Color Blindness

As I was processing my medical exam as a requirement for my non-professional driver's license, I was shown plates of dots with different colors and was asked of the number shown within the circle. At first I promptly answered the doctor with the number I see but as he switched to the next plate, I wondered why he's asking for a number but I can't see any. It's the same for the next plates up to the last. This plates, as  I learned later, were color plates in Ishihara Test used in diagnosing color blindness. It was then that I was officially diagnosed as a Color Blind person. 

After I went home, I got curious about color blindness and here's what I've learned.
 
Color Blindness
Color blindness is the inability to see certain colors in the usual way.

Peptic Ulcer Disease

Peptic ulcer disease (PUD) is a common disorder that affects millions of individuals in the United States each year. PUD has a major impact on our health care system by accounting for roughly 10% of medical costs for digestive diseases. In the last two decades, major advances have been made in the understanding of the pathophysiology of PUD, particularly regarding the role of Helicobacter pylori infection and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). This has led to important changes in diagnostic and treatment strategies, with the potential for improving the clinical outcome and for decreasing health care costs.

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Pediatric Febrile Seizures

Febrile seizures are the most common type of seizures observed in the pediatric age group.

Although described by the ancient Greeks, it was not until this century that febrile seizures were recognized as a distinct syndrome separate from epilepsy. In 1980, a consensus conference held by the National Institutes of Health described a febrile seizure as, "An event in infancy or childhood usually occurring between three months and five years of age, associated with fever, but without evidence of intracranial infection or defined cause." It does not exclude children with prior neurological impairment and neither provides specific temperature criteria nor defines a "seizure." Another definition from the International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE) is "a seizure occurring in childhood after 1 month of age associated with a febrile illness not caused by an infection of the central nervous system (CNS), without previous neonatal seizures or a previous unprovoked seizure, and not meeting the criteria for other acute symptomatic seizures".

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Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma

The term lymphoma describes a heterogenous group of malignancies with different biology and prognosis. In general lymphomas are divided into 2 large groups of neoplasms, namely non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) and Hodgkin disease. About 85% of all malignant lymphomas are NHLs. The median age at diagnosis is the sixth decade of life, with some exceptions. (Burkitt lymphoma and lymphoblastic lymphoma occur in younger patients.) NHL includes many clinicopathologic subtypes, each with distinct epidemiologies; etiologies; morphologic, immunophenotypic, genetic, and clinical features; and responses to therapy.

Currently, several NHL classification schemas exist, reflecting the growing understanding of the complex diversity of the NHL subtypes. The Working Formulation, originally proposed in 1982, classified and grouped lymphomas by morphology and clinical behavior (ie, low, intermediate, or high grade). In the 1990s, the Revised European-American Lymphoma (REAL) classification attempted to apply immunophenotypic and genetic features in identifying distinct clinicopathologic NHL entities. The World Health Organization (WHO) classification further elaborates upon the REAL approach. This classification divides NHL into those of B-cell origin and those of T-cell and NK-cell origin.

For clinical oncologists, the most practical way of sorting the currently recognized types of NHL is according to their predicted clinical behavior; each classification schema contributes to a greater understanding of the disease, which dictates prognosis and treatment.

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Neonatal Sepsis

Neonatal sepsis may be categorized as early or late onset. Eighty-five percent of newborns with early-onset infection present within 24 hours, 5% present at 24-48 hours, and a smaller percentage of patients present within 48-72 hours. Onset is most rapid in premature neonates. Early onset sepsis syndrome is associated with acquisition of microorganisms from the mother. Transplacental infection or an ascending infection from the cervix may be caused by organisms that colonize in the mother's genitourinary tract, with acquisition of the microbe by passage through a colonized birth canal at delivery. The microorganisms most commonly associated with early-onset infection include group B Streptococcus (GBS), Escherichia coli , coagulase-negative  Staphylococcus,  Haemophilus  influenzae , and Listeria  monocytogenes.

Trends in the epidemiology of early onset sepsis show a decreasing incidence of GBS sepsis.^{[2 ]}This article primarily focuses on bacterial infection and sepsis. Please see relevant eMedicine chapters for discussion of congenital infection, fungal infection, and viral infection of the newborn.

Late-onset sepsis syndrome occurs at 4-90 days of life and is acquired from the caregiving environment. Organisms that have been implicated in causing late-onset sepsis syndrome include coagulase-negative staphylococci, Staphylococcus aureus , E coli, Klebsiella, Pseudomonas, Enterobacter, Candida,  GBS,  Serratia, Acinetobacter, and anaerobes. Trends in late-onset sepsis show an increase in coagulase-negativeStreptococcal sepsis; most of these isolates are susceptible to first-generation cephalosporins.^{[2 ]}The infant's skin, respiratory tract, conjunctivae, GI tract, and umbilicus may become colonized from the environment, leading to the possibility of late-onset sepsis from invasive microorganisms. Vectors for such colonization may include vascular or urinary catheters, other indwelling lines, or contact from caregivers with bacterial colonization.

Pneumonia is more common in early onset sepsis, whereas meningitis and bacteremia are more common in late-onset sepsis. Premature and ill infants have an increased susceptibility to sepsis and subtle nonspecific initial presentations; therefore, they require much vigilance so that sepsis can be effectively identified and treated.

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Neonatal Jaundice

Jaundice is the most common condition that requires medical attention in newborns. The yellow coloration of the skin and sclera in newborns with jaundice is the result of accumulation of unconjugated bilirubin. In most infants, unconjugated hyperbilirubinemia reflects a normal transitional phenomenon. However, in some infants, serum bilirubin levels may excessively rise, which can be cause for concern because unconjugated bilirubin is neurotoxic and can cause death in newborns and lifelong neurologic sequelae in infants who survive (kernicterus). For these reasons, the presence of neonatal jaundice frequently results in diagnostic evaluation.

Neonatal jaundice may have first been described in a Chinese textbook 1000 years ago. Medical theses, essays, and textbooks from the 18^th and 19^th centuries contain discussions about the causes and treatment of neonatal jaundice. Several of these texts also describe a lethal course in infants who probably had Rh isoimmunization. In 1875, Orth first described yellow staining of the brain, in a pattern later referred to as kernicterus.

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Hypertension

Hypertension is one of the most common worldwide diseases. It is the most important modifiable risk factor for coronary heart disease (the leading cause of death in North America), stroke (the third leading cause), congestive heart failure, end-stage renal disease, and peripheral vascular disease. Health care professionals must not only identify and treat patients with hypertension but also promote a healthy lifestyle and preventive strategies to decrease the prevalence of hypertension.

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Gastroesohageal Reflux Disease (GERD)

Gastroesophageal reflux is a normal physiologic phenomenon experienced intermittently by most people, particularly after a meal. Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) occurs when the amount of gastric juice that refluxes into the esophagus exceeds the normal limit, causing symptoms with or without associated esophageal mucosal injury (ie, esophagitis).

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Gastric Outlet Obstruction

Gastric outlet obstruction (GOO, also known as pyloric obstruction) is not a single entity; it is the clinical and pathophysiological consequence of any disease process that produces a mechanical impediment to gastric emptying. 

Clinical entities that can result in GOO generally are categorized into 2 well-defined groups of causes—benign and malignant. This classification facilitates discussion of management and treatment. In the past, when peptic ulcer disease (PUD) was more prevalent, benign causes were the most common; however, one review shows that only 37% of patients with GOO have benign disease and the remaining patients have obstruction secondary to malignancy.

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Powerpoint: Vulva-Vagina

A pathologic lecture of the Vulva and Vagina.

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Powerpoint: Cervix

A pathologic lecture of the Cervix.

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