Function. Vitamin A helps form and maintain healthy skin, teeth, skeletal and soft tissue, mucus membranes, and skin. It is also known as retinol because it produces the pigments in the retina of the eye. Vitamin A promotes good vision, especially in low light. Vitamin deficiency anemia occurs when your body doesn't have enough of the vitamins needed to produce adequate numbers of healthy red blood cells. Red blood cells carry oxygen from your lungs throughout your body. If your diet is lacking in certain vitamins, vitamin deficiency anemia can develop.

A ventricular septal defect (VSD) is an opening or hole in the wall that separates the two lower chambers of the heart. This wall is called the ventricular septum. The hole causes oxygen-rich blood to leak from the left side of the heart to the right side. This causes extra work for the right side of the heart, since more blood than necessary is flowing through the right ventricle to the lungs. The hole is usually closed with surgery. However, in certain situations, your child's cardiologist and surgeon may think it is best to close the hole with a special device. This procedure is done in the heart catheterization lab.

Endometrial cancer is a type of cancer that begins in the uterus. The uterus is the hollow, pear-shaped pelvic organ in women where fetal development occurs. Endometrial cancer begins in the layer of cells that form the lining (endometrium) of the uterus. Endometrial cancer is sometimes called uterine cancer. Other types of cancer can form in the uterus, including uterine sarcoma, but they are much less common than endometrial cancer. Endometrial cancer is often detected at an early stage because it frequently produces abnormal vaginal bleeding, which prompts women to see their doctors. If endometrial cancer is discovered early, removing the uterus surgically often cures endometrial cancer.

What is gestational trophoblastic disease? Cancer starts when cells in the body begin to grow out of control. Cells in nearly any part of the body can become cancer, and can spread to other areas of the body. To learn more about how cancers start and spread, see What Is Cancer? Gestational trophoblastic (jeh-STAY-shuh-nul troh-fuh-BLAS-tik) disease (GTD) is a group of rare tumors that involve abnormal growth of cells inside a woman's uterus. GTD does not develop from cells of the uterus like cervical cancer or endometrial (uterine lining) cancer do. Instead, these tumors start in the cells that would normally develop into the placenta during pregnancy. (The term gestational refers to pregnancy.) GTD begins in the layer of cells called the trophoblast (troh-fuh-BLAST) that normally surrounds an embryo. (Tropho- means nutrition, and -blast means bud or early developmental cell.) Early in normal development, the cells of the trophoblast form tiny, finger-like projections known as villi. The villi grow into the lining of the uterus. In time, the trophoblast layer develops into the placenta, the organ that protects and nourishes the growing fetus.

A cataract is a clouding of the lens in the eye that affects vision. Most cataracts are related to aging. Cataracts are very common in older people. By age 80, more than half of all Americans either have a cataract or have had cataract surgery. A cataract can occur in either or both eyes. It cannot spread from one eye to the other.

The menstrual cycle is the regular natural change that occurs in the female reproductive system like the uterus and ovaries that make pregnancy possible. The cycle is required for the production of ovocytes, and for the preparation of the uterus for pregnancy.

Kyphosis, also known as a round back or hunchback, is a condition in which the spine in the upper back has an excessive curvature. The upper back, or thoracic region of the spine, is supposed to have a slight natural curve.

Multiple endocrine neoplasia type 2 (MEN2) (also known as "Pheochromocytoma and amyloid producing medullary thyroid carcinoma", "PTC syndrome," and "Sipple syndrome") is a group of medical disorders associated with tumors of the endocrine system. The tumors may be benign or malignant (cancer).

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The lungs and respiratory system allow oxygen in the air to be taken into the body, while also enabling the body to get rid of carbon dioxide in the air breathed out. Respiration is the term for the exchange of oxygen from the environment for carbon dioxide from the body's cells.

All forms of heparin (including low-molecular-weight heparin such as enoxaparin) must be stopped immediately in patients with suspected heparin-induced thrombocytopenia (HIT) while awaiting diagnostic confirmation. Patients with HIT remain at high risk of thrombosis even after discontinuation of heparin. Therefore, an alternate, rapidly acting, non-heparin anticoagulant such as direct thrombin inhibitor (eg, argatroban, bivalirudin) must be started immediately.

Migraine headaches are recurrent throbbing or pulsatile headaches often associated with a prodrome, nausea, vomiting, photophobia, and phonophobia. When they occur, the prodromes are characterized by visual scintillations, scotomas, dizziness, or tinnitus

The fovea was moved 425 to 1,700 microm (965+/-262 microm) superiorly or inferiorly. Follow-up time was 2 to 12 months (median 8 months). Complications included macular pucker (3 eyes), subfoveal hemorrhage (2 eyes), macular hole (1 eye), and progression of cataract in phakic eyes (3 eyes). Thirteen of 20 eyes showed various degrees of proliferative vitreoretinopathy with epiretinal membrane formation over the inferior peripheral retina with the inferior retinal detachment stabilized by the silicone oil. One eye progressed to phthisis bulbi. Initial visual acuity ranged from 20/80 to 20/800 (median 20/150) and final visual acuity ranged from light perception to 20/200 (median 20/1000).

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Lithium, a mood stabilizer used in bipolar disorder, has a narrow therapeutic index (small difference between therapeutic and toxic levels}. This patient's gradual onset of neurologic symptoms (slurred speech, confusion, tremors, and ataxia) is consistent with chronic lithium toxicity. Therapeutic lithium levels are 0.8- 1.2 mEq/L. Serum lithium levels >1.5 mEq/L confirm toxicity, and levels ;::2 .5 mEq/L require emergency management.

How to Grow a New Fingertip

You may initially experience short, mild attacks. But trigeminal neuralgia can progress and cause longer, more-frequent bouts of searing pain. Trigeminal neuralgia affects women more often than men, and it's more likely to occur in people who are older than 50.

Meet Toby, the baby who was born premature at 24 weeks. He may be small, but he's definitely a fighter! Share his story

In a normal hip, the ball at the upper end of the thighbone (femur) fits firmly into the socket, which is part of the large pelvis bone. In babies and children with developmental dysplasia (dislocation) of the hip (DDH), the hip joint has not formed normally.

Angina results from a reduction in the oxygen supply/demand ratio. Therefore, in order to alleviate the pain, it is necessary to improve this ratio. This can be done either by increasing blood flow (which increases oxygen delivery or supply), or by decreasing oxygen demand (i.e., by decreasing myocardial oxygen consumption).