The high content of air in the lungs gives them a nearly transparent appearance on chest X-rays and CT scans. In contrast, areas of solid tissue within the lungs appear as white spots with these imaging techniques. A spot on the lung is an...
Though usually considered an adult disease, strokes do strike children. While there are many causes of pediatric stroke, they all result in brain damage due either to bleeding or blockage of the blood vessels. Bleeding strokes are known as...
Sickle cell anemia is a genetic disease that affects the red blood cells. A mutation in hemoglobin causes the red blood cells to be malformed. Instead of the circle shape of normal red blood cells, patients with sickle cell anemia have red blood...
High blood pressure, or hypertension, can occur in children as it does in adults. However, common causes for the disorder differ between the two age groups. While primary hypertension--high blood pressure not due to another disorder--predominates...
Stroke, called a cerebral vascular accident, or CVA, is a disruption in blood flow to the brain. The third leading cause of death in the United States, the American Stroke Association reports that stroke is also the primary cause of disability...
One in 100 people in the United States will experience a seizure in their lifetime, according to Mayoclinic.com. A seizure is the result of abnormal electrical activity in the brain and has many causes, including alcohol use and alcohol...
The brain and spinal cord are surrounded by cerebrospinal fluid, or CSF, and are enclosed within bony skull and the spinal canal. CSF is made by specialized cells in the lateral and fourth ventricles, or brain chambers, which communicate with the...
Many people experience breathing problems while exercising. Exercise-induced shortness of breath, also known as exercise-induced dyspnea, can appear as an increased effort to breathe, shortness of breath, chest tightness, wheezing or coughing....
An unusual color of stool can be alarming, but it is not always a cause for concern. If fecal matter is dark black, tarry or bloody, especially on a recurrent basis, medical treatment is necessary. The University of Maryland Medical Center (UMM)...
At one time doctors relied heavily on plain films or x-rays for information concerning the inner workings of the body. Today more sophisticated equipment reveals far more about the body's interior and uses less harmful methods. Tests such as the...
Doctors use the term "brain hemorrhage" to describe bleeding in, or around, the brain. The bleeding kills some brain cells and can trigger swelling in the brain tissue. Swelling, by compressing the brain, can kill or damage cells even in parts of...
A stroke, also called a cerebral vascular accident (CVA), is caused by a disruption in blood flow to a part of the brain. The disruption can happen because of something blocking a cerebral artery, such as a clot, or from a hemorrhage inside the...
Cerebral vasospasm, the narrowing or constriction of a brain blood vessel or artery, most often occurs due to a ruptured brain aneurysm. Very rarely, cerebral vasospasm can occur when another blood vessel bleeds due to an abnormality such as an...
A bleeding stroke, is uncontrolled bleeding from a burst blood vessel within or around the brain, according to the Stanford School of Medicine. A bleeding stroke is also called a hemorrhagic stroke, subarachnoid hemorrhage or intracerebral...
Epistaxis is the medical term for a nosebleed. Although temporary nasal drying or irritation causes most nosebleeds, frequent spontaneous epistaxis can be a symptom of underlying disease. Physical examination, blood tests and diagnostic imaging...
While the exact cause of the brain damage of cerebral palsy cannot always be determined, according to the Mayo Clinic the most common cause is problems that occur before birth. Infectious diseases in either the mother during pregnancy or in the...
An MRI, or magnetic resonance imaging, provides a view of the soft tissue of the body through the use of a super magnet and radiofrequency signals, reports RadiologyInfo.org. Images transmitted to a computer screen are then interpreted by a...
Ringing in the ears, or any noise in the ears, is called tinnitus. Roaring, ringing or buzzing sounds can be constant or intermittent. Tinnitus is most noticeable at bedtime or in quiet surroundings. Continuous ringing in the ears may be annoying,...
A brain hemorrhage can be characterized by bleeding into and around a number of spaces within the skull. An intraparenchymal hemorrhage occurs within the nerve tissues of the brain. A meningeal bleed occurs when the lining of the brain fills with...
Many diseases in infants can lead to an enlarged heart, also known as cardiac hypertrophy. Congenital defects, acquired cardiac problems that occur right after birth and maternal diseases such as diabetes can cause enlarged hearts. The right or...
Congenital heart disease generally refers to a birth defect in the structure of the heart or one of the great blood vessels leading to or away from the heart. Most of these defects affect the way blood flows through the heart, but other defects...
Most cases of rectal bleeding are minor and resolve on their own. Dark, tarry stools typically stem from bleeding in the upper gastrointestinal tract, such as the stomach or esophagus. Bleeding from the large intestine or rectum is more often...
Approximately 20 percent of people regularly experience noise in one or both ears, which is referred to by physicians as "tinnitus." While sufferers often describe it as a ringing noise, it may also be heard as hissing, roaring, whistling or even...
A stroke can have a devastating effect on its victims and their families. According to the National Stroke Association, stroke affects a person's intellect, the way he moves and his perception. The brain, divided into four parts, acts as the...
Pulmonary nodules are round spots less than 3 cm in diameter, or a little over 1 inch. Seen in the lungs on chest X-rays or CT scans, pulmonary nodules appear on around one in 500 X-rays, the University of Rochester reports. Nodules on the lungs...
Tinnitus is noise perceived in the ears that does not come from sound generated in the external environment. Most cases of tinnitus occur in conjunction with hearing loss. Continuous or intermittent noise may occur as buzzing, ringing, roaring,...
Nosebleeds are at best annoying, and at worst, life-threatening. Usually the site of bleeding is the front part of the septum separating the nostrils. The most common causes of bleeding in this area are minor trauma and dryness of the tissue....
Head trauma or spontaneous rupture of a ballooned artery or malformed blood vessel can cause bleeding in the brain, also known as a cerebral hemorrhage. The brain fits tightly into the intracranial space within the rigid skull, leaving little room...
A majority of people will experience a bloody nose, or epistaxis, at some point in their lives. Nasal bleeding has affected 60 percent of the population. Usually, nosebleeds are mild and resolve quickly, according to the journal American Family...
