Schizophrenia is arguably the worst disease affecting mankind, even AIDS not expected, Nature 1988. Many physicians have tried to describe ‘schizophrenia’ under various names and groups of diseases. Still, for ages, it remained a puzzle for physicians, philosophers, and the general public. In the late 19th century, Emil Kraepelin called this disease dementia praecox, a […]

The invention of blood transfusion is very beneficial for mankind, in many aspects, especially, in life-saving emergency procedures. Today, In the Modern world there are so many organizations that promote blood donation. Donating blood is a very appreciable thing because your blood can be a hope of a cure for many.  Have you ever noticed […]

Myocardial infarction commonly known as a heart attack is one of the most common causes of death throughout the world. Myocardial infarction means the death of heart tissue due to a lack of blood supply. The heart receives blood supply from coronary circulation. The blockage of this results in the death of heart muscles as […]

We know the meaning of growth. Have you ever wondered what is responsible for growth in the human body? And why does a normal person doesn’t show any increase in height after attaining a certain age?  There is a hormone called growth hormone (GH), secreted from anterior pituitary cells that are responsible for growth.The production […]

Oxygen is carried to various parts of the body by red blood cells (RBC) in the bloodstream.  When there is a decrease in the number of healthy RBCs – the patient is said to be anemic. But the definition doesn’t stop here. There are two criteria to consider a differential diagnosis of anemia. They are […]

Yes, it is a blood cancer. The body fluid that keeps our cells alive is blood.The worst thing hitting our blood is cancer.Usually, blood contains red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets.White blood cells are affected by chronic myeloid leukemia.Let dissect this chronic myeloid leukemia. Leukemia means malignancy arising from bone marrow.Crazy monoclonal stem […]

Hepatitis B is an infectious state of the liver caused by the hepatitis B virus (HBV). This viral hepatitis is a systemic infection affecting the liver with primary inflammation of the same. It is an ancient disease, first described in 5th cent BC. It is the most common cause of chronic liver disease and hepatocellular […]

Sarcoma is a term used for connective tissue carcinoma. It is known as sarcoma, even though it is not considered a true carcinoma. It’s a cosmetic problem. Kaposi sarcoma (KS) originates from the endothelial cells which line the lumen of blood vessels and lymphatic vessels. Like all other carcinoma cells, it also shows fast growth […]

It is basically adrenal insufficiency or decrease in function of the adrenal gland  It’s something like the adrenal gland does not perform its function properly and you develop Addison’s disease. It was named after Thomas Addison who first described it as an infection of the adrenal gland A little to the anatomy and physiology, the […]

“What killed people during the outbreak in 1918 was not a weak immune system, an over-response from their own immune system, known as ARDS, killed them. They drowned in their own fluid” – Laurie Garret The topic ARDS is now the talk of the town due to the corona pandemic. The majority of the population, […]

Sickle cell anemia is a type of anemia in which the RBC assumes a sickle shape, so what makes the RBC assume the sickle shape? ,it is because of the replacement of glutamic acid by valine in the 6th position of the beta chain of hemoglobin. And the replaced hemoglobin is termed HBS So when […]

It is an illness associated with cardiac structure abnormality which may spread extracardiac, hematogenously, and progress to death within a week if left untreated.It is associated with 4-7 cases per 100000 population in developed countries. Who develops it?  Someone with a congenital heart disease, IV drug abuser,with intracardiac devices, and degenerative disease. Etiology Etiology varies […]

    “Disease caused due to a war within the body.” In this article, we are going to see about a disease which is caused due to its own immune cells.Lichen planus is a common dermatological condition seen. It is a chronic autoimmune disease that involves not only the skin but also scalp, genital mucosa.  Layers […]

One condition that makes our kidneys enlarge from fist size to football size is Polycystic kidney disease. As it is the 4th most kidney failure, PKD foundation declared 4th September as the PKD awareness day. It is an inherited disease-producing cystic dilatation of tubules in the kidneys leading to progressive renal failure. Types There are […]

The word gout comes from the Latin word ‘gutta’ meaning drop as this inflammatory condition of joints was previously believed to be caused by the dropping of diseased matter from the blood into the joint. Gouty arthritis is due to the deposition of monosodium urate crystals in the joints. It is an ancient disease first […]

We are familiar with the term peptic ulcer, a condition where mucosal erosion occurs due to excess acid in the stomach. The presence of any tumor can induce the excess production of gastric acid. Zollinger-Ellison Syndrome (ZES) is a rare condition where we can see all these factors together, that is And these three factors […]

Eyes are a beautiful part of our body that helps us visualize the world. Everyone knows eyes speak a lot more than words. Same works here. Any defects in the liver and biliary system will be reflecting in our eyes by changing its white color to yellow color. Yes, it is jaundice. Jaundice – the […]

Diabetes insipidus was first coined by Johann Peter Frank in the year 1794 when he described patients having polyuria excreting Nonsaccharine urine (no sugar). The word diabetes is from the Greek meaning ‘a siphon’ and the word insipidus comes from Latin which means ‘tasteless’.  As these patients passed water like a siphon and their urine […]

Is it possible for someone to have one limb longer than others? Yes, it can occur in the case of arteriovenous fistula present on that side of the limb. An artery has a separate pathway and so the vein. If due to any cause there occurs a communication between these two it’s called an arteriovenous […]

We all are aware of the term immunity and immune system. When an antigen (foreign body) enters the human body, our immune system produces antibodies to eliminate the antigen. But in some conditions, the immune system got confused with the self-cells and antigenic cells. In those conditions, it produces an antibody against self-cells and destroys […]

Parkinsonism is an umbrella term covering the symptoms of tremors, muscle rigidity and slowness of movements.  Parkinson’s disease being the cause for 80% of cases. Other causes include cerebrovascular diseases, drug or toxin induced , degenerative conditions of the cerebral system and injury to the brain. Parkinson’s disease was named after British apothecary James Parkinson […]

This is a disease most common in Countries like America, China, and states of India like  Kerala and Tamil Nadu. It comes under neglected tropical diseases. It usually affects places where unhealthy eating habits and unhygienic practices like habits of inadequate hand-washing and habit of eating with their hands are practiced. Agent  In neurocysticercosis, man […]

Rheumatoid Arthritis is a common joint disorder prevailing most commonly among women. It affects mostly the age of 55+. February 2 has been established as the Rheumatoid Arthritis awareness day. Rheumatoid Arthritis is defined as chronic inflammation of the synovium of joints usually involving the peripheral joints symmetrically. Why RA?   Rheumatoid Arthritis is influenced by […]

This is an interesting topic associated with platelets, which plays an important role in hemostasis. As we all know Thrombocytopenia refers to platelet count less than 100*109/L.Idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura we are going to know about Idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura.  Thrombocytopenia is caused due to various primary factors such as increased platelet destruction, abnormal; pooling of platelet […]

Itching is a very common symptom that we see on a day to day basis. While most of the time it is just a symptom of a mild allergic response, sometimes it could turn out to be a much more severe disease like psoriasis! Interestingly, “psora” in Greek literally translates to “itch”.  This disease which produces […]

An emergency condition killing many people in the postoperative period is this pulmonary embolism. First, we want to know the relation of the lung to the heart. Venous blood all over the body will make its end in the right atrium. Then, the blood is carried to the right ventricle as the tricuspid valve opens. […]

Look at 10 people around you and at least 5 of them will have hypertension, see how common it is .hypertension can be caused by a variety of causes, one such cause is pheochromocytoma, but there is something good about this and what’s that? It’s a potentially curable form of hypertension.  Pheochromocytoma is a tumor […]

Many would think IBD is like managing diarrhea or flatulence, in most cases, it is not taken seriously and there is a poor understanding of the effects it has on people’s everyday life. IBD is something that affects the patients personally. Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is an immune-mediated chronic intestinal condition. It results from inappropriate […]

Irritable bowel syndrome irritates not only the bowel but also the patient suffering from it. Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a functional bowel disorder characterized by recurrent abdominal pain with changes in bowel habits. By functional we mean that there is no structural abnormality of the gut in this condition. Conditions that make your intestine […]

About 10% of the world population is affected by chronic kidney disease (CKD) many of which progress to end-stage renal disease (ESRD). These patients are kept alive with renal replacement therapy. Renal replacement therapy does the normal kidney function that is the filtration of blood. Renal replacement therapy (RFT) is also the mainstay treatment for […]

Kidneys are one of the important vital organs in the body. As the heart pumps blood, lungs purify the air, the brain controls all systems, our kidneys help to eliminate toxins, and other metabolic waste products in the body.  When the kidneys can’t do what their actual purpose is, we will call that condition, renal […]

It is per se, not a disease but a condition occurring in most kidney diseases.  The nephron is the functional unit of the kidney consisting of Bowman’s capsule (cup-like structure), glomerulus with an afferent and efferent arteriole, tubules, and collecting duct. Normally, the glomerular capillary wall acts as a size- and charge-dependent barrier for plasma […]

Shock is a systemic state of cellular hypoxia and inadequate tissue perfusion. Inadequate oxygen for normal cellular respiration and insufficient glucose to cells. There is a switch from normal aerobic metabolism to anaerobic metabolism leading to lactic acidosis. Shock can rapidly progress and cause the death of the patient, hence early intervention is mandatory. Stages […]

The term rheumatic fever is a post-streptococcal,immune-mediated, multisystem inflammatory disease It is a major health problem among children and young adults in developing countries and is the most common cause of acquired heart disease in children. The most common age group being affected are the children between 5-15 yrs of age commonly the school-going children. […]

A mimic is someone who imitates some specific feature of some other person or thing. As far as a disease is concerned if it shows some similarities with the other disease, we can say it mimics the other disease.  Here Guillain Barre Syndrome (GBS) is often misdiagnosed as brain stem ischemia due to similarities between […]

Antony Bayes de Luna, president of World Heart Foundation (1997 – 99) made 29th September “World Heart Day”. On this day, awareness is created about coronary heart disease which is one of the leading causes of heart failure all over the world. The pumping organ of the body is our heart. If the pumping system does […]

“If there is magic on this planet, it is contained in water.” – Loren Elsiley The magical element in our body fluid is sodium. As sodium is the vital constituent of the body fluid, our tissues swim in the salty sea as fish do. Any imbalance between the sodium and water leads to contrasting conditions […]

Potassium is present in cationic form predominantly inside the cell. Normal plasma potassium concentration is 3.5 to 5.0 mmol per liter and inside the cell is about 150 mmol per liter. Functions of potassium: K+ maintains the resting membrane potential of the cellular membranes. It also propagates the action potential and thereby maintains the normal […]

Myasthenia gravis is a self-destructive disease that produces skeletal muscle weakness. An English physician Thomas Willis first recognized and described this disease in the 17th century. It generally presents as weakness and fatigue. It is due to a decreased number of available acetylcholine receptors at the neuromuscular junction. About 1-7 in 10,000 population are affected […]

MEN syndrome stands for Multiple Endocrine Neoplasia syndrome. They are characterized by overactivity (tumor) of endocrine glands which is mostly due to genetic etiology. In simple words, it is a group of cancers in a single person. Based on genetics, MEN syndrome is of two types. They are, Genetic Basis for MEN Syndrome Both these […]

Acute pancreatitis is an acute inflammation of the pancreas resulting due to many conditions but presents with a simple abdominal pain. Conditions Causing Acute Pancreatitis The two leading causes of acute pancreatitis are gallstones and alcohol abuse.  Other causes are blunt trauma to the abdomen, mumps, autoimmune disease, scorpion venom, ERCP (endoscopic retrograde cholangitis – […]

Multiple sclerosis is the most widespread disabling neurological condition of young adults in the world, which got its name as it produces multiple lesions in the brain. Moving on to what is multiple sclerosis (MS)? It’s an autoimmune demyelinating disorder. By autoimmune, we mean that the antibody from the body targets its own antigens. Demyelination signifies that […]

“Know it, Cure It.” This disease is rough in the way that it doesn’t target a single organ or site. But can affect any system of the body leading to dreadful complications. But how many of us are aware of the disease sarcoidosis? Why is it known as a disease with a diagnosis of exclusion? […]

Helicobacter pylori are gram-negative bacteria. You can find them in the body of almost 50% of the population, but it doesn’t produce symptoms in all humans who inhabit it. Learning the fact that it is present in the majority of the population, you cannot take it easy because these bacteria can even lead you to […]

Anemia developed due to diminished platelets or hemoglobin content in the blood.Iron is a significant micronutrient essential for cell function and development.How a micronutrient causes anemia?what’s more, have you ever asked why it is significant for a pregnant woman to take iron and folic acid. Let’s find more about iron deficiency anemia in this article. […]

You might be knowing that copper is an important micronutrient required for normal growth, maintenance, repair, and regulation of vital body functions.  ‘Too much of anything is bad’. In Wilson’s disease, copper levels are increased in the body leading to alterations in the physiology of the body. To understand better about this disease, let us […]

Love is not what takes you by surprise and leaves you breathless. It’s called Asthma. For that matter, the very term ‘asthma’ originates from the Greek meaning breathlessness. Asthma is a chronic inflammatory disorder of the airways and often associated with airway hyper-responsiveness. It is of 2 types: Triggering factors Asthmatics are completely normal in […]

“I would love to remove my head.” This phrase will be familiar to those people who have suffered a special type of headache, which first starts from one side then expands to the other areas. I know that you have reached the conclusion of what we are going to talk about. It’s a migraine headache, […]

Introduction Koch’s disease denotes an infection by Mycobacterium tuberculosis – discovered and announced by Dr. Robert Koch. Also known as tuberculosis (TB), it is a contagious disease that primarily affects the lungs. It would be a grievous mistake to call it a pulmonary pathology, as it can involve almost any part of the body.  In the 1600s, […]

Memory is a way of holding on to the things you love, the things you are, the things you never want to lose – Kevin Arnold Losing one’s memory is akin to losing a part of themselves. This characteristic feature of Alzheimer’s disease makes it scary.  Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common cause of […]

“The word cirrhosis is a neologism from the Greek word “kirrhos,” meaning tawny (organ –yellow) colored.”  The term cirrhosis was coined by Laennec in 1819  It is a consequence of chronic liver disease characterized by the replacement of liver tissue by fibrous scar tissue and regenerative nodules that occur due to the process in which damaged […]

Over the years, diabetes mellitus has undoubtedly become the most common non-communicable disease in developing countries. Did you know that the term “diabetes mellitus” is derived from 2 different languages? Diabetes in Greek means “to pass”, and mellitus is Latin means “sweet”. Interestingly, the origin of the name comes from the fact that people with diabetes pass sweet urine […]

The term “Diabetes” was first coined by Araetus of Cappadocia and the term “Mellitus” by Thomas Willis is one of the leading causes of end-stage renal disease in developed countries. If the diabetes is not under control, it will produce renal changes known as diabetic nephropathy (diabetic kidney disease).  Who Is Likely To Develop This […]

Cushing’s disease and Cushing’s syndrome are two very similar yet astronomically different conditions. Why? Look, one – they are similar for the obvious reason that they are named after the same person – Harvey Williams Cushing.  Two – Most of their symptoms overlap! This is because the common problem is hypercortisolism (excess cortisol levels). So what’s the difference? […]

Vien the wake of the recent outbreak of SARS in Wuhan, the capital of the Hubei province of China. Here are some facts and figures about the coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19). The 24th situation report submitted by WHO had confirmed that as of the 13th of February 2020, there were around 50,000 confirmed cases worldwide. Though […]