Medical terminologies- II

June 27, 2009

Pocket Dosimeters ::

Pocket Dosimeters is one of the radiation monitoring instruments. It is like fountain pen size structure. These Dosimeters are small and portable so that can be kept in pocket. It has a built in electro meter coupled with electrical chamber. The ionization chamber has separate charger to charge the internal devices. Self reader and charge reader helps to read the instrument very efficiently. It should be initially charged for effective reading and measurement. Quartz fiber is used for zero scale reading.

BIO-GEO CHEMICAL CYCLE ::

Bio-geo chemical cycle takes place continuously without any break. This cycle is highly essential for the existence of life in earth. There are two types of biogeo chemical cycle namely gaseous cycle and sedimentary cycles. Those that take place in the atmosphere are known as gaseous cycle and those which take place in the ground and deep inside the ground are known as sedimentary cycles. Examples of gaseous cycle include carbon cycle and nitrogen cycle. Example of sedimentary cycle includes phosphorus cycle.

Medical terminologies- I

June 22, 2009

Electroretinography ::

The Electroretinography interprets the electrical activities in the eye. It records all the electrical activities and sends to the sense organs. The external retina is associated with the cerebral cortex. The potentials are easily measured with the positive relative action. Both the interior and exterior sections are measured accurately. The potential changes in the distant electrodes leads to the contact lens. The eye ball illumination has large variations for every potential changes. The slight variations are recorded accurately with care.

Heart Sounds ::

The heart sounds and murmurs are divided into various categories such as low range, medium range and high range. The low range heart sounds in the range of 10 – 60 hertz. It is represented by fourth and third heart sounds. The medium range heart sounds in the range of 60 – 150 hertz. It is represented by second and first heart sounds. The high range heart sounds in the range of 150 – 1000 hertz. It is represented by diastolic, snaps and clicks in the pulmonary insufficiency.

Stroke

June 20, 2009

Its summer and this season's special is: obviously strokes and hemorrhages! The common misconception prevalent among people regarding these two brain attacks is that they occur only for people with high blood pressure and bad habits. This is partly true since most patients afflicted with this condition are hypertensive. Secondary reasons include drug abuse, smoking and alcohol consumption. But strokes can affect anyone in any age group. Even in their mildest forms they can cause serious damage and take a long time to resolve. If the patient is rushed to the hospital within a short time of the onset of the stroke, most of the damage can be reversed. Excellent healthcare and emotional support of family and friends will go a long way in accelerating the recovery of the patient. But as the saying goes, prevention is better than cure. One has to be careful especially during summer when sun strokes are common. It is advisable to drink gallons of water and not shy away from carrying umbrellas! Blood pressure should be checked from time to time. Healthy diet and exercise can work wonders. Most important of all, keep your mind stress free and relaxed. Meditation and yoga will help. And the most terrifying aspect of brain attacks is that they make you totally dependent on others! Hence  it is better to take care of yourself first.

Cancer mortality

June 16, 2009

It is impossible to assess reliably, with any precision, numbers of fatal cancers caused by radiation exposure due to Chernobyl accident. Further, radiation-induced cancers are at present indistinguishable from those due to other causes. An international expert group has made projections to provide a rough estimate of the possible health impacts of the accident and to help plan the future allocation of public health resources. These predictions were based on the experience of other populations exposed to radiation that have been studied for many decades, such as the survivors of the atomic bombing in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. However, the applicability of risk estimates derived from other populations with different genetic, life-style and environmental backgrounds, as well as having been exposed to much higher radiation dose rates, is unclear.

Moreover small differences in the assumptions about the risks from exposure to low level radiation doses can lead to large differences in the predictions of the increased cancer burden, and predictions should therefore be treated with great caution, especially when the additional doses above natural background radiation are small. The international expert group predicts that among the 600 000 persons receiving more the most ‘contaminated’ areas), the possible increase in cancer mortality due to this radiation exposure might be up to a few per cent. This might eventually represent up to four thousand fatal cancers in addition to the approximately 100 000 fatal cancers to be expected due to all other causes in this population. Among the 5 million persons residing in other ‘contaminated’ areas, the doses are much lower and any projected increases are more speculative, but are expected to make a difference of less than one per cent in cancer mortality.

Is thought self-conscious?

June 13, 2009

Whatever systems of psychology may be, they are not static, finished purely logical structures that may be considered as so separate, complete and independent objects, to be analyzed apart from the conditions that gave rise to them. Perhaps, more often psychology has been subject to confusions, entanglements, and misunderstandings, many of which have their roots in the remote past. It is particularly significant that psychological interest develops not only late but incidentally. Thought apparently works from without inward; philosophy begins with cosmology, and science with astronomy and physics. This raises the fact that humans are interested in the world primarily because it contains the things they find important. These interests are quite simply taken for granted. Thus we can say that thought is unselfconscious. See more about this in the next post.

Need for pesticides

June 8, 2009

Studies show that good cheap pesticides are the only way to keep malaria under control. The government allows the use of DDT, BHC and Malathion, among the more persistent and 20 banned pesticides, in public health spraying. So does WHO. Sweeping statements? No, it’s the other side of environment scare. This is not to say we should have pesticides for breakfast. Pesticides are dangerous, toxic chemicals and we should keep away from them. But they are deadly only for the target. Farmers cannot do without them. And they treat them like we use and benefit from potentially dangerous things everyday- cars, electricity, hot water and aspirin. Pesticides could be deadly but so are a few vitamin B12 tablets taken together, or a handful of salt. Even our chlorinated tap water is riskier. In fact, natural carcinogens and other toxins are present in all plants tom protect them against fungi, insects and animal predators. India is one of the lowest users of pesticides – 260gm per hectare – though the industry has been robust since the 60’s, with even the government as producer (Hindustan insecticides). A certain amount of pesticides is deadly for the insects because pesticides are sprayed in relation to the weight of the pest infestation. To kill or die, you need a large quantity of pesticides. So the dose is much important. See more about this in the next post.

Improving food security against pesticides

June 6, 2009

We saw about the need for pesticides in the previous post. Many environment questions plagued and led to the eventual banning of DDT, once revered for its wide impact and persistence, the very reasons why it leaves long-term residues in the soil. This led to an FAO-WHO committee laying down the norms for fixing MRLS (maximum residual limit) and accepted dietary intake for pesticides. A few experts say that all modern pesticides disseminate and degrade very fast. The problem arises when farmers spray pesticides and additives at the final stage to increase shelf – life and buyer – appeal of their produce. The time lag between the final spray and the harvesting is important; it’s the joint responsibility of the agricultural extension officers and pesticide manufacturers to educate the farmer. Chemical pesticides will have a definite role to play in ensuring food and nutritional security. And they are safe if sprayed at regular intervals. To sum up, we need to keep our eyes open and not jump with every scary report. A little healthy doubt would go a long way towards physical wellness.

Scare of food

June 3, 2009

A famous quote goes like this – ‘We are what we eat and drink’. Our increasingly insecure existence is mirrored in our food fear: pesticides in fruits and vegetables, mercury in fish, bad fats in snacks, bird flu in chicken and so on. Is the whole world conspiring to kill us or is it just that we’re getting too stressful and risk-averse on our way to become an aware-citizen? For instance, take pesticides. The average housewife in every home has turned paranoid, washing, rewashing and boiling everything, unable to trust any fruits or vegetables she uses for her family. We believe strongly that most of the foods we eat contain hazardous chemicals and are prone to cause cancer. Perhaps, it may lead to stomach, skin, and breathing ailments and even to an extent of causing problems in the womb. In short, we are taken in by scientific jargon ignoring the disclaimers in the studies, even the ‘mights’ and ‘coulds’ , and we tend to look at the small numbers affected, not giving attention to the fact that a large number is perfectly doing well. Studies show that most pesticide complaints pertain to only one crop ‘cotton’ and the farming community uses Rs.3000 crore of pesticides every year. See more about pesticides in the next post.

Introspection of Modern Medicine is a must

June 1, 2009

In this technology mediated culture, there is not much space left for a face-to-face or humane relationship between the doctor and the patient. No wonder, it is becoming increasingly difficult to find a doctor who talks, communicates, cracks jokes, and shares his knowledge with the patient. That is precisely the ambiguity which is inherent in the ethos of modern medicine. To put it clearly, we come across ‘skilled’ doctors and not necessarily profound healers. It is absolutely necessary to rethink the discourse of modern medicine. We know that great philosophers – ranging from Ivan Illich to Michael Foucault have sensitized us that doctors have assumed extraordinary powers in classifying, hierarchising and normalizing the population. And even before them, Mahatma Gandhi was able to visualize the danger of modern medicine causing the death of ‘soul-force’ and all traditions of self-healing. In fact, modern medicine needs to be introspective and self-critical. It is important for the practitioners to realize that healing is essentially an art, not a technological spectacle. This is not to negate the role of technology. A surgeon needs to experience the meaning of physical pain, suffering and death. He needs to develop a high degree of empathy to make sense of this domain of human misery. Only then it is possible for us to come across doctors who, far from being specialists, are essentially real healers.