...medicine and health care news

Severe acute respiratory syndrome, better known by its acronym SARS, is an atypical form of pneumonia. It first appeared in November 2002 in Guangdong Province of the People's Republic of China.

Dioxin is the popular name for the family of chlorinated organic compounds comprising of Polychlorinated Dibenzo Furans (PCDF) and Polychlorinated Dibenzo Dioxins (PCDD).

The oculomotor nerve is the third of twelve paired cranial nerves. It controls most of the eye movements.

Gastroenteritis involves diarrhea or vomitting, with noninflammatory infection of the upper small bowel, or inflammatory infection of the colon, both part of the gastrointestinal tract.

Breast cancer is cancer of breast tissue. Worldwide, it is the most common form of cancer in females, affecting approximately 1 out of 11-12 women at some stage of their life in the Western world.

A tattoo is a design or marking made by the insertion of a pigment into punctures or cuts in the skin. In technical terms, tattooing is micro-pigment implantation.

Psychiatry is a medical specialty dealing with the prevention, assessment, diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of mental illness.

The spinal cord is a part of the vertebrate nervous system that is enclosed in and protected by the vertebral column (it passes through the spinal canal).

A wart is a generally small, rough growth, typically on hands and feet. Warts are common, and are caused by a viral infection, specifically by the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV).

The UV index is an international standard measurement of how strong the ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the sun is at a particular place on a particular day.

Alternative medicine describes practices used in place of conventional medical treatments. Complementary medicine describes alternative medicine used in conjunction with conventional medicine.

Fish farming is the principal form of aquaculture, while other methods may fall under mariculture. It involves raising fish commercially in tanks or enclosures, usually for food.

Bone marrow is the tissue comprising the center of large bones. It is the place where new blood cells are produced.

Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), formerly referred to as Magnetic Resonance Tomography (MRT) or Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR), is a method used to visualize the inside of living organisms.

Facial symmetry is one of a number of traits associated with health, physical attractiveness and beauty of a person or animal. It is also hypothesized as a factor in interpersonal attraction.

Narcolepsy is a neurological condition characterized by severe fatigue, irresistible episodes of sleep and general sleep disorder.

Prostate cancer is a disease in which cancer develops in the prostate, a gland in the male reproductive system. Cancer occurs when cells of the prostate mutate and begin to multiply out of control.

Anthrax, also referred to as splenic fever, is an acute infectious disease caused by the bacteria Bacillus anthracis and is highly lethal in some forms.

The kidneys are bean-shaped excretory organs in vertebrates. Part of the urinary system, the kidneys filter wastes (especially urea) from the blood and excrete them, along with water, as urine.

An abortion is the removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus from the uterus, resulting in or caused by its death.

A genetically modified food is a food product derived in whole or part from a genetically modified organism (GMO) such as a crop plant, animal or microbe such as yeast.

A herbicide is a pesticide used to kill unwanted plants. Selective herbicides kill certain targets while leaving the desired crop relatively unharmed.

A stimulant is a drug that increases the activity of the sympathetic nervous system and produces a sense of euphoria or the feeling of being more awake.

Albinism is a lack of pigmentation in the eyes, skin and/or hair. Albinism is an inherited condition resulting from the combination of recessive alleles passed from both parents of an individual.

A mouse is a mammal that belongs to one of numerous species of small rodents. The best known mouse species is the common house mouse.

A peptic ulcer is an ulcer of one of those areas of the gastrointestinal tract that are usually acidic. A more general term, peptic ulcer disease (PUD), is also in use.

Poliomyelitis, often called polio or infantile paralysis, is a virally induced infectious disease which spreads via the fecal-oral route.

White tea is tea made from new growth buds and young leaves of the plant Camellia sinensis. The leaves are steamed or fried to inactivate oxidation, and then dried.

Melanoma is a malignant tumor of melanocytes. Melanocytes predominantly occur in the skin but can be found elsewhere, especially the eye. The vast majority of melanomas originate in the skin.

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a term for certain psychological consequences of exposure to, or confrontation with, stressful experiences that the person experiences as highly traumatic.

Autism is classified as a neurodevelopmental disorder that manifests itself in markedly abnormal social interaction, communication ability, patterns of interests, and patterns of behavior.