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An artificial device designed to correct incontinence. Sphincters are the rings of muscle that narrow or close off a passageway by contracting. Two common sphincters are located at the anus and at the opening from the bladder to the urethra. Because the efficiency of muscle sphincters declines with age, the inability to control the passage…

An unusual feeling. There are a variety of abnormal sensations. Tingling, an abnormal, prickling feeling in the skin, can be a sign of damage or irritation to nerves in the affected area. It is a different problem than numbness, which suggests instead that a nerve is damaged. A brief tingling sensation, as when a person’s…

An atrophy or shrinking away of the soft tissue just under the membrane lining the nose, producing a thick crust of dried material that may eventually decompose and cause a foul odor. The condition can impair the sense of smell and cause nosebleeds. Atrophic rhinitis may result from a lack of activity of the mucous…

A subspecialty of pathology having to do with the examination of organs and tissues removed for biopsy. Anatomical pathologists, sometimes called surgical pathologists, examine tissues and organs from biopsies, surgical procedures, or autopsies, with and without using a microscope, to detect the presence of disease and its causes. Tissue samples taken for biopsy can be…

An antihypertensive drug. Nicardipine hydrochloride (Cardene) is used to treat high blood pressure and angina, chest pain caused by lack of oxygen to the heart. A calcium channel blocker, nicardipine hydrochloride reduces the workload of the heart by decreasing blood pressure and by widening the arteries to reduce the heart’s workload.  

The chemical processes through which the body uses, stores, and circulates lipids and lipoproteins. Lipids are a broad category of substances that includes fats and fatlike compounds such as sterols (including cholesterol). Phospholipids are a group of lipids that constitute an important component of the membranes that surround body cells. Lipoproteins are complex substances made…

A type of fertility technique that improves the ability of some embryos to implant during in vitro fertilization; also known as assisted zona hatching. In assisted hatching, a small opening is created in the thick, transparent outer membrane (zona pellucida) of the embryo, increasing the chance that the membrane will be shed and implantation of…

A treatment in which an individual with cancer receives his or her own previously harvested healthy bone marrow or stem cells to replace bone marrow that has been damaged by chemotherapy or radiation. Autologous bone marrow transplant avoids the problems associated with using bone marrow from a donor whose cells may not be a good…

The decline in living bone tissue due to a combination of influences caused by aging that produce accelerated bone resorption (the normal dissolving phase of bone regeneration) and a decrease in the speed at which the bone is rebuilt. Bone loss is a complication of osteoporosis, a disease that thins and weakens the bones, which…

The branch of medicine that focuses on the special health and medical problems associated with flight, such as hypoxia (reduced oxygen concentration in blood and tissues), jet lag, barotrauma, dehydration, restricted body movement, blood clots, and ear pain. Aviation medicine also encompasses the assessment of the fitness of crew members and passengers to fly, the…