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Neisseria Meningitidis
''Neisseria meningitidis'', often referred to as the meningococcus, is a Gram-negative bacterium that can cause meningitis and other forms of meningococcal disease such as meningococcemia, a life-threatening sepsis. The bacterium is referred to as a coccus because it is round, and more specifically a diplococcus because of its tendency to form pairs. About 10% of adults are carriers of the bacteria in their nasopharynx. As an exclusively human pathogen, it causes developmental impairment and death in about 10% of cases. It causes the only form of bacterial meningitis known to occur epidemically, mainly in Africa and Asia. It occurs worldwide in both epidemic and endemic form. ''N. meningitidis'' is spread through saliva and respiratory secretions during coughing, sneezing, kissing, chewing on toys and through sharing a source of fresh water. It has also been reported to be Sexually transmitted infection, transmitted through oral sex and cause urethritis in men. It infects its hos ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Scanning Electron Microscope
A scanning electron microscope (SEM) is a type of electron microscope that produces images of a sample by scanning the surface with a focused beam of electrons. The electrons interact with atoms in the sample, producing various signals that contain information about the surface topography and composition. The electron beam is scanned in a raster scan pattern, and the position of the beam is combined with the intensity of the detected signal to produce an image. In the most common SEM mode, secondary electrons emitted by atoms excited by the electron beam are detected using a secondary electron detector ( Everhart–Thornley detector). The number of secondary electrons that can be detected, and thus the signal intensity, depends, among other things, on specimen topography. Some SEMs can achieve resolutions better than 1 nanometer. Specimens are observed in high vacuum in a conventional SEM, or in low vacuum or wet conditions in a variable pressure or environmental SEM, an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Petechia
A petechia (; : petechiae) is a small red or purple spot ( 1 cm in diameter) and purpura (3 to 10 mm in diameter). The term is typically used in the plural (petechiae), since a single petechia is seldom noticed or significant. Causes Physical trauma The most common cause of petechiae is through physical trauma such as a hard bout of coughing, holding breath, vomiting, or crying, which can result in facial petechiae, especially around the eyes. Excessive scratching and friction, especially on thin and poorly circulated parts of the body may also cause petechiae. Such instances are generally considered harmless and usually disappear within a few days, but depending on severity and frequency may be indicative of an underlying medical condition. * Constriction, asphyxiation – petechiae, especially in the eyes, may also occur when excessive pressure is applied to tissue (e.g., when a tourniquet is applied to an extremity or with excessive coughing or vomiting). * Sunburn, childbir ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Platelet
Platelets or thrombocytes () are a part of blood whose function (along with the coagulation#Coagulation factors, coagulation factors) is to react to bleeding from blood vessel injury by clumping to form a thrombus, blood clot. Platelets have no cell nucleus; they are fragments of cytoplasm from megakaryocytes which reside in bone marrow or Lung, lung tissue, and then enter the circulation. Platelets are found only in mammals, whereas in other vertebrates (e.g. birds, amphibians), thrombocytes circulate as intact agranulocyte, mononuclear cells. One major function of platelets is to contribute to hemostasis: the process of stopping bleeding at the site where the lining of vessels (endothelium) has been interrupted. Platelets gather at the site and, unless the interruption is physically too large, they plug the hole. First, platelets attach to substances outside the interrupted endothelium: ''adhesion (medicine), adhesion''. Second, they change shape, turn on receptors and secret ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura
Immune thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP), also known as idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura or immune thrombocytopenia, is an Autoimmunity, autoimmune primary disorder of hemostasis characterized by a low platelet count in the absence of other causes. ITP often results in an increased risk of bleeding from mucosal surfaces (such as the nose or gums) or the skin (causing purpura and Bruise, bruises). Depending on which age group is affected, ITP causes two distinct clinical Syndrome, syndromes: an acute form observed in children and a chronic form in adults. Acute ITP often follows a viral infection and is typically self-limited (resolving within two months), while the more chronic form (persisting for longer than six months) does not yet have a specific identified cause. Nevertheless, the pathogenesis of ITP is similar in both syndromes involving antibodies against various platelet surface antigens such as Glycoprotein, glycoproteins. Diagnosis of ITP involves identifying a low pl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Disseminated Intravascular Coagulation
Disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) is a condition in which blood clots form throughout the body, blocking Microvessel, small blood vessels. Symptoms may include chest pain, shortness of breath, leg pain, problems speaking, or problems moving parts of the body. As clotting factors and platelets are used up, bleeding may occur. This may include hematuria, blood in the urine, GI bleed, blood in the stool, or bleeding into the skin. Complications may include organ failure. Relatively common causes include sepsis, surgery, major trauma, cancer, and complications of pregnancy. Less common causes include snake bites, frostbite, and burns. There are two main types: acute (rapid onset) and chronic (slow onset). Diagnosis is typically based on blood tests. Findings may include thrombocytopenia, low platelets, low fibrinogen, high International normalized ratio, INR, or high D-dimer. Treatment is mainly directed towards the underlying condition. Other measures may include givin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Adrenal Insufficiency
Adrenal insufficiency is a condition in which the adrenal glands do not produce adequate amounts of steroid hormones. The adrenal glands—also referred to as the adrenal cortex—normally secrete glucocorticoids (primarily cortisol), mineralocorticoids (primarily aldosterone), and androgens. These hormones are important in regulating blood pressure, electrolytes, and metabolism as a whole. Deficiency of these hormones leads to symptoms ranging from abdominal pain, vomiting, muscle weakness and fatigue, low blood pressure, depression, mood and personality changes (in mild cases) to organ failure and shock (in severe cases). Adrenal crisis may occur if a person having adrenal insufficiency experiences stresses, such as an accident, injury, surgery, or severe infection; this is a life-threatening medical condition resulting from severe deficiency of cortisol in the body. Death may quickly follow. Adrenal insufficiency can be caused by dysfunction of the adrenal gland itself, wh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fulminant
Fulminant () is a medical descriptor for any event or process that occurs suddenly and escalates quickly, and is intense and severe to the point of lethality, i.e., it has an explosive character. The word comes from Latin ''fulmināre'', to strike with lightning. There are several diseases described by this adjective: * Fulminant liver failure * Fulminant (Marburg variant) multiple sclerosis * Fulminant colitis * Fulminant pre-eclampsia * Fulminant meningitis * Purpura fulminans * Fulminant hepatic venous thrombosis ( Budd-Chiari syndrome) * Fulminant jejunoileitis * Fulminant myocarditis Beyond these particular uses, the term is used more generally as a descriptor for sudden-onset medical conditions that are immediately threatening to life or limb. Some viral hemorrhagic fevers, such as Ebola, Lassa fever, and Lábrea fever, may kill in as little as two to five days. Diseases that cause rapidly developing lung edema, such as some kinds of pneumonia, may kill in a few h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Waterhouse–Friderichsen Syndrome
Waterhouse–Friderichsen syndrome (WFS) is defined as adrenal gland failure due to hemorrhages in the adrenal glands, commonly caused by sepsis. Typically, the bacteria responsible for triggering the bleeding is '' Neisseria meningitidis''. The bacterial infection leads to massive bleeding into one or both adrenal glands. Bilateral adrenal gland hemorrhaging is more common. It is characterized by overwhelming bacterial infection meningococcemia leading to massive blood invasion, organ failure, coma, low blood pressure and shock, disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) with widespread purpura, rapidly developing adrenocortical insufficiency and death. Signs and symptoms Waterhouse–Friderichsen syndrome can be caused by a number of different organisms (see below). When caused by ''Neisseria meningitidis'', WFS is considered the most severe form of meningococcal sepsis. The onset of the illness is nonspecific with fever, rigors, vomiting, and headache. Soon a rash appea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mortality Rate
Mortality rate, or death rate, is a measure of the number of deaths (in general, or due to a specific cause) in a particular Statistical population, population, scaled to the size of that population, per unit of time. Mortality rate is typically expressed in units of deaths per 1,000 individuals per year; thus, a mortality rate of 9.5 (out of 1,000) in a population of 1,000 would mean 9.5 deaths per year in that entire population, or 0.95% out of the total. It is distinct from "morbidity", which is either the prevalence or Incidence (epidemiology), incidence of a disease, and also from the incidence rate (the number of newly appearing cases of the disease per unit of time). An important specific mortality rate measure is the crude death rate, which looks at mortality from all causes in a given time interval for a given population. , for instance, the Central Intelligence Agency, CIA estimates that the crude death rate globally will be 7.7 deaths per 1,000 people in a population p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Non-blanching Rash
A non-blanching rash (NBR) is a skin rash that does not fade when pressed with, and viewed through, a glass. It is a characteristic of both purpuric and petechial rashes. Individual purpura measure 3–10 mm (0.3–1 cm, - in), whereas petechiae measure less than 3 mm. A non-blanching rash can be a symptom of bacterial meningitis Meningitis is acute or chronic inflammation of the protective membranes covering the brain and spinal cord, collectively called the meninges. The most common symptoms are fever, intense headache, vomiting and neck stiffness and occasionall ..., but this is not the exclusive cause. References External links {{Cutaneous-condition-stub} Cutaneous conditions ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Purpuric
Purpura () is a condition of red or purple discolored spots on the skin that do not Blanch (medical), blanch on applying pressure. The spots are caused by bleeding underneath the skin secondary to platelet disorders, vascular disorders, coagulation disorders, or other causes. They measure 3–10 mm, whereas petechiae measure less than 3 mm, and Ecchymosis, ecchymoses greater than 1 cm. Purpura is common with typhus and can be present with meningitis caused by meningococci or Sepsis, septicaemia. In particular, meningococcus (''Neisseria meningitidis''), a Gram-negative diplococcus organism, releases endotoxin when it lysis, lyses. Endotoxin activates the Hageman factor (clotting factor XII), which causes disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC). The DIC is what appears as a rash on the affected individual. Classification Purpura are a common and nonspecific medical sign; however, the underlying mechanism commonly involves one of: *Platelet, Platelet disor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mortality Rate
Mortality rate, or death rate, is a measure of the number of deaths (in general, or due to a specific cause) in a particular Statistical population, population, scaled to the size of that population, per unit of time. Mortality rate is typically expressed in units of deaths per 1,000 individuals per year; thus, a mortality rate of 9.5 (out of 1,000) in a population of 1,000 would mean 9.5 deaths per year in that entire population, or 0.95% out of the total. It is distinct from "morbidity", which is either the prevalence or Incidence (epidemiology), incidence of a disease, and also from the incidence rate (the number of newly appearing cases of the disease per unit of time). An important specific mortality rate measure is the crude death rate, which looks at mortality from all causes in a given time interval for a given population. , for instance, the Central Intelligence Agency, CIA estimates that the crude death rate globally will be 7.7 deaths per 1,000 people in a population p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
