Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.

Surgical procedures without scientific justification, performed in primitive societies without the purpose of treating or preventing disease. Included are alterations of the skin, ears, lips, teeth, genitalia, and head. In some cases, even in nonprimitive societies, surgical procedures without rational justification are considered ritualistic.  

A manual method of controlling the delivery of the fetal head. The nondominant hand exerts pressure against the fetal chin through the perineum. At the same time, the dominant hand exerts pressure against the fetal occiput. The maneuver should be performed slowly and between contractions to avoid perineal lacerations.  

The muscular fibrous band arising over the masseter muscle and inserted into the tissues at the corner of the mouth.  

An individual who willfully exposes himself or herself to activities that others regard as hazardous.  

The probability of the occurrence of a disease in a group that has been exposed to some environmental, medicinal, microbial, or toxic influence, relative to its probability in a randomly selected population.  

Concern about the probability of succumbing to a potential illness.  

A risk for sustained maladaptive response to a traumatic, overwhelming event. It is a nursing diagnosis accepted at the NANDA 13th Conference (1998).  

Examination of the potential positive and negative results of undertaking a specific therapeutic course of action. For example, a man with a slowly growing, localized prostate cancer might want to know whether it is better to undergo surgery (and risk urinary incontinence and erectile dysfunction) or to manage his disease conservatively (and risk the spread…