Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.

Dullness of the senses during acute fever, which makes the person uninterested in his or her surroundings and unable to respond to stimuli. Apathy and emotional dullness. This is not a symptom specific to any one condition; extreme degrees are found in schizophrenia and dementia.  

A small bony lump which develops on the end joints of fingers in osteoarthritis [Described 1802. After William Heberden (1767-1845), British physician, specialist in rheumatic diseases.] Enlargement of a terminal joint of a finger sometimes occurring in osteoarthritis or other degenerative joint disease. A lump of cartilage-covered bone arising at the terminal joint of a…

A monthly period during which a woman loses an unusually large amount of blood. It is often painful and sometimes indicates possible health problems, such as fibroids or hypothyroidism.  

A condition in which someone becomes too hot and his or her body temperature rises abnormally, leading to headaches, stomach cramps and sometimes loss of consciousness. Severe, sometimes fatal, condition caused by prolonged exposure to intense heat and failure of the body’s temperature-regulating capacity, Symptoms include high body temperature, rapid heart beat; red hot, dry…

Little red spots which develop on the face in very hot weather. A vague term applied to small inflamed and congested areas which appear especially upon the skin of the face, neck and chest or other parts of the body in warm weather. It is important they are not confused with the raised, pink (macular)…

A surgical operation to transplant a heart into someone. A surgical procedure to remove an irreparably diseased heart and replace it with a healthy heart from a recently deceased person. Performed since 1967, heart transplants are now the third most common form of transplantation surgery, following only kidney and cornea transplants. Heart transplant surgery extends…

A surgical operation to remedy a condition of the heart. Any surgical procedure involving the heart. In closed heart surgery, a small incision is made into the heart; a heart-lung machine is not used. In open-heart surgery, the heart is opened, the chambers of the heart are made visible, and blood is detoured from the…

A surgeon who specialises in operations on the heart.  

Two different sounds made by the heart as it beats. Any of four distinct sounds produced within the heart during its normal cycle of contraction and relaxation and heard with a stethoscope placed on the chest over the heart. The first sound (a dull, prolonged lub) is caused by closure of the valves between the…

A treatment which involves pressing on the chest to make a heart which has stopped beating start working again.