Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.

To use burning, radiation or laser beams to remove tissue or to stop bleeding.  

An organism that causes a particular disease. The presence of a pathogen instigating an illness may denote that the said pathogen serves as the primary etiological factor, yet its involvement in a complex network of causation cannot be ruled out.  

A lobe at the back of the liver, behind the right and left lobes.  

A local analgesia of the cauda equina nerves in the lower spine. A type of nerve block in which a local anesthetic is injected into the lowest portion of the spinal canal. Obstetric and gynecological surgical procedures often benefit from this type of anesthesia. A caudal block is a nerve block technique where a local…

A method of pain relief that involves injecting an anaesthetic into the base of the spine to remove feeling in the lower part of the body.  

An anaesthetic, injected into the base of the spine to remove feeling in the lower part of the body. It is often used in childbirth.  

A group of nerves which go from the spinal cord to the lumbar region and the coccyx. The bundle of spinal nerves arising from the lumbosacral and lumbar region. A group of nerve roots with a common covering at the lower end of the spinal cord. Nerve roots in the cauda equina provide motor and…

The act of putting a catheter into a patient’s body. A procedure in which a narrow hollow tube is introduced into a body part to examine it; remove fluid or tissue; or introduce fluid, medication, or diagnostic material such as contrast medium. The introduction of a catheter into a hollow organ. This is most often…

A thread made from part of the intestines of sheep, now usually artificially hardened, used to sew up cuts made during surgery. Chemically treated suture (sewing) material made from the tissues of mammals and used in surgery; also shortened to gut. A fibrous material prepared from the tissues of animals, usually from the walls of…