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Hamman's Syndrome
Hamman's syndrome, also known as Macklin's syndrome, is a syndrome of spontaneous subcutaneous emphysema (air in the subcutaneous tissues of the skin) and pneumomediastinum (air in the mediastinum, the center of the chest cavity), sometimes associated with pain and, less commonly, dyspnea (difficulty breathing), dysphonia, and a low-grade fever. Hamman's syndrome can cause Hamman's sign, an unusual combination of sounds that can be heard with a stethoscope. Causes The cause of Hamman's syndrome is most commonly unknown (idiopathic). Excessive duration and/or intensity of activities that mimic valsalva manoeuvres, ''i.e.'' that increase intrathoracic pressure, can cause barotrauma, and hence pregnancy (and constipation and other causes of excessive straining) can be a precipitating cause of Hamman's syndrome. Indeed, it is estimated to occur in approximately 1 in 100,000 live births and is associated with prolonged labour times. Additionally, vomiting and coughing have also be ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mediastinum
The mediastinum (from ;: mediastina) is the central compartment of the thoracic cavity. Surrounded by loose connective tissue, it is a region that contains vital organs and structures within the thorax, mainly the heart and its vessels, the esophagus, the trachea, the vagus nerve, vagus, phrenic nerve, phrenic and cardiac nerves, the thoracic duct, the thymus and the lymph nodes of the central chest. Anatomy The mediastinum lies within the thorax and is enclosed on the right and left by pulmonary pleurae, pleurae. It is surrounded by the chest wall in front, the lungs to the sides and the Spine (anatomy), spine at the back. It extends from the sternum in front to the vertebral column behind. It contains all the organs of the thorax except the lungs. It is continuous with the loose connective tissue of the neck. The mediastinum can be divided into an upper (or superior) and lower (or inferior) part: * The superior mediastinum starts at the superior thoracic aperture and ends ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stethoscope
The stethoscope is a medicine, medical device for auscultation, or listening to internal sounds of an animal or human body. It typically has a small disc-shaped resonator that is placed against the skin, with either one or two tubes connected to two earpieces. A stethoscope can be used to listen to the sounds made by the heart sounds, heart, lungs or intestines, as well as blood flow in artery, arteries and veins. In combination with a manual sphygmomanometer, it is commonly used when measuring blood pressure. It was invented in 1816 by René Laennec and the binaural version by Arthur Leared in 1851. Less commonly, "mechanic's stethoscopes", equipped with rod shaped chestpieces, are used to listen to internal sounds made by machines (for example, sounds and vibrations emitted by worn ball bearings), such as diagnosing a malfunctioning automobile engine by listening to the sounds of its internal parts. Stethoscopes can also be used to check scientific vacuum chambers for leaks an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Respiratory Diseases
Respiratory diseases, or lung diseases, are pathology, pathological conditions affecting the organs and tissues that make gas exchange difficult in Breathing, air-breathing animals. They include conditions of the respiratory tract including the trachea, bronchi, bronchioles, Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli, pulmonary pleurae, pleurae, pleural cavity, the nerves and muscles of respiration. Respiratory diseases range from mild and self-limiting, such as the common cold, influenza, and pharyngitis to life-threatening diseases such as bacterial pneumonia, pulmonary embolism, tuberculosis, Asthma, acute asthma, lung cancer, and severe acute respiratory syndromes, such as Coronavirus disease 2019, COVID-19. Respiratory diseases can be classified in many different ways, including by the organ or tissue involved, by the type and pattern of associated signs and symptoms, or by the cause of the disease. The study of respiratory disease is known as pulmonology. A physician who specializes in res ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Louis Hamman
Louis Virgil Hamman (December 21, 1877 – April 28, 1946) was an American physician who was recognized as one of the great clinicians in his time. Early life Louis Virgil Hamman was born on December 21, 1877, in Baltimore, Maryland, to Agatha (née Haseneyer) and John A. Hamman. Hamman graduated from Calvert Hall College High School. He then graduated with a Bachelor of Science from Rock Hill College in 1895. He was graduated M.D. from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in 1901. Career Hamman interned at New York Hospital from 1901 to 1902 and served as a resident physician until 1903. Hamman returned in 1903 to his alma mater to practice medicine. Hamman served as an assistant in medicine at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine from 1903 to 1906. He then served as instructor from 1906 to 1908 and associate in medicine from 1908 to 1915. He was associate professor of clinical medicine from 1915 to 1932. In 1932, he was appointed associate professor of medicine. He beco ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Boerhaave's Syndrome
Esophageal rupture, also known as Boerhaave syndrome, is a rupture of the esophageal wall. Iatrogenic causes account for approximately 56% of esophageal perforations, usually due to medical instrumentation such as an endoscopy or paraesophageal surgery. The 10% of esophageal perforations caused specifically by vomiting are termed Boerhaave syndrome. Spontaneous perforation of the esophagus is most commonly a full-thickness tear in the esophageal wall due to a sudden increase in intraesophageal pressure combined with relatively negative intrathoracic pressure caused by straining or vomiting (effort rupture of the esophagus or Boerhaave syndrome). Other causes of spontaneous perforation include caustic ingestion, pill esophagitis, Barrett's esophagus, infectious ulcers in patients with AIDS, and following dilation of esophageal strictures. In most cases of Boerhaave syndrome, the tear occurs at the left postero-lateral aspect of the distal esophagus and extends for several centim ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Supportive Treatment
Symptomatic treatment, supportive care, supportive therapy, or palliative treatment is any medical therapy of a disease that only affects its symptoms, not the underlying cause. It is usually aimed at reducing the signs and symptoms for the comfort and well-being of the patient, but it also may be useful in reducing organic consequences and sequelae of these signs and symptoms of the disease. In many diseases, even in those whose etiologies are known (e.g., most viral diseases, such as influenza and Rift Valley fever), symptomatic treatment is the only treatment available so far. For more detail, see supportive therapy. For conditions like cancer, arthritis, neuropathy, tendinopathy, and injury, it can be useful to distinguish treatments that are supportive/palliative and cannot alter the natural history of the disease ( disease modifying treatments). Examples Examples of symptomatic treatments: * Analgesics, to reduce pain * Anti-inflammatory agents, for inflammation ca ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Barotrauma
Barotrauma is physical damage to body tissues caused by a difference in pressure between a gas space inside, or in contact with, the body and the surrounding gas or liquid. The initial damage is usually due to over-stretching the tissues in tension or shear, either directly by an expansion of the gas in the closed space or by pressure difference hydrostatically transmitted through the tissue. Tissue rupture may be complicated by the introduction of gas into the local tissue or circulation through the initial trauma site, which can cause blockage of circulation at distant sites or interfere with the normal function of an organ by its presence. The term is usually applied when the gas volume involved already exists prior to decompression. Barotrauma can occur during both compression and decompression events. Barotrauma generally manifests as sinus or middle ear effects, lung overpressure injuries and injuries resulting from external squeezes. Decompression sickness is indir ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Valsalva Manoeuvres
The Valsalva maneuver is performed by a forceful attempt of exhalation against a closed airway, usually done by closing one's mouth and pinching one's nose shut while expelling air, as if blowing up a balloon. Variations of the maneuver can be used either in medical examination as a test of cardiac function and autonomic nervous control of the heart (because the maneuver raises the pressure in the lungs), or to clear the ears and sinuses (that is, to equalize pressure between them) when ambient pressure changes, as in scuba diving, hyperbaric oxygen therapy, or air travel. A modified version is done by expiring against a closed glottis. This will elicit the cardiovascular responses described below but will not force air into the Eustachian tubes. History The technique is named after Antonio Maria Valsalva, a 17th-century physician and anatomist from Bologna whose principal scientific interest was the human ear. He described the Eustachian tube and the maneuver to test its p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Syndrome
A syndrome is a set of medical signs and symptoms which are correlated with each other and often associated with a particular disease or disorder. The word derives from the Greek language, Greek σύνδρομον, meaning "concurrence". When a syndrome is paired with a definite cause this becomes a disease. In some instances, a syndrome is so closely linked with a pathogenesis or cause that disease#Terminology, the words ''syndrome'', ''disease'', and ''disorder'' end up being used interchangeably for them. This substitution of terminology often confuses the reality and meaning of medical diagnoses. This is especially true of heredity, inherited syndromes. About one third of all phenotypes that are listed in Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man, OMIM are described as dysmorphic, which usually refers to the facial gestalt. For example, Down syndrome, Wolf–Hirschhorn syndrome, and Andersen–Tawil syndrome are disorders with known pathogeneses, so each is more than just a set of sig ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fever
Fever or pyrexia in humans is a symptom of an anti-infection defense mechanism that appears with Human body temperature, body temperature exceeding the normal range caused by an increase in the body's temperature Human body temperature#Fever, set point in the hypothalamus. There is no single agreed-upon upper limit for normal temperature: sources use values ranging between in humans. The increase in set point triggers increased muscle tone, muscle contractions and causes a feeling of cold or chills. This results in greater heat production and efforts to conserve heat. When the set point temperature returns to normal, a person feels hot, becomes Flushing (physiology), flushed, and may begin to Perspiration, sweat. Rarely a fever may trigger a febrile seizure, with this being more common in young children. Fevers do not typically go higher than . A fever can be caused by many medical conditions ranging from non-serious to life-threatening. This includes viral infection, viral, b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dysphonia
A hoarse voice, also known as dysphonia or hoarseness, is when the voice involuntarily sounds breathy, raspy, or strained, or is softer in volume or lower in pitch. A hoarse voice can be associated with a feeling of unease or scratchiness in the throat. Hoarseness is often a symptom of problems in the vocal folds of the larynx. It may be caused by laryngitis, which in turn may be caused by an upper respiratory infection, a cold, or allergies. Cheering at sporting events, speaking loudly in noisy environments, talking for too long without resting one's voice, singing loudly, or speaking with a voice that is too high or too low can also cause temporary hoarseness. A number of other causes for losing one's voice exist, and treatment is generally by resting the voice and treating the underlying cause. If the cause is misuse or overuse of the voice, drinking plenty of water may alleviate the problems. It appears to occur more commonly in females and the elderly. Furthermore, certain ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
