What is the spleen and what causes an enlarged spleen (splenomegaly)? The spleen sits under your rib cage in the upper left part of your abdomen toward your back. It is an organ that is part of the lymph system and works as a drainage network that defends your body against infection. White blood cells produced in the spleen engulf bacteria, dead tissue, and foreign matter, removing them from the blood as blood passes through it. The spleen also maintains healthy red and white blood cells and platelets; platelets help your blood clot. The spleen filters blood, removing abnormal blood cells from the bloodstream. A spleen is normally about the size of your fist. A doctor usually can't feel it during an exam. But diseases can cause it to swell and become many times its normal size. Because the spleen is involved in many functions, many conditions may affect it.

In this podcast, CDC's Dr. Barbara Reynolds discusses best practices in crisis and emergency risk communication. She characterizes the initial phase of the crisis communication lifecycle and describes the five most common mistakes made in emergency communication to the public and how to counter them.

Electrical injuries can present with a variety of problems, including cardiac or respiratory arrest, coma, blunt trauma, and severe burns of several types. It is important to establish the type of exposure (high or low voltage), duration of contact, and concurrent trauma. Low-voltage AC injury without loss of consciousness and/or arrest These injuries are exposures of less than 1000V and usually occur in the home or office setting. Typically, children with electrical injuries present after biting or chewing on an electrical cord and suffer oral burns. Adults working on home appliances or electrical circuits can also experience these electrical injuries. Low-voltage AC may result in significant injury if there is prolonged, tetanic muscle contraction. Low-voltage AC injury with loss of consciousness and/or arrest In respiratory arrest or ventricular fibrillation that is not witnessed, an electrical exposure may be difficult to diagnose. All unwitnessed arrests should include this possibility in the differential diagnosis. Query EMS personnel, family, and coworkers about this possibility. Inquire if a scream was heard before the patient’s collapse; this may be due to involuntary contraction of chest wall muscles from electrical current. High-voltage AC injury without loss of consciousness and/or arrest Usually high-voltage injuries do not cause loss of consciousness but instead cause devastating thermal burns. In occupational exposures, details of voltage can be obtained from the local power company. High-voltage AC injury with loss of consciousness and/or arrest This is an unusual presentation of high-voltage AC injuries, which do not often cause loss of consciousness. History may need to come from bystanders or EMS personnel. Direct current (DC) injury These injuries typically cause a single muscle contraction that throws the victim away from the source. They are rarely associated with loss of consciousness unless there is severe head trauma, and victims can often provide their own history. Conducted electrical devices Conducted electrical weapons (CEWs) such as tasers are weapons used by law enforcement that deliver high-voltage current that is neither true AC or DC but is most like a series of low-amplitude DC shocks.[16] They can deliver 50,000 V in a 5-second pulse, with an average current of 2.1 mA.[17] Though they have been temporally associated with deaths in the law enforcement setting, conducted electrical devices (CEDs) in healthy volunteers have been shown to be safe without evidence of delayed arrhythmia or cardiac damage as measured by troponin I.[18, 17] One study of their use in 1201 law enforcement incidents showed mostly superficial puncture wounds from the device probes, and significant injuries only from trauma subsequent to shock, not from the device itself. Of 2 deaths in custody, neither was related to CEW exposure.[19]

Image result for Stop Arterial Bleeding The Femoral Artery is located in the crease of the groin area. Pressure placed here will stop bleeding in leg wounds. Direct Pressure and Elevation should be continued while applying pressure to pressure points. Finally, A pressure bandage should be placed over the dressing and wound

Caesarean section is the most common way to deliver a breech baby in the USA, Australia, and Great Britain. Like any major surgery, it involves risks. Maternal mortality is increased by a Caesarean section, but still remains a rare complication in the First World. Third World statistics are dramatically different, and mortality is increased significantly. There is remote risk of injury to the mother’s internal organs, injury to the baby, and severe hemorrhage requiring hysterectomy with resultant infertility. More commonly seen are problems with noncatastrophic bleeding, postoperative infection and wound healing problems. It should be added that the increase in maternal mortality rates could be slightly skewed due to the fact that Caesarean sections are often used during high-risk pregnancies and/or when mortality is already a strong possibility.

One large study has confirmed that elective cesarean section has lower risk to the fetus and a slightly increased risk to the mother, than planned vaginal delivery of the breech however elements of the methodology used have undergone some criticism.

The same birth injuries that can occur in vaginal breech birth may rarely occur in Caesarean breech delivery. A Caesarean breech delivery is still a breech delivery. However the soft tissues of the uterus and abdominal wall are more forgiving of breech delivery than the hard bony ring of the pelvis. If a Caesarean is scheduled in advance (rather than waiting for the onset of labor) there is a risk of accidentally delivering the baby too early, so that the baby might have complications of prematurity. The mother’s subsequent pregnancies will be riskier than they would be after a vaginal birth (uterine rupture). The presence of a uterine scar will be a risk factor for any subsequent pregnancies.

Site enhancement oil, often called "santol" or "synthol" (no relation to the Synthol mouthwash brand), refers to oils injected into muscles to increase the size or change the shape. Some bodybuilders, particularly at the professional level, inject their muscles with such mixtures to mimic the appearance of developed muscle where it may otherwise be disproportionate or lagging. This is known as "fluffing".Synthol is 85% oil, 7.5% lidocaine, and 7.5% alcohol. It is not restricted, and many brands are available on the Internet. The use of injected oil to enhance muscle appearance is common among bodybuilders, despite the fact that synthol can cause pulmonary embolisms, nerve damage, infections, sclerosing lipogranuloma,[60] stroke,[55] and the formation of oil-filled granulomas, cysts or ulcers in the muscle. Rare cases might require surgical intervention to avoid further damage to the muscle and/or to prevent loss of life. Sesame oil is often used in such mixtures, which can cause allergic reactions such as vasculitis.

In this video, Professor Dan Reinstein performs a bilateral LASIK procedure filmed in real-time to demonstrate the full 8 and-a-half minute procedure from multiple angles. The superior design and experience of the Carl Zeiss Meditec Visumax femtosecond Laser for flap creation is seen, where the patient is only in contact with the device for about 30 seconds with extremely low contract force such that the patient feels effectively nothing, there are no red splodges (subconjunctival haemorages) left behind. From the surgeons' standpoint there is no device that is easier to use or faster for LASIK flap creation. The Carl Zeiss Meditec MEL80 excimer laser portion of the procedure is seamlessly integrated and incorporates all the features that make clinical outcomes so reproducible including the unique cone-for-controlled-atmosphere (CCA) and high efficiency, high sensitivity calibration test which can be performed for each individual patient to compensate for minor changes in energy that occur with excimer laser devices during the course of a day.

For reference to the clinical outcomes for LASIK with the MEL80 in presbyopia using PRESBYOND Laser Blended Vision see:

Reading glasses presbyopia (ageing eyes) only:
LASIK for presbyopia correction in emmetropic patients using aspheric ablation profiles and a micro-monovision protocol with the Carl Zeiss Meditec MEL 80 and VisuMax.
J Refract Surg. 2012 Aug;28(8):531-41. Reinstein DZ, Carp GI, Archer TJ, Gobbe M.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22869232

Short sighted, astigmatism and presbyopia (ageing eyes)
LASIK for Myopic Astigmatism and Presbyopia Using Non-Linear Aspheric Micro-Monovision with the Carl Zeiss Meditec MEL 80 Platform.
J Refract Surg. 2011 Jan;27(1):23-37. Epub 2010 Mar 1.
Reinstein DZ, Archer TJ, Gobbe M.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20205360

Long-sighted, astigmatism and presbyopia (ageing eyes)
LASIK for hyperopic astigmatism and presbyopia using micro-monovision with the Carl Zeiss Meditec MEL80 platform.
J Refract Surg. 2009 Jan;25(1):37-58. Reinstein DZ, Couch DG, Archer TJ.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19244952

For more information about laser eye surgery and PRESBYOND Laser Blended Vision, please contact the London Vision Clinic on 020 7224 1005.

Scrubbing of Surgical Hands

http://www.landging.com/respiratory-circulatory-system-animation.html
Human body circulatory system and respiratory system, 3D MOA (Mechanism of Action) animation, designed for Beijing Natural History Museum.

Gallstone ileus is an important, though infrequent, cause of mechanical bowel obstruction, affecting older adult patients who often have other significant medical conditions. It is caused by impaction of a gallstone in the ileum after being passed through a biliary-enteric fistula. The diagnosis is often delayed since symptoms may be intermittent and investigations fail to identify the cause of the obstruction. The mainstay of treatment is removal of the obstructing stone after resuscitating the patient. Gallstone ileus continues to be associated with relatively high rates of morbidity and mortality.

If you’re considering an epidural to help manage the pain of childbirth, you’re not alone. More than 60 percent of women delivering at hospitals elect for an epidural during labor. And with good reason: An epidural is considered one of the safest methods of pain control, with just one in 3,000 pregnancies experiencing serious complications. It’s also good for you, since you’ll remain awake and alert during the birth, as well as for your baby, since the drugs will barely reach your bloodstream (so they can’t get into hers).

Carpal tunnel release (part 1). Skin incision and retraction. Procedure performed by Deepak Kapila, MD, Broward Health, Fort Lauderdale, FL. Courtesy of BroadcastMed (http://ortho.broadcastmed.com/....4229/videos/carpal-t

There are hundreds more procedural videos as well as news, features, resources and references on Medscape.com. Join today for free.

The type of operation performed for removal of pancreatic cancer is based on the location of the tumor. For tumors of the head and neck of the pancreas a Whipple procedure, (also called a pancreaticoduodenectomy) is performed. This is a complex operation perfected at Johns Hopkins. This video will explain the surgery and what patients can expect.

Learn more about the Whipple procedure at Johns Hopkins:
http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org..../pancreatic_cancer_c

A sleep disorder, or somnipathy, is a medical disorder of the sleep patterns of a person or animal. Some sleep disorders are serious enough to interfere with normal physical, mental, social and emotional functioning. Polysomnography and actigraphy are tests commonly ordered for some sleep disorders.

COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) makes it hard for you to breathe. The two main types are chronic bronchitis and emphysema. The main cause of COPD is long-term exposure to substances that irritate and damage the lungs. This is usually cigarette smoke. Air pollution, chemical fumes, or dust can also cause it. At first, COPD may cause no symptoms or only mild symptoms. As the disease gets worse, symptoms usually become more severe. They include A cough that produces a lot of mucus Shortness of breath, especially with physical activity Wheezing Chest tightness Doctors use lung function tests, imaging tests, and blood tests to diagnose COPD. There is no cure. Treatments may relieve symptoms. They include medicines, oxygen therapy, surgery, or a lung transplant. Quitting smoking is the most important step you can take to treat COPD.

A brief video demonstrating an Open Cholecystectomy surgery

A spermatocelectomy is surgery to remove a spermatocele. A spermatocele is a cyst (sac of fluid) that contains sperm. It forms inside your scrotum on the outside of your testicle. The cyst is most often attached to your epididymis. The epididymis is a tube that stores sperm.

Some common signs of spinal tumors may include the following: Pain (back and/or neck pain, arm and/or leg pain) Muscle weakness or numbness in the arms or legs. Difficulty walking. General loss of sensation. Difficulty with urination (incontinence) Change in bowel habits (retention) Paralysis to varying degrees.

Direct inguinal hernia repair LCHI - Hernia repair done by medical students with guidance and assistance of Professor Luiz Eduardo C. Miranda. Description of surgery is in portuguese.

As long as the ureter is large enough to allow the ureteroscope to pass, there is a good chance that the stone can be broken and removed with one surgery. Compared to SWL, a kidney or ureteral stone can be seen under direct vision by the ureteroscope, allowing lithotripsy with lasers followed by basketting and removal.