Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.

A drug group which inhibits the enzyme cyclo-oxygenase and is more selective than its predecessor group, the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS), and so is claimed to be less likely to cause gastrointestinal side-effects. The national institute for clinical excellence (NICE) recommended in 2001 that these drugs (which include celecoxib, etodolac and meloxicam) should not be…

An antihistamine drug which is mainly used for the prevention of sickness, including sea-sickness.  

This is a syndrome in women, characterised by irregular intermittent bouts of generalised swelling. Sometimes the fluid retention is more pronounced before the menstrual period. The eyelids are puffy and the face and fingers feel stiff and bloated. The breasts may feel swollen and the abdomen distended, and ankles may swell. The diurnal weight gain…

The method of finding the concentration of blood, urine, etc., by observing their freezing-point.  

The induction of analgesia by the use of cold that is produced by means of a special probe. The use of cold for the relief of pain dates back to the early days of mankind: two millennia ago, Hippocrates was recommending snow and ice packs as a preoperative analgesic. The modern probe allows a precise…

A clear, yellow liquid, of aromatic smell and burning taste, prepared by distillation from pine-wood or beech-wood. It mixes readily with alcohol, ether, chloroform, glycerin, and oils. A mixture of phenols obtained from the destructive distillation of coal or wood. This toxic substance has been used as a disinfectant and as a preserver of wood.…

An enzyme which is proving to be of value in the investigation and diagnosis of muscular dystrophy, in which it is found in the blood in greatly increased amounts. An enzyme that catalyzes the reversible transfer of high-energy phosphate between creatine and phosphocreatine and between adenosine diphosphate (ADP) and adenosine triphosphate (ATP). Different isoforms predominate…

A peculiar resonance heard sometimes on percussion of the chest over a cavity in the lung, resembling the jarring sound heard on striking a cracked pot or bell. It is also heard on percussion over the skull in patients with diseases of the brain such as haemorrhages and tumours, and in certain cases of fracture…

A group of viruses so-called because they were first isolated from two patients with a disease resembling paralytic poliomyelitis, in the village of Coxsackie in New York State. Thirty distinct types have now been identified. They constitute one of the three groups of viruses included in the family of enteroviruses, and are divided into two…

Temporary loss of consciousness that may be induced by a severe spasm of coughing. This is the result of the high pressure that may be induced in the chest — over 200 millimetres of mercury — by such a spasm, which prevents the return of blood to the heart. The veins in the neck begin…