A condition in which antibodies in a pregnant woman's blood cross the placenta and destroy her baby's red blood cells; it may develop when the mother and baby have differences in one or more blood group antigens
Common disorder of the arteries in which deposits consisting mostly of cholesterol and lipids form on the inner arterial wall. As a result, the vessels become nonelastic and narrowed, leading to decreased blood flow. One of the most important examples is coronary artery disease.
In medicine the term tissue refers to a collection of cells which all work together to form one particular part of the human body. For example, if a doctor was to take a sample (biopsy) from an area of inflammation he might say "we are going to send this tissue off to the lab for some tests".
The body uses feedback systems to control certain functions. A feedback system uses one of the products of a pathway, usually the end product, to control the activity of the pathway and to regulate the amount of that product. Feedback control may be positive or negative. To understand negative feedback, think of how the thermostat in your house...
Overview
Most routine laboratory tests require a blood sample. Common as it is, this brief procedure is the test people tend to have the most worries about.
Asthmatic children who have a specific genetic make-up (Arg16 genotype) determined by testing saliva, are predisposed to exacerbations when salmeterol, a medicine effective in most children, is used as an additional treatment to inhaled steroids. Researchers from Brighton and Dundee reported in Clinical Science on 8 January 2013 the results of a small randomised trial in which half of 62 asthmatic Scottish children with the Arg16 genotype took salmeterol and the other half took a different add-on treatment, montelukast. Over the next year those taking montelukast had fewer school absences for asthma and fewer exacerbations, showing that genetic testing can provide a personalised medicine approach to clinical management.
Tiny blood vessels approximately 0.008 mm in diameter connecting small arteries (arterioles) and small veins (venules). Through the one cell-layer thick walls of capillaries, oxygen and nutrients are passed from arterioles to body tissues, and carbon dioxide and other wastes are passed from body tissues to venules.Any other small, hairlike tube for...