| Medical Dictionary |
A Medical Dictionary of Medical Terminology
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Your liver makes a digestive juice called bile. Your gallbladder stores it between meals. When you eat, your gallbladder pushes the bile into tubes called bile ducts. They carry the bile to your small intestine. The bile helps break down fat. It also helps the liver get rid of toxins and wastes.
Different diseases can block the bile ducts and cause a problem with the flow of bile:
NIH: National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases
Your bones help you move, give you shape and support your body. They are living tissues that rebuild constantly throughout your life. During childhood and your teens, your body adds new bone faster than it removes old bone. After about age 20, you can lose bone faster than you make bone. To have strong bones when you are young, and to prevent bone loss when you are older, you need to get enough calcium, vitamin D, and exercise. You should also avoid smoking and drinking too much alcohol.
Bone diseases can make bones easy to break. Different kinds of bone problems include:
NIH: National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases
Your liver is the largest organ inside your body. It helps your body digest food, store energy, and remove poisons.
There are many kinds of liver diseases:
Symptoms of liver disease can vary, but they often include swelling of the abdomen and legs, bruising easily, changes in the color of your stool and urine, and jaundice, or yellowing of the skin and eyes. Sometimes there are no symptoms. Tests such as imaging tests and liver function tests can check for liver damage and help to diagnose liver diseases.
Degenerative nerve diseases affect many of your body's activities, such as balance, movement, talking, breathing, and heart function. Many of these diseases are genetic. Sometimes the cause is a medical condition such as alcoholism, a tumor, or a stroke. Other causes may include toxins, chemicals, and viruses. Sometimes the cause is unknown.
Degenerative nerve diseases include:
Degenerative nerve diseases can be serious or life-threatening. It depends on the type. Most of them have no cure. Treatments may help improve symptoms, relieve pain, and increase mobility.
Encephalitis is inflammation (swelling) of the brain. It can happen when an infection or medical condition that affects the brain activates your immune system. The inflammation can cause a wide range of symptoms. In extreme cases, it can lead to brain damage, stroke, or even death.
What causes encephalitis?There are different types of encephalitis, based on what the cause is. The two main types are infectious encephalitis and autoimmune encephalitis.
Infectious encephalitis is usually caused by a virus. In fact, viruses are the most common cause of encephalitis. Some of the different viruses that cause it include:
Bacteria, fungi, and parasites can also cause infectious encephalitis. But this is not common.
Autoimmune encephalitis happens when your immune system mistakenly attacks healthy brain cells. It can be triggered by conditions such as certain cancers, benign tumors, and infections. Sometimes the cause is not known.
Who is more likely to get encephalitis?Anyone can get encephalitis, but you are more likely to get it if you:
The symptoms of encephalitis can vary a lot, depending on how severe it is. Many people do not have any symptoms. Others may have mild flu-like symptoms such as fever, fatigue, headache, or body aches. If encephalitis becomes more serious, it can cause:
Encephalitis can be dangerous in infants. Their symptoms may include:
If you or your child is having symptoms of encephalitis, it's important to get medical care right away.
How is encephalitis diagnosed?To find out if you have encephalitis, your health care provider:
Most people with encephalitis will need treatment in the hospital. Depending on the cause, treatments may include antiviral medicines, antibiotics, corticosteroids, and other medicines.
For some types of encephalitis, there is no medicine to treat it. But rest, nutrition, and fluids can help your body fight the infection and relieve symptoms.
Some people may need physical, speech, and occupational therapy once the illness is under control.
Can encephalitis be prevented?There are steps you can take to help prevent encephalitis that is caused by infections:
NIH: National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke
Measles is an infectious disease caused by a virus. It spreads easily from person to person. It causes a blotchy red rash. The rash often starts on the head and moves down the body. Other symptoms include:
Sometimes measles can lead to serious problems. There is no treatment for measles, but the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine can prevent it.
"German measles", also known as rubella, is a completely different illness.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a disease that causes inflammation and sores, called ulcers, in the lining of the rectum and colon. It is one of a group of diseases called inflammatory bowel disease.
UC can happen at any age, but it usually starts between the ages of 15 and 30. It tends to run in families. The most common symptoms are pain in the abdomen and blood or pus in diarrhea. Other symptoms may include:
About half of people with UC have mild symptoms.
Doctors use blood tests, stool tests, colonoscopy or sigmoidoscopy, and imaging tests to diagnose UC. Several types of drugs can help control it. Some people have long periods of remission, when they are free of symptoms. In severe cases, doctors must remove the colon.
NIH: National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases