Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.

To prevent someone from breathing, or be prevented from breathing. To cause asphyxiation or asphyxia.  

Failure to breathe in a new-born baby. Respiratory failure in the newborn.  

The absence of sperm in semen. Strictly, a lack or failure of formation of normal semen. More usually, however, the term is used to mean the total absence of sperm from the semen. The inability to produce or release sperm cells in the seminal fluid.    

A developmental disorder characterised by difficulty in social interaction and a restricted range of interests, more common in boys than girls [Described 1944. After Hans Asperger (1906-80), Austrian psychiatrist.] Aspergers syndrome (AS) is a pervasive developmental disorder considered to be at the higher end of the autistic spectrum. The main distinction between a child with…

An enzyme found in heart muscle, liver cells, skeletal muscle cells and some other tissues. It is used in the diagnosis of liver disease and heart attacks.  

A method of doing something using sterilised equipment. Any health care procedure in which strict precautions are observed to avoid contamination by microorganisms. For example, health care workers follow aseptic technique when drawing blood and preparing it for analysis. They use sterile gloves and instruments and make sure that the blood sample is not contaminated…

Surgery using sterilised equipment, rather than relying on antiseptic drugs to kill harmful microorganisms. An operative procedure performed under sterile conditions. Procedures where all tools, towels, rubber gloves, and even the patient’s skin are sterilized to ensure a germ-free environment.  

Nodules which are formed mainly in or near the heart in rheumatic fever. The distinct damage associated with rheumatic fever, typically situated around the blood vessels within the heart muscle, and sometimes identified in other areas of the body.  

The first part of the colon which goes up the right side of the body from the caecum. Segment of the bowel that extends upward on the right side of the abdomen, joining the transverse colon. The section of the colon that begins at the cecum and ascends toward the liver.  

The first section of the aorta as it leaves the heart and turns upwards.