Liver cysts are fluid-filled crevices or sacs in the liver. The majority of hepatic (liver) cysts are unremarkable and never produce symptoms, however in some cases, hepatic cysts may signal an underlying disease. Also, in certain cases, according...
Abdominal pain is called a nonspecific symptom. There are many things that can cause abdominal pain -- from myriad digestive problems, to reproductive issues, and even heart attacks or pneumonia. So, it is difficult to characterize pain as coming...
Cancer of the testicles involves malignant (cancerous) cells in a male's sex glands in the scrotum that are responsible for producing sperm and the sex hormone testosterone. According to the National Cancer Institute (NCI), around 8,000 men get...
The thymus is a small gland positioned behind the breastbone (sternum) in the mediastinal area that contains two divisions or lobes. It serves the body by being an organ of the immune system; specifically, the thymus is involved in the production...
Brain tumors occur in various places within the cranium or skull. Many benign tumors can threaten life but in a different way than the malignant ones. Because a tumor occupies space, it infringes on what little space the brain has within the...
Lip cancer is one part of the general term mouth cancer, which can also take place in the cheeks, gums, roof of the mouth and tongue. The lips are an area that is often the first point of contact with food and beverages when they are being...
The skeletal system is composed of the bones in the human body. It provides the biological architecture for the rest of the body's tissues and organs. As such, it helps to protect internal organs from trauma and helps in the body's motor...
Gamma radiation is a form of nuclear radiation produced by certain radioactive elements as they decay. In particular, gamma radiation is ionizing radiation, meaning that it is sufficiently energetic to break bonds in genetic material, structural...
Pantoprazole is a medication used to treat esophageal damage from acid-related diseases such as acid reflux and Zollinger-Ellison syndrome (a condition of ulcers in the stomach and small intestine). Pantoprazole is a proton pump inhibitor that...
A tumor, also known as a neoplasm, is a group of cells that grows beyond normal boundaries. Cells either stop growing or die normally at a given point in time regulated by the cell's controlling mechanism---DNA or RNA. A tumor results when cells...
Even though fetal tumors are considered very rare, neuroblastoma is the most common solid neoplasm that strikes unborn babies. Your doctor will be looking for anything out of the ordinary during routine ultrasounds and will order additional tests...
Thyroid problems are split into four groups: goiter, hypothyroidism, hyperthyroidism and cancer. They all can present with their own unique profile of symptoms and laboratory findings that can help the clinician narrow down the diagnosis....
Vitamin C, also known as ascorbic acid, has been evaluated in many clinical trials over several decades. The majority of these studies concluded that supplementation of ascorbic acid in cancer patients had little to no effect on disease prevention...
Many health experts are adding blueberries to their list of super foods, including a team of USDA nutritionists reporting in the "Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry," who placed both wild and cultivated blueberries as two of their top five...
A woman can develop cysts on the ovary at any time during her life, including while still in the womb. Three types of ovarian cysts can occur, with physiologic cysts -- those that develop as a result of normal female hormonal fluctuations -- the...
A newborn infant, even in the easiest of births, makes a rough entry from the womb into the outside world. The journey and transition from his mother's body can leave a series of marks on an infant's body. Gingival cysts of the newborn, also...
The paleo diet is simply a dietary lifestyle based on foods that were available prior to agriculture and animal husbandry. The diet consists of mostly meat, fish, eggs, tree nuts, vegetables, roots, fruit, berries, mushrooms and other food that...
Cauda equina syndrome (CES) is a rare disorder in which a bundle of nerve roots, called the cauda equina, in the lower portion of the spinal cord are compressed and paralyzed. It is an emergency situation that must be treated as soon as possible...
Benign lung nodules are small, noncancerous masses of tissue typically discovered incidentally on a chest X-ray or CT scan. One out of every 500 to 1,000 chest X-rays reveals an unexpected lung nodule. The chance of finding a lung nodule is even...
A mole is a dark spot on the skin that can exist just below the skin or on top of the skin. While they often occur at birth, some develop later in life. Surgery and laser removal are two methods to remove moles from the skin; however, a less...
Tumors of the eye can be benign, meaning non-cancerous, or malignant. Malignant, or cancerous, tumors have the potential to travel to the eye from other parts of the body. According to Dr. David H. Abramson, recipient of the 2004 Mildred...
The American Cancer Society defines multiple myeloma as cancer that starts in plasma cells. Plasma cells are found in bone marrow and also have a role in the body's immune system. When cancer forms in the plasma cells, a tumor forms, typically in...
Thymus carcinoma, or thymus cancer, is an uncommon tumor that usually has a bad prognosis for the patient. It is difficult to differentiate the tumor from being primarily derived from the thymus or from being a metastases from another cancer...
Testim (testosterone) is a medication used to treat hypogonadism, a condition in which you lack the male hormone testosterone. Testosterone is necessary in males to maintain their sex drive (libido) and reproductive system. According to the...
The urinary system has several components working together for successful elimination of waste from the body. The ureters are ducts that carry urine from the kidneys to the bladder, and the urethra is a tube that carries urine from the bladder...
Sodium nitrite is basically a form of salt used in meat curing and to preserve food. It is commonly added to processed meats like bacon, ham, and hot dogs, as well as fish, to prevent the cultivation of bacteria that cause botulism. Additionally,...
Bitter gourd, also called bitter melon, grows in tropical areas and is used for both food and medicinal purposes. The entire plant, including the seed and fruit, can be used. In Chinese food, bitter gourd imparts a bitter taste. This fruit can...
The breasts undergo periods of tightly regulated growth and development throughout puberty and pregnancy. When cells within the breast become mutated, leading to dysregulation of cell growth, this causes uncontrolled cell proliferation, and breast...
Ductile carcinomas are cancers arising from the epithelial cells that make up duct tissue. These cells generally form tube structures that carry fluids and chemicals to tissues within an organ, or carry substances to neighboring organs. Ductile...
Plasma Cell Neoplasm (multiple myeloma) is when plasma cells found in the bone marrow become cancerous. This is an uncommon cancer that you can learn more about in this video about the condition and its various preventative techniques and treatments.
Mesothelioma is a malignant neoplasm, cancer, that affects the mesothelium. Commonly it effects the tissue surrounding the lining of the lungs and ore often occurs in older people and men. In this video learn more about this cancer.
A Baker's cyst involves the swelling of the knee. Learn how to diagnose and treat a Baker's cyst in this medical video.
