Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.

What may be felt when one of a person’s four key spiritual relationships (with other people, with oneself, with the world around, or with ‘Life’ itself) is traumatized or broken. A bad trauma in one of the first three relationships can lead to damage to the last of them that of the relationship with Life…

A strong solution of alcohol in water. Proof spirit is one containing 57 per cent of alcohol by volume or 49 per cent by weight, and is so named because it can stand the proof of just catching fire. Rectified spirit contains 90 per cent of alcohol by volume or over 85 per cent by…

Also known as the spine, this is the rigid pillar which supports the upper parts of the body and protects the spinal cord and nerves arising from it. It is built up of 33 vertebrae placed one upon another, of which five fuse together to form the sacrum, and the lowest four unite in the…

A chronic condition in which the neck is rotated or deviated laterally, forwards, or backwards, often with additional jerking or tremor. It is a form of focal dystonia, and should not be confused with the far commoner, transient condition of acute painful wry-neck. Torticollis with recurrent but transient contractions of the muscles of the neck…

A medical specialty dealing with the physiological, psychological and pathological consequences of space flight, in which the body has to cope with unusual variations in gravitational forces, including weightlessness, a constricted environment, prolonged close contact with work colleagues in very demanding technical circumstances, and sustained periods of emotional pressure, including fear. Enormous progress has been…

An extract from the bean of Glycine soja, a leguminous plant related to peas and beans. It is used in infant formulas for those babies thought to have cows’ milk protein intolerance.  

A group of disorders in which the affected individuals suffer from repeated physical symptoms for which no physical cause can be discovered. Somatization is the process by which a person’s psychological needs are expressed in the form of physical symptoms.  

A disinfectant by virtue of the fact that it gives off chlorine. For domestic use as, for example, for sterilizing baby feeding bottles it is available in a variety of proprietary preparations. An antiseptic used in root canal therapy. This solution is not suitable for application to wounds. Common household bleach; an effective disinfectant for…

An organic iodine salt that is radio-opaque and therefore used as a contrast medium to outline various organs in the body in X-ray films. It is given intravenously. Its main use is in pyelography that is, in rendering the kidneys radio-opaque but it is also used to outline the blood vessels (angiography) and the gallbladder and…

Used in the prophylaxis of asthma, it is administered by inhalation; it can reduce the incidence of asthmatic attacks but is of no value in the treatment of an acute attack. It acts by preventing the release of pharmacological mediators of bronchospasm, particularly histamine, by stabilizing mast-cell membranes. It is of particular use in patients…