Sed rate, or erythrocyte sedimentation rate ( ESR ), is a blood test that can reveal inflammatory activity in your body. A sed rate test isn't a stand-alone diagnostic tool, but it can help your doctor diagnose or monitor the progress of an inflammatory disease. ... Inflammation can cause the cells to clump.

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.

The urinary bladder is a hollow muscular organ that collects urine from the kidneys before disposal by urination. A hollow muscular, and distensible (or elastic) organ, the bladder sits on the pelvic floor. Urine enters the bladder via the ureters and exits via the urethra.

Memory Loss & the Brain. It's not just a movement disorder. Besides causing tremors and other motion-related symptoms, Parkinson's disease affects memory, learning, and behavior. Parkinson's disease is notorious for so-called motor symptoms like muscle rigidity, tremor, slowed movement, and unsteady posture and gait.

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 protein inside red blood cells (a) that carries oxygen to cells and carbon dioxide to the lungs is hemoglobin (b). Hemoglobin is made up of four symmetrical subunits and four heme groups. Iron associated with the heme binds oxygen.

Pulmonary circulation is the portion of the cardiovascular system which carries deoxygenated blood away from the heart, to the lungs, and returns oxygenated (oxygen-rich) blood back to the heart. The function of pulmonary circulation is to exchange carbon dioxide for oxygen in the blood. It is the passage of blood from the heart to the capillaries of the lungs, where the gases are exchanged, and back to the heart to be pumped around the body.

A tracheotomy or a tracheostomy is an opening surgically created through the neck into the trachea (windpipe) to allow direct access to the breathing tube and is commonly done in an operating room under general anesthesia. A tube is usually placed through this opening to provide an airway and to remove secretions from the lungs. Breathing is done through the tracheostomy tube rather than through the nose and mouth. The term “tracheotomy” refers to the incision into the trachea (windpipe) that forms a temporary or permanent opening, which is called a “tracheostomy,” however; the terms are sometimes used interchangeably.

The heart is the body's engine room, responsible for pumping life-sustaining blood via a 60,000-mile-long (97,000-kilometer-long) network of vessels. The organ works ceaselessly, beating 100,000 times a day, 40 million times a year—in total clocking up three billion heartbeats over an average lifetime. It keeps the body freshly supplied with oxygen and nutrients, while clearing away harmful waste matter.

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An egg cannot be fertilized when there are no sperm in the semen. The testicles continue to produce sperm, but the sperm are reabsorbed by the body. (This also happens to sperm that are not ejaculated after a while, regardless of whether you have had a vasectomy.) Sperm are made in the testicles. They pass through two tubes called the vasa deferentia to other glands and mix with seminal fluids to form semen. Vasectomy blocks each vas deferens and keeps sperm out of the seminal fluid. The sperm are absorbed by the body instead of being ejaculated.

Dacryocystorhinostomy (DCR) is a procedure performed for the treatment of tearing (epiphora) due to blockage of the nasolacrimal duct. Tears originate in the lacrimal gland, located at the upper outer margin of the eye. As tears cross the eye with each blink, they are directed into small openings in the eyelids called puncta. From this point, tears travel through a pathway known as the canalicular system into the lacrimal sac. The lacrimal sac is located between the eye and the nose, and funnels tears into the nasal cavity through the nasolacrimal duct (Figure 1). As this is quite a long path for tears to travel, there can be many causes of excessive tearing. Blockage of the nasolacrimal duct is one common cause, and can be treated by creating a direct opening from the lacrimal sac into the nasal cavity in a procedure known as DCR. The evaluation and management of tearing may involve both an ophthalmologist and an otolaryngologist.

Rheumatic fever is an inflammatory disease that can develop as a complication of inadequately treated strep throat or scarlet fever. Strep throat and scarlet fever are caused by an infection with streptococcus bacteria. Rheumatic fever is most common in 5- to 15-year-old children, though it can develop in younger children and adults. Although strep throat is common, rheumatic fever is rare in the United States and other developed countries. However, rheumatic fever remains common in many developing nations. Rheumatic fever can cause permanent damage to the heart, including damaged heart valves and heart failure. Treatments can reduce damage from inflammation, lessen pain and other symptoms, and prevent the recurrence of rheumatic fever.

Surfactant. Surfactants are compounds that lower the surface tension (or interfacial tension) between two liquids or between a liquid and a solid. Surfactants may act as detergents, wetting agents, emulsifiers, foaming agents, and dispersants.

Endometriosis (en-doe-me-tree-O-sis) is an often painful disorder in which tissue that normally lines the inside of your uterus — the endometrium — grows outside your uterus. Endometriosis most commonly involves your ovaries, fallopian tubes and the tissue lining your pelvis. Rarely, endometrial tissue may spread beyond pelvic organs.

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.

Nelson syndrome refers to a spectrum of symptoms and signs arising from an adrenocorticotropin (ACTH)–secreting pituitary macroadenoma after a therapeutic bilateral adrenalectomy. The spectrum of clinical features observed relates to the local effects of the tumor on surrounding structures, the secondary loss of other pituitary hormones, and the effects of the high serum concentrations of ACTH on the skin. [1] The first case was reported by Nelson et al in 1958. [2]

Our calculator can help you discover the most fertile days of your menstrual cycle or your “Estimated Fertility Window” based on information you provide.

A silent heart attack is a heart attack that has few, if any, symptoms. You may have never had any symptoms to warn you that you've developed a heart problem, such as chest pain or shortness of breath. Having diabetes or prediabetes puts you at increased risk for heart disease and stroke. You can lower your risk by keeping your blood glucose (also called blood sugar), blood pressure, and blood cholesterol close to the recommended target numbersthe levels suggested by diabetes experts for good health. (