Autoimmune hepatitis is liver inflammation that occurs when your body's immune system turns against liver cells. The exact cause of autoimmune hepatitis is unclear, but genetic and environmental factors appear to interact over time in triggering the disease. Untreated autoimmune hepatitis can lead to scarring of the liver (cirrhosis) and eventually to liver failure. When diagnosed and treated early, however, autoimmune hepatitis often can be controlled with drugs that suppress the immune system. A liver transplant may be an option when autoimmune hepatitis doesn't respond to drug treatments or when liver disease is advanced.

The pain of ovulation can range from a mild twinge to severe discomfort and usually lasts from minutes to hours. It is generally felt on one side of the abdomen and may vary each month, depending on which ovary is releasing the egg during that cycle.

Systemic circulation carries oxygenated blood from the left ventricle, through the arteries, to the capillaries in the tissues of the body. From the tissue capillaries, the deoxygenated blood returns through a system of veins to the right atrium of the heart.

Asthma is a condition in which your airways narrow and swell and produce extra mucus. This can make breathing difficult and trigger coughing, wheezing and shortness of breath.

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.

Thymoma is a tumor originating from the epithelial cells of the thymus. Thymoma is an uncommon tumor, best known for its association with the neuromuscular disorder myasthenia gravis; thymoma is found in 20% of patients with myasthenia gravis. Once diagnosed, thymomas may be removed surgically.

Happy New Year 2017

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).

Although the Apgar score was developed in 1952 by an anesthesiologist named Virginia Apgar, you also might hear it referred to as an acronym for: Appearance, Pulse, Grimace, Activity, and Respiration. The Apgar test is usually given to a baby twice: once at 1 minute after birth, and again at 5 minutes after birth.

The pituitary gland is often portrayed as the "master gland" of the body. Such praise is justified in the sense that the anterior and posterior pituitary secrete a battery of hormones that collectively influence all cells and affect virtually all physiologic processes. The pituitary gland may be king, but the power behind the throne is clearly the hypothalamus. As alluded to in the last section, some of the neurons within the hypothalamus - neurosecretory neurons - secrete hormones that strictly control secretion of hormones from the anterior pituitary. The hypothalamic hormones are referred to as releasing hormones and inhibiting hormones, reflecting their influence on anterior pituitary hormones.

The average human digestive tract is home to as many as 1,000 species of microorganisms. Most of them are harmless -- or even helpful -- under normal circumstances. But when something upsets the balance of these organisms in your gut, otherwise harmless bacteria can grow out of control and make you sick. One of the worst offenders is a bacterium called Clostridium difficile(C. difficile, or C. diff). As the bacteria overgrow they release toxins that attack the lining of the intestines, causing a condition called Clostridium difficilecolitis.

S-ICD leaves the heart and vasculature untouched. It may be implanted using only anatomical landmarks, thereby eliminating the need for fluoroscopy during implant and therefore reducing radiation exposure for both patients and physicians and eliminating the need for lead apron during implant.

Cerebral palsy refers to brain damage that occurs before a child is five years old. Therefore, adults cannot develop cerebral palsy. However, cerebral palsy does not get better or worse with age, so when a child has the condition, he or she will continue to have the condition into adulthood.

Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency (Alpha-1) is a genetic (inherited) condition – it is passed from parents to their children through their genes. Alpha-1 may result in serious lung disease in adults and/or liver disease at any age.

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.

Learn what tests can be used to screen and diagnose syphilis as well as how to treat and prevent the infection.

High-Cervical Nerves (C1 – C4) Most severe of the spinal cord injury levels Paralysis in arms, hands, trunk and legs Patient may not be able to breathe on his or her own, cough, or control bowel or bladder movements. Ability to speak is sometimes impaired or reduced. When all four limbs are affected, this is called tetraplegia or quadriplegia. Requires complete assistance with activities of daily living, such as eating, dressing, bathing, and getting in or out of bed May be able to use powered wheelchairs with special controls to move around on their own Will not be able to drive a car on their own Requires 24-hour-a-day personal care

The Distal Femoral Osteotomy System utilizes the same principles of design featured in the Tibial Osteotomy System. Specifically designed femoral osteotomy plates take into account the anatomical differences between the distal femur and proximal tibia.

Benex II Surgical Extraction System