Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.

An area of living tissue that undergoes necrosis as a result of obstruction of local blood supply. An area of dead tissue caused by lack of blood supply. The death of tissue as a result of oxygen deprivation. An area of tissue which is killed when the blood supply is cut off by the blockage…

Hardened, as a soft tissue that becomes extremely firm. Hardened part. Area of hardened tissue; the process of hardening. Hardening or firming of a tissue as the result of cellular infiltration due to infection, inflammation, or trauma. Hardening of a tissue or part, especially the skin due to edema, inflammation, or other abnormality. An area…

Index of structural abnormality.  

The inability to control urine excretion. Inability to control urination and/or defecation. Causes may be physical (e.g., diabetes, spinal cord injury, Alzheimer’s disease) or emotional. Intermittent or complete absence of ability to control loss of urine from the bladder, a problem that affects about 25% of women over the age of 60. It may have…

The inability to control bowel’s movement. Pertaining to the excrement discharged from the intestine (feces). Inability to control defecation. The inability to retain feces in the rectum and control defecation. Fecal incontinence is less common than urinary incontinence. Temporary fecal incontinence can occur at any age during bouts of severe diarrhea. Chronic inability to control…

A sexual dysfunction characterized by the inability to develop or maintain an erection of the penis. Inability to achieve or maintain a penile erection of sufficient quality to engage in successful sexual intercourse (i.e., male erectile disorder). Lacking in masculine sexual power, strength, or vigor; contrast with potency. Two types are described by Masters and…

A man-made protein that consists of a targeting portion linked to a toxin. A conjugate formed by attaching a toxic molecule (e.g., ricin) to an agent of the immune system (e.g., a monoclonal antibody), that is specific for the pathogen or tumor to be killed. The immune system-agent portion (of the conjugate) delivers the toxic…

Agent that stimulates an immune response. An agent that stimulates either innate or acquired immunity. In the U.S., immunotherapy is relegated to experimental medicine, but a number of plant substances are used in Europe as immunostimulants. The presumption of immunostimulation is that you increase native resistance and let it run its course. American Standard Practice,…

Reacting to particular antigens or haptens.