Surfactant. Surfactants are compounds that lower the surface tension (or interfacial tension) between two liquids or between a liquid and a solid. Surfactants may act as detergents, wetting agents, emulsifiers, foaming agents, and dispersants.

If it gets more severe and causes symptoms, your low hemoglobin count may indicate you have anemia. A low hemoglobin count is generally defined as less than 13.5 grams of hemoglobin per deciliter (135 grams per liter) of blood for men and less than 12 grams per deciliter (120 grams per liter) for women.

Trisomy 18, also called Edwards syndrome, is a chromosomal condition associated with abnormalities in many parts of the body. Individuals with trisomy 18 often have slow growth before birth (intrauterine growth retardation) and a low birth weight. Affected individuals may have heart defects and abnormalities of other organs that develop before birth. Other features of trisomy 18 include a small, abnormally shaped head; a small jaw and mouth; and clenched fists with overlapping fingers. Due to the presence of several life-threatening medical problems, many individuals with trisomy 18 die before birth or within their first month. Five to 10 percent of children with this condition live past their first year, and these children often have severe intellectual disability.

Diarrhea in Children: Common Causes and Treatments Diarrhea is the body's way of ridding itself of germs, and most episodes last a few days to a week. Diarrhea often occurs with fever, nausea, vomiting, cramps, and dehydration. Some of the most common reasons kids get diarrhea include: Infection from viruses like rotavirus, bacteria like salmonella and, rarely, parasites like giardia. Viruses are the most common cause of a child's diarrhea. Along with loose or watery stools, symptoms of a viral gastroenteritis infection often include vomiting, stomachache, headache, and fever. When treating viral gastroenteritis -- which can last 5-14 days -- it's important to prevent fluid loss. Offer additional breast milk or an oral rehydration solution (ORS) to infants and young children. Water alone doesn't have enough sodium, potassium, and other nutrients to safely rehydrate very young children. Be sure to talk to your doctor about the amount of fluids your child needs, how to make sure he or she gets them, when to give them, and how to watch for dehydration. Older children with diarrhea can drink anything they like to stay hydrated, including ORS and brand-name products (their names usually end in "lyte"). Popsicles can also be a good way to get fluids into a child who's been vomiting and needs to rehydrate slowly.

The timing of the nausea or vomiting can indicate the cause. When appearing shortly after a meal, nausea or vomiting may be caused by food poisoning, gastritis (inflammation of the stomach lining), an ulcer, or bulimia. Nausea or vomiting one to eight hours after a meal may also indicate food poisoning.

Although the Apgar score was developed in 1952 by an anesthesiologist named Virginia Apgar, you also might hear it referred to as an acronym for: Appearance, Pulse, Grimace, Activity, and Respiration. The Apgar test is usually given to a baby twice: once at 1 minute after birth, and again at 5 minutes after birth.

The following guidelines are an interpretation of the evidence presented in the 2010 International Consensus on Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation and Emergency Cardiovascular Care Science With Treatment Recommendations1). They apply primarily to newly born infants undergoing transition from intrauterine to extrauterine life, but the recommendations are also applicable to neonates who have completed perinatal transition and require resuscitation during the first few weeks to months following birth. Practitioners who resuscitate infants at birth or at any time during the initial hospital admission should consider following these guidelines. For the purposes of these guidelines, the terms newborn and neonate are intended to apply to any infant during the initial hospitalization. The term newly born is intended to apply specifically to an infant at the time of birth.

Osgood-Schlatter disease can cause a painful lump below the kneecap in children and adolescents experiencing growth spurts during puberty. Osgood-Schlatter disease occurs most often in children who participate in sports that involve running, jumping and swift changes of direction — such as soccer, basketball, figure skating and ballet. While Osgood-Schlatter disease is more common in boys, the gender gap is narrowing as more girls become involved with sports. Age ranges differ by sex because girls experience puberty earlier than do boys. Osgood-Schlatter disease typically occurs in boys ages 13 to 14 and girls ages 11 to 12. The condition usually resolves on its own, once the child's bones stop growing.

Multicystic dysplastic kidney (MCDK) is a condition that results from the malformation of the kidney during fetal development. The kidney consists of irregular cysts of varying sizes. Multicystic dysplastic kidney is a common type of renal cystic disease, and it is a cause of an abdominal mass in infants.

What's helping me become a better doctor

Sinusitis means your sinuses are inflamed. The cause can be an infection or another problem. Your sinuses are hollow air spaces within the bones surrounding the nose. They produce mucus, which drains into the nose. If your nose is swollen, this can block the sinuses and cause pain. There are several types of sinusitis, including Acute, which lasts up to 4 weeks Subacute, which lasts 4 to 12 weeks Chronic, which lasts more than 12 weeks and can continue for months or even years Recurrent, with several attacks within a year Acute sinusitis often starts as a cold, which then turns into a bacterial infection. Allergies, nasal problems, and certain diseases can also cause acute and chronic sinusitis. Symptoms of sinusitis can include fever, weakness, fatigue, cough, and congestion. There may also be mucus drainage in the back of the throat, called postnasal drip. Your health care professional diagnoses sinusitis based on your symptoms and an examination of your nose and face. You may also need imaging tests. Treatments include antibiotics, decongestants, and pain relievers. Using heat pads on the inflamed area, saline nasal sprays, and vaporizers can also help.

How Respiratory Pump Affects Venous Return

Genes are the building blocks of heredity. They are passed from parent to child. They hold DNA, the instructions for making proteins. Proteins do most of the work in cells. They move molecules from one place to another, build structures, break down toxins, and do many other maintenance jobs. Sometimes there is a mutation, a change in a gene or genes. The mutation changes the gene's instructions for making a protein, so the protein does not work properly or is missing entirely. This can cause a medical condition called a genetic disorder. You can inherit a gene mutation from one or both parents. A mutation can also happen during your lifetime.

ACE inhibitors Email this page to a friend Print Facebook Twitter Google+ Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors are medicines. They treat heart, blood vessel, and kidney problems. How ACE inhibitors help ACE inhibitors are used to treat heart disease. These medicines make your heart work less hard by lowering your blood pressure. This keeps some kinds of heart disease from getting worse. Most people who have heart failure take these medicines. These medicines treat high blood pressure, strokes, or heart attacks. They may help lower your risk for stroke or heart attack. They are also used to treat diabetes and kidney problems. This can help keep your kidneys from getting worse. If you have these problems, ask your health care provider if you should be taking these medicines.

Colon polyp facts Colon polyps are growths on the inner lining of the colon and are very common. Colon polyps are important because they may be, or may become malignant (cancerous). They also are important because based on their size, number, and microscopic anatomy (histology); they can predict which patients are more likely to develop more polyps and colon cancer. Changes in the genetic material of cells lining the colon are the cause of polyps. There are different types of colon polyps with differing tendencies to become malignant and abilities to predict the development of more polyps and cancer. It is important to recognize families with members who have familial genetic conditions causing polyps because some of these conditions are associated with a very high incidence of colon cancer, and the cancer can be prevented or discovered early.

A cataract is a clouding of the lens in the eye that affects vision. Most cataracts are related to aging. Cataracts are very common in older people. By age 80, more than half of all Americans either have a cataract or have had cataract surgery. A cataract can occur in either or both eyes. It cannot spread from one eye to the other.

The menstrual cycle is the regular natural change that occurs in the female reproductive system like the uterus and ovaries that make pregnancy possible. The cycle is required for the production of ovocytes, and for the preparation of the uterus for pregnancy.

An ICD is a battery-powered device placed under the skin that keeps track of your heart rate. Thin wires connect the ICD to your heart. If an abnormal heart rhythm is detected the device will deliver an electric shock to restore a normal heartbeat if your heart is beating chaotically and much too fast.

Massive PE causing hemodynamic instability (shock and/or low blood pressure, defined as a systolic blood pressure <90 mmHg or a pressure drop of 40 mmHg for >15 min if not caused by new-onset arrhythmia, hypovolemia or sepsis) is an indication for thrombolysis, the enzymatic destruction of the clot with medication.

Life Before Birth - In the Womb