention of anesthesia in the mid-1800s, surgeons had to hack off limbs, sew up wounds and remove mysterious growths with nothing to dull the patient's pain but opium or booze. While these drugs may have numbed the patient, they didn’t always completely block the pain, or erase the memory of it. Since then, doctors have gotten much better at putting us out with drug combinations that ease pain, relax muscles and, in some cases, put us in a deep state of hypnosis that gives us temporary amnesia. Today, there are two primary types of anesthesia drugs: those that knockout the whole body (general) and those that only numb things up locally.

Most people have general anesthesia right before surgery. This means you will be asleep and pain-free. Other kinds of anesthesia, like regional anesthesia or a block, may also be used for this surgery. The tissue to replace your damaged ACL will come from your own body or from a donor. A donor is a person who has died and chose to give all or part of his or her body to help others. Tissue taken from your own body is called an autograft. The two most common places to take tissue from are the knee cap tendon or the hamstring tendon. Your hamstring is the muscle behind your knee. Tissue taken from a donor is called an allograft. The procedure is usually performed with the help of knee arthroscopy. With arthroscopy, a tiny camera is inserted into the knee through a small surgical cut. The camera is connected to a video monitor in the operating room. Your surgeon will use the camera to check the ligaments and other tissues of your knee. Your surgeon will make other small cuts around your knee and insert other medical instruments. Your surgeon will fix any other damage found, and then will replace your ACL by following these steps: The torn ligament will be removed with a shaver or other instruments. If your own tissue is being used to make your new ACL, your surgeon will make a larger cut. Then, the autograft will be removed through this cut. Your surgeon will make tunnels in your bone to bring the new tissue through. This new tissue will be in the same place as your old ACL. Your surgeon will attach the new ligament to the bone with screws or other devices to hold it in place. As it heals, the bone tunnels fill in. This holds the new ligament in place. At the end of the surgery, your surgeon will close your cuts with sutures (stitches) and cover the area with a dressing. You may be able to view pictures after the procedure of what the doctor saw and what was done during the surgery.

In most instances, STDs are passed from an infected person to another person during sexual activities, through contact with the mucous membranes of the penis, vagina, mouth and rectum. Such activity includes vaginal, oral and anal intercourse. Gonorrhea and chlamydia also can be transmitted by fingers to eyes. A sexually transmissible infection (STI) is any infection or disease that can be passed from one person to another during sexual activity. Sexually transmissible infections include chlamydia, herpes, gonorrhoea, syphilis, genital herpes, scabies, pubic lice (crabs), hepatitis and HIV (the virus that causes AIDS).

Natural painkiller found in human spit. Compound in saliva could be more powerful than morphine. A new painkilling substance has been discovered that is up to six times more potent than morphine when tested in rats — and it's produced naturally by the human body.

A facet joint injection is a relatively simple, straightforward procedure, and is usually performed in an office based procedure suite or in an ambulatory surgical center. As with many spinal injections, facet joint injections are best performed using fluoroscopy (live X-ray) for guidance to properly target and place the needle (and to help avoid nerve injury or other injury).

Breast lump removal is surgery to remove a lump that may be breast cancer. Tissue around the lump is also removed. This surgery is called a lumpectomy. When a noncancerous tumor such as a fibroadenoma of the breast is removed, it is often called an excisional breast biopsy, instead of a lumpectomy

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Marfan syndrome is a genetic disorder that affects the body’s connective tissue. Connective tissue holds all the body’s cells, organs and tissue together. It also plays an important role in helping the body grow and develop properly. marfan_general_2.jpg What is Marfan Syndrome?Connective tissue is made up of proteins. The protein that plays a role in Marfan syndrome is called fibrillin-1. Marfan syndrome is caused by a defect (or mutation) in the gene that tells the body how to make fibrillin-1. This mutation results in an increase in a protein called transforming growth factor beta, or TGF-β. The increase in TGF-β causes problems in connective tissues throughout the body, which in turn creates the features and medical problems associated with Marfan syndrome and some related disorders. Because connective tissue is found throughout the body, Marfan syndrome can affect many different parts of the body, as well. Features of the disorder are most often found in the heart, blood vessels, bones, joints, and eyes. Some Marfan features – for example, aortic enlargement (expansion of the main blood vessel that carries blood away from the heart to the rest of the body) – can be life-threatening. The lungs, skin and nervous system may also be affected. Marfan syndrome does not affect intelligence.

Alcohol not broken down by the liver goes to the rest of the body, including the brain. Alcohol can affect parts of the brain that control movement, speech, judgment, and memory. These effects lead to the familiar signs of drunkenness: difficulty walking, slurred speech, memory lapses, and impulsive behavior.

Narcolepsy is a chronic sleep disorder characterized by overwhelming daytime drowsiness and sudden attacks of sleep. People with narcolepsy often find it difficult to stay awake for long periods of time, regardless of the circumstances. Narcolepsy can cause serious disruptions in your daily routine. Sometimes, narcolepsy can be accompanied by a sudden loss of muscle tone (cataplexy) that leads to weakness and loss of muscle control. Cataplexy is often triggered by a strong emotion, most commonly laughter. Narcolepsy is a chronic condition for which there's no cure. However, medications and lifestyle changes can help you manage the symptoms. Support from others — family, friends, employer, teachers — can help you cope with narcolepsy.

Dental Implant Procedure - Two Stage