Top videos
With inner ear disorders, your brain receives signals from the inner ear that aren't consistent with what your eyes and sensory nerves are receiving. Vertigo is what results as your brain works to sort out the confusion. These self-help acupressure points works with meridians to help the body regain normal healing and homeostasis.
This video: Tennis elbow or lateral epicondylitis is a condition in which the outer part of the elbow becomes sore and tender. The forearm muscles and tendons become damaged from overuse — repeating the same strenuous motions again and again.
When is endoscopy used? Endoscopes were first developed to look at parts of the body that couldn’t be seen any other way. This is still a common reason to use them, but endoscopy now has many other uses too. It’s often used in the prevention, early detection, diagnosis, staging, and treatment of cancer. To prevent and screen for cancer Some types of endoscopes are used to look for cancer in people who have no symptoms. For example, colonoscopy (KO-lun-AH-skuh-pee) and sigmoidoscopy (SIG-moid-AH-skuh-pee) are used to screen for colon and rectal cancer. These procedures can also help prevent cancer because they let doctors find and remove polyps (growths) that might become cancer if left alone. To find cancer early Endoscopy can sometimes be used to find cancer early, before it has had a chance to grow or spread. Looking for causes of symptoms When people go to the doctor with certain symptoms, endoscopy can sometimes be used to help find a cause. For instance: Laryngoscopy to look at the vocal cords in people with long-term hoarseness Upper endoscopy in people having trouble swallowing Colonoscopy in people with anemia (low red blood cell counts) with an unknown cause Colonoscopy in people with blood in their stool Looking at problems found on imaging tests Imaging tests such as x-rays and CT scans can sometimes show physical changes within the body. But these tests may only give information about the size, shape, and location of the problem. Doctors use endoscopes to see more details, like color and surface texture, when trying to find out what’s going on. Newer methods of endoscopy that include high magnification are being tested to find out whether they are more useful in detecting cancer and other abnormal cells on the inner surfaces of the body. To diagnose and find out the stage (extent) of cancer To get a tissue sample Going one step further, most types of endoscopes have tools on the end that the doctor can use to take out small tissue samples. This procedure is called a biopsy (BY-op-see). Samples can be taken from suspicious areas and then looked at under a microscope or tested in other ways to see if cancer is there. A biopsy is usually the best way to find out if a growth or change is cancer or something else. Getting a closer look In some cases endoscopes are used to help find out how far a cancer has spread. Thoracoscopy (THOR-uh-KAHS -kuh-pee) and laparoscopy (LAP-uh-RAHS-kuh-pee) can be very useful in finding out if cancer has spread into the thorax (chest) or abdomen (belly). The surgeon can look into these places making only a small incision (cut) in the skin.
What is myositis? Myositis means muscle inflammation, and can be caused by infection, injury, certain medicines, exercise, and chronic disease. Some of the chronic, or persistent, forms are idiopathic inflammatory myopathies, and those are the diseases we discuss here. "Idiopathic" means that the cause is unknown.
Tonsillitis is inflammation of the tonsils, two oval-shaped pads of tissue at the back of the throat — one tonsil on each side. Signs and symptoms of tonsillitis include swollen tonsils, sore throat, difficulty swallowing and tender lymph nodes on the sides of the neck. Most cases of tonsillitis are caused by infection with a common virus, but bacterial infections also may cause tonsillitis. Because appropriate treatment for tonsillitis depends on the cause, it's important to get a prompt and accurate diagnosis. Surgery to remove tonsils, once a common procedure to treat tonsillitis, is usually performed only when bacterial tonsillitis occurs frequently, doesn't respond to other treatments or causes serious complications.
Esophageal atresia is an abnormality, or birth defect, of the esophagus that occurs early in pregnancy, as the baby is developing. The esophagus forms in the first few months of fetal life as a long, hollow, continuous tube joining the mouth to the stomach. In newborns with this birth defect, formation of this continuous esophageal tube is interrupted. esophageal-artresia-2In most cases, two separate tubes are formed, an upper (proximal) tube connected to the mouth and a lower (distal) tube connected to the stomach. This seperated tubes are sealed off creating a pouch on either side; the gap between these pounches can be short or very long. Saliva can accumulate in the upper pouch as it cannot drain into the stomach.
Dextrocardia situs inversus refers to the heart being a mirror image situated on the right side. For all visceral organs to be mirrored, the correct term is dextrocardia situs inversus totalis. Dextrocardia is believed to occur in approximately 1 in 12,000 people.
Stapling is used to treat prolapsed hemorrhoids. A surgical staple fixes the prolapsed hemorrhoid back into place inside your rectum and cuts off the blood supply so that the tissue will shrink and be reabsorbed. Stapling recovery takes less time and is less painful than recovery from a hemorrhoidectomy.
Your egg usually lives for just 12 to 24 hours, but sperm will live inside you for anything from a few hours to seven days, with one to three days the optimum time. ... But because a small number of sperm are long-living, having sex up to six days before ovulation can also result in pregnancy.
A bowel obstruction happens when either your small or large intestine is partly or completely blocked. The blockage prevents food, fluids, and gas from moving through the intestines in the normal way. The blockage may cause severe pain that comes and goes. This topic covers a blockage caused by tumors, scar tissue, or twisting or narrowing of the intestines. It does not cover ileus, which most commonly happens after surgery on the belly (abdominal surgery). What causes a bowel obstruction? Tumors, scar tissue (adhesions), or twisting or narrowing of the intestines can cause a bowel obstruction. These are called mechanical obstructions . In the small intestine, scar tissue is most often the cause. Other causes include hernias and Crohn's disease, which can twist or narrow the intestine, and tumors, which can block the intestine. A blockage also can happen if one part of the intestine folds like a telescope into another part, which is called intussusception.
What could cause a blockage in the stomach? Mechanical causes of intestinal obstruction may include: Adhesions or scar tissue that forms after surgery. Foreign bodies (objects that are swallowed and block the intestines) Gallstones (rare) Hernias. Impacted stool. Intussusception (telescoping of one segment of bowel into another) Tumors blocking the intestines. Less common radiologic signs are seen in specific circumstances. Most closed-loop obstructions (75%) are caused by adhesions. A closed-loop obstruction occurs when a loop of bowel is not decompressed by the caudal passage of gas and fluid.
Myasthenia gravis is a chronic autoimmune neuromuscular disease characterized by varying degrees of weakness of the skeletal (voluntary) muscles of the body. The name myasthenia gravis, which is Latin and Greek in origin, literally means "grave muscle weakness."
Colonoscopy is a test that allows your doctor to look at the inner lining of your large intestine (rectum and colon). He or she uses a thin, flexible tube called a colonoscope to look at the colon. A colonoscopy helps find ulcers, colon polyps, tumors, and areas of inflammation or bleeding.
Laryngectomy is the removal of the larynx and separation of the airway from the mouth, nose and esophagus. In a total laryngectomy the entire larynx is removed and in a partial laryngectomy only a portion is taken out. The laryngectomee breathes through an opening in the neck known as a stoma.
Bariatric surgical procedures cause weight loss by restricting the amount of food the stomach can hold, causing malabsorption of nutrients, or by a combination of both gastric restriction and malabsorption. Bariatric procedures also often cause hormonal changes. Most weight loss surgeries today are performed using minimally invasive techniques (laparoscopic surgery). The most common bariatric surgery procedures are gastric bypass, sleeve gastrectomy, adjustable gastric band, and biliopancreatic diversion with duodenal switch. Each surgery has its own advantages and disadvantages.
Coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) is a type of surgery that improves blood flow to the heart. Surgeons use CABG to treat people who have severe coronary heart disease (CHD). CHD is a disease in which a waxy substance called plaque (plak) builds up inside the coronary arteries.
Blood clotting, or coagulation, is an important process that prevents excessive bleeding when a blood vessel is injured. Platelets (a type of blood cell) and proteins in your plasma (the liquid part of blood) work together to stop the bleeding by forming a clot over the injury.
The external jugular vein receives the greater part of the blood from the exterior of the cranium and the deep parts of the face, being formed by the junction of the posterior division of the retromandibular vein with the posterior auricular vein.
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.