Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.

A physical, metal, or nervous collapse. General term describing the onset or progress of undesirable chemical or physical changes in a fat or oil. This may include darkening, formation of excess free fatty acids or peroxides, polymerization and gumming and undesirable foaming. Further, undesirable flavors and odors may develop. The point at which a bone…

A nonapeptide messenger that is enzymatically produced from kallidin in the blood where it is a potent but short-lived agent of arteriolar dilation and increased capillary permeability. Bradykinin is also released from mast cells during asthma attacks, from gut walls as a gastrointestinal vasodilator, from damaged tissues as a pain signal, and may be a…

A collective term for interstitial, intracavity, and surface radiotherapy. It uses small sealed or partly-sealed sources that may be placed on or near the body surface or within a natural body cavity or implanted directly into the tissues. A radioactive treatment in which the radioactive material actually touches the tissue being treated. Method of cancer…

Body wastes passed through the rectum and anus. An act of passing faeces out of the body through the anus. The amount of faeces passed through the anus. Evacuation of feces from the gastrointestinal tract. The number of bowel movements varies in healthy individuals, some having a movement after each meal, others one in the…

The long tube-shaped organ in the abdomen that completes the process of digestion. There is both a small and a large bowel. Also called the intestine. The large intestine. The intestine, especially the large intestine. Synonym for large intestine; sometimes includes the small intestine as well. The term bowel is used to refer to the…

The transference of bone marrow from one human or animal to another. Procedure in which a section of bone marrow is taken from one person and transplanted into another; used to replace bone marrow that has been damaged or diseased, such as by leukemia or lymphoma. Autologous bone marrow transplant means that the patient’s own…

Liquid components of living organisms. A liquid in the body, e.g. water, blood or semen. A fluid found in one of the fluid compartments of the body. The principal fluid compartments are intracellular and extracellular. A much smaller segment, the transcellular, includes fluid in the tracheobronchial tree, the gastrointestinal tract, and the bladder; cerebrospinal fluid;…

To transfer DNA, RNA, or proteins to an immobilizing matrix such as nitrocellulose.  

Specialized non-fenestrated tightly-joined endothelial cells (tight junctions) that form a transport barrier for certain substances between the cerebral capillaries and the brain tissue. A “wall” made up of a semipermeable layer of cells between the bloodstream and neurons that blocks out some substances and lets other materials through; helps to maintain a constant and stable…

A tube in the body through which blood circulates. Blood vessels include a network of arteries, arterioles, capillaries, venules, and veins. Any tube which carries blood round the body, e.g. an artery, vein or capillary. Any of the network of tubes that transport blood throughout the body, including arteries, veins, arterioles, and venules. The tubes…