Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is an infection that attacks the body’s immune system, specifically the white blood cells called CD4 cells. HIV destroys these CD4 cells, weakening a person’s immunity against opportunistic infections, such as tuberculosis and fungal infections, severe bacterial infections and some cancers. WHO recommends that every person...

The Effects of Tobacco Use on Oral Health China consumes and produces more tobacco than any other country in the world. The next country in line is India. According to the WHO Global Report on Mortality, about 35 per cent of Indians over the age of 15 use tobacco and...

Prostate cancer is a common type of cancer in males, but it is highly treatable in the early stages. It begins in the prostate gland, which sits between the penis and the bladder. Prostate cancer is the most common cancer and the second leading cause of cancer death among men...

Cosmetic Dentistry: What Are Your Options For Correcting Uneven Teeth? Everyone wants to smile and laugh with confidence. However, you may be reluctant to flash your pearly whites if you have uneven teeth. Uneven teeth are a common dental issue. Fortunately, there are many effective ways to correct the appearance...

Pathology at a glance Pathology connects science with medicine by studying the causes and progression of diseases. In addition, pathology laboratories assist doctors in researching and interpreting biopsy and other specimen results in a laboratory setting. Some pathology labs are standalone facilities, but they can also be found within hospitals...

Proper care and handling are key to the longevity of your surgical instruments. After each procedure, you should be following a set cleaning process. Stainless steel instruments, and all other instruments, require proper care to maintain their properties. Even though stainless-steel instruments are viewed as the best material, you can’t...

Each day, millions of medical procedures are executed in healthcare facilities around the world, with caregivers and patients relying on the availability and use of a wide range of supplies, instruments and equipment. These devices must be suitably cleaned, sanitized, and/or decontaminated, examined for quality to certify decent working conditions,...

Pathology is a branch of medical science primarily concerning the cause, origin, and nature of disease. It involves the examination of tissues, organs, bodily fluids, and autopsies in order to study and diagnose disease. Currently, pathology can be divided into eight main areas, depending on the types of methods used...

Anesthesia is a treatment using drugs called anesthetics. These drugs keep you from feeling pain during medical procedures. Anesthesiologists are medical doctors who administer anesthesia and manage pain. Some anesthesia numbs a small area of the body. General anesthesia makes you unconscious (asleep) during invasive surgical procedures. What is anesthesia?...

A laryngoscopy is an examination that gives your doctor a close-up view of your larynx and throat. The larynx is your voice box. It’s located at the top of your windpipe, or trachea. It’s important to keep your larynx healthy because it contains your vocal folds, or cords. Air passing...

Functional endoscopic sinus surgery (FESS) is a minimally invasive procedure which uses nasal endoscopes to enlarge the nasal drainage pathways of the paranasal sinuses to improve sinus ventilation and allow access of topical medications. This procedure is generally used to treat inflammatory and infectious sinus diseases, including chronic rhino sinusitis that do not respond to drugs, nasal polyps, some cancers, and decompression...

Cancer is a disease in which some of the body’s cells grow uncontrollably and spread to other parts of the body.Cancer can start almost anywhere in the human body, which is made up of trillions of cells. Normally, human cells grow and multiply (through a process called cell division) to...

Bronchoscopy is a procedure that lets doctors look at your lungs and air passages. It's usually performed by a doctor who specializes in lung disorders (a pulmonologist). During bronchoscopy, a thin tube (bronchoscope) is passed through your nose or mouth, down your throat and into your lungs. Bronchoscopy is most...

Tympanoplasty is the surgical procedure performed to repair a perforated TM, with or without reconstruction of the ossicles (ossiculoplasty), with the aim of preventing reinfection and restoring hearing ability. CSOM is the most common indication; large invasive cholesteatomas may require a mastoidectomy as well as reconstruction of the TM. The...

Tonsillectomy (ton-sih-LEK-tuh-me) is the surgical removal of the tonsils, two oval-shaped pads of tissue at the back of the throat — one tonsil on each side. A tonsillectomy was once a common procedure to treat infection and inflammation of the tonsils (tonsillitis). Today, a tonsillectomy is usually performed for sleep-disordered...

Rhinoplasty (RIE-no-plas-tee) is surgery that changes the shape of the nose. The motivation for rhinoplasty may be to change the appearance of the nose, improve breathing or both. The upper portion of the structure of the nose is bone, and the lower portion is cartilage. Rhinoplasty can change bone, cartilage,...

TB is caused by bacteria (Mycobacterium tuberculosis) and it most often affects the lungs. TB is spread through the air when people with lung TB cough, sneeze or spit. A person needs to inhale only a few germs to become infected. Every year, 10 million people fall ill with tuberculosis...

Your blood, which accounts for about 8 percent of your normal body weight, plays an important role in how your body functions. As your blood circulates throughout your vascular system, it supplies all of your organs with oxygen, nutrients, hormones and antibodies. Blood is made of an almost equal mix...

What is Diabetes? Diabetes is a chronic (long-lasting) health condition that affects how your body turns food into energy. Your body breaks down most of the food you eat into sugar (glucose) and releases it into your bloodstream. When your blood sugar goes up, it signals your pancreas to release insulin. Insulin...

What is the Internet of Things (IoT)? The internet of things (IoT) is a catch-all term for the growing number of electronics that aren't traditional computing devices, but are connected to the internet to send data, receive instructions or both. There's an incredibly broad range of ‘things’ that fall under...