Medical Word of the Day: Cardiac tamponade

 

Cardiac tamponade: the compression of the heart that occurs when blood or fluid builds up in the space between the myocardium (heart muscle) and the pericardium (outer covering sac of the heart). Some symptoms include anxiety or restlessness, chest pain, rapid breathing or difficulty breathing.

It is not to be confused with tapenade, which is a yummy dip made from olives. I get mixed up all the time. It's a good thing I'm not a doctor.

ticking away

So I had these great plans (even to the point of making it a Resolution) of applying myself more diligently to my writing and my blog. Work on My Great First Novel has been put on the backburner as I tend to my young children and my hard-working husband. As any parent of young children (and maybe not-so-young children) knows, one usually does not have the energy even to brew a refreshing cup of tea (or pour a nice glass of wine, I'm just saying...) in the evening, let alone do anything that smacks of extra exertion. Perhaps a folding of an article of laundry or two, but any real work takes supreme, mind-over-matter effort.

But I am okay with that. Life right now centres around two little girls who giggle and smile and cry and laugh and bug each other and me and make life anything but boring. Writing can wait; first words or smiles or steps or sentences cannot. Besides, ideas come to me at all hours of the day or night (especially when insomnia comes to call) and those all get jotted down, in the view that someday they
might become a sentence or paragraph of something grander. My intention was to somehow fit it all in. If I couldn't blog every day, I was going to aim for every other day or perhaps twice a week. To get some juices flowing if only a little faster than molasses in winter.

As you can see, since January, that has not happened. We have not, as you might have worried (and I know you were worried), fallen off the planet. It's just that the busy-ness of life in the West Coast Grace household stepped up a notch since M went back to school the first week of January. Since I'm the only one working, that's what I've been doing more of... working. M gets home in the afternoon and that's when I place myself in front of my computer, valiantly fight against the temptation of Facebook and email and all the other blogs I follow, and work. My laundry is suffering. As I type, there are at least three baskets full waiting to be folded and one more in the dryer. I figure it's okay as long as we all have clean clothes. We're down to the one-month-more mark and I will be happy when it's over.

So rest assured, it's not abandoned just postponed. At least until the ides of March, which will hopefully be more beneficial for us than for Caesar. (Hey, it's my 100th post, if I can't get away with a corny literary allusion here, when can I?)

Medical Word of the Day: cryptic tonsillitis

 

Cryptic tonsillitis: the tonsils contain many crevices called "crypts" and in some people, these tonsilar crevices become full of white debris that has a foul odor; this debris is made up of bacteria, food particles, dried mucus and dead white cells. This can lead to halitosis (or bad breath). The debris is referred to as tonsil stones or a "tonsillolith".

Occasionally in some people a low-grade sore throat will accompany the presence of tonsillolith. Cryptic tonsillitis will come and go, although the removal of the tonsils altogether is the only way for a real, longterm cure.

And you thought just plain old tonsillitis was bad...

Medical Word of the Day: keratocanthoma

 

keratocanthoma: are rapidly growing, red, dome-shaped bumps (papules/nodules) with central craters. Occasionally, these will disappear spontaneously. They are often treated to avoid further involvement or destruction of underlying tissue. They are of concern because of the similarity to squamous cell cancer.

(from the Greek kerat - meaning horn.)

medical word of the day: proptosis

 

Proptosis: the abnormal protrusion (bulging out) of one or both eyeballs; this could be an indication of something serious.

You can't HANDLE the thirsty!

Further to my last post (see below). I felt the need to add and clarify a few points. I hope you read The Pioneer Woman's ever-so funny post. If you haven't go and read it, you won't understand this next bit.

The very next day after reading this, I was determined to try it out. When A whined that she was thirsty, I chuckled inwardly at the thought of belting out "You can't HANDLE the thirsty!"

I decided to try it out and it didn't go so well. For the record, I did NOT yell it out Jack Nicholson style, but A still looked at me as if I was going crazy and almost started crying.

I quickly told her I was just joking around (insert feeble hahaha here)and meekly got her some apple juice. Perhaps we have to wait until she's a little older to try it again.

Also, I quoted this:

"A subperiosteal dissection was carried out on both the buccal and medial aspects of the ramus."

And I said I didn't understand it. That's not quite true. As Greek as it might seem to most people, it's actually Latin and pretty easy to break it down. Let's do a little etymology, shall we?

First of all: subperiosteal. Sub means below so you could take this to mean below the periosteum. If that still doesn't help you, we take it further: Os is the Latin word/combining form for bone, peri means around or surrounding...

So periostem is a membrane that lines (i.e. surrounds) the outer surface of all bones. It goes on the say that Endosteum is a membrane that lines the inner surface of bones.

Buccal is cheek. The ramus is the posterior part of the mandible (jaw bone).

So the above sentence, which would take place in a jaw reconstruction surgery, (essentially) means: the doctor dissected or cut down to below the level of the membrane surrounding the posterior part of the jaw bone on the cheek side of the bone as well as the middle side of the bone.

To me, the first sentence sounds easier and more concise. If the second sentence still sounds like Greek or Latin to you, it is good that you are not the one transcribing important medical documents.

You can't HANDLE this!

I don't usually do this, but this made me literally laugh out loud. Not a simple, vapid LOL... but a serious, hysterical, outright guffaw. I'm supposed to be working right now but needed a break from dictating a boring dental procedure and this was just the pick-me-up I needed.

I went from this:

"A subperiosteal dissection was carried out on both the buccal and medial aspects of the ramus."

Did you understand any of that? Neither did I. But I get paid to type out stuff like that. Sometimes you get lucky and get a surgery where some guy swallowed his dentures and they caused a bowel obstruction. But not today.

To this:

You Can't HANDLE the Homeschooling!

Please read this post from my new favourite: The Pioneer Woman.

You will love it. Trust me.

medical word of the day: keratoacanthoma

keratocanthoma: are rapidly growing, red, dome-shaped bumps (papules/nodules) with central craters. Occasionally, these will disappear spontaneously. They are often treated to avoid further involvement or destruction of underlying tissue. They are of concern because of the similarity to squamous cell cancer.

(from the Greek kerat - meaning horn.)

Medical Word of the Day: Epicanthus

Epicanthus: a vertical fold of skin on either side of the nose (or in other words, the inner corner of each of the eyes), sometimes covering the inner canthus; a normal characteristic in persons of certain races, but anomalous in others (apparently it is hereditary in Asian people and is of no medical significance.) It is also called the epicanthal fold.

Medical Word of the Day: Blepharochalasis

Blepharochalasis: a rare syndrome consisting of recurrent bouts of upper eyelid edema associated with thinning, stretching, and fine wrinkling of the involved skin. The lower eyelids are not commonly involved. These episodes often result in eyelid skin redundancy (i.e. your have way too much skin on your upper eyelids, and they sag).

Operation required: Blepharoplasty (repair [plasty] of eyelid [blepharo]).

They do a pinch test to make sure they are taking the maximum amount of skin they can, while still allowing your eyelid to close!

an abrupt end

... to a love affair that should have ended a long time ago...

Read on a box of McChicken portions:

Breaded seasoned chicken meat and skin, comminuted and formed - must be cooked.

I find this excerpt is disturbing on several levels:

1. "Meat and skin" - I think that if it was all-white breast meat they would want that to be known. Obviously, it is not. There are many parts of poultry anatomy that can be classified as meat. I, for one, do want to guess which parts are in my "McChicken portion". Also, the question of How much meat and how much skin? comes to mind.

2. "Comminuted" - broken or crushed into small pieces. Another definition is crushed and pulverized. I had never come across this word until I became an MT and it was used in the phrase "comminuted fracture": fracture in which the bone is splintered or crushed. Somehow, a comminuted fracture sounds better than comminuted chicken meat and skin. But it gets better.

3. "Formed" - after the chicken meat and skin is crushed and pulverized into small pieces (probably to keep people from guessing the mystery chicken anatomy meats and the proportion of skin and meat) it is then formed into patties. Yum, yum.

I think I need to watch "Supersize Me" again after this baby comes. When I'm pregnant, I crave McDonald's burgers and fries like an newbie ex-smoker craving a Marlboro. When I need it and ask for it, that's a cue that my husband should have read my mind 5 minutes ago, gone out to get it, and I should have it in my hands right now to enjoy it.

If we hadn't been moving, and if M hadn't gone to McD's to get boxes, I would have never have read the instructions and ingredients that were on the McChicken portion box. Now, I can't get the phrase out of my head. It plays like a broken record on a turntable, over and over again... (chicken meat and skin, comminuted and formed)

It is a small blessing that I've never craved a McChicken portion sandwich, but it begs the question of what their hamburgers are made of. I don't think we got that box. Needless to say that one phrase (let's have it again in case you forgot it: chicken meat and skin, comminuted and formed) has proven the sudden death sentence for a pregnancy-driven love affair that should not have even started.

a rose by any other name...

Juliet was talking about the simple fact that Romeo was only her enemy because of his last name... if he was a Fitzgerald her Daddy wouldn't have a problem... But would we really have as much love for Romeo had he been named Hubert? "Wherefore art thou Hubert" just doesn't have the same ring.

Shakespeare knew what he was about when he was writing the names for his characters... which just goes to show you how important it is to pick the right name for your child.

I have always had the conviction that the name you give your child sets him/her up for life... A name should have a meaning, whether by naming after a loved one or an important historical figure or just the meaning of the name itself. I was almost a Pamela (inward shudder... and apologies to those bearing that name)... thankfully, Diana was a family name and my parents chose to call me that.

Baby #2 is on the way and M and I find ourselves in the same boat as with Annie - trying to find a suitable name. And as usual, we are finding it very difficult. I took a book out of the library entitled 10,000 Baby Names. We didn't find any we liked. You would think this would be an easy task, given that we both agree that we like more traditional names and veer away from the trendy, popular names. It's not as if I'm at Anastasia and he's at Jane, so one would think the gap between us is very narrow. It seems a veritable chasm.

And since I became a Medical Transcriptionist, a whole host of names have just dropped from being options. Certain medical terms that I hear daily sound the same as personal names. Colin makes me think of colon. Brady makes me think of bradycardia (slow heartbeat). Melena is black, tarry stool. Ainsley just sounds too close to anus. I apologise if you or any loved ones have the names above or ones similar in sound or spelling. This is just me. I'm sure each specialty, from engineering to literature has its own words or names that become taboo. For instance, those knowing their Bible stories well (and even those who don't) would not willingly sentence their dear daughter to life with the name Delilah, no matter how beautifully it might roll off the tongue. I would never name my daughter Morgan ever since I took a literature course on the King Arthur stories; three months of hearing how maligned Morgan of the Fairies is as a literary character will turn you off of that name, no matter much how much you might have liked it before. And I did. It was at the top of my list for girls names before then, but now it's just ruined for me.

So, what's in a name? Plenty, if you're an over-analyzer like me. I happen to agree with another literary character who said something to the effect that if a rose was named something dreadful like a skunk cabbage, it wouldn't smell as sweet...

Medical Word of the Day: dacryocystorhinostomy

Dacryocystorhinostomy: surgical creation of a passage for drainage between the lacrimal sac and the nasal cavity; used to treat patients diagnosed with lacrimal sac or nasolacrimal duct obstruction; this can be caused by chronic stenosis of the nasolacrimal duct and can be congenital or acquired. Obstruction of the nasolacrimal dcut is common but is not a serious condition.

Medical Word of the Day: navicular

navicular: one of the bones on the top of the foot. Athletes are particularly susceptible to fractures of the navicular bone but a navicular fracture can also be caused by osteoporosis or other bone conditions.

Medical Word of the Day: achalasia

achalasia: a disorder of the esophagus, which affects the ability of the esophagus to move food toward the stomach; a rare disease of the muscle of the esophagus, the term achalasia means "failure to relax" and refers to the inability of the lower esophageal sphincter (a ring of muscle between the lower esophagus and the stomach) to open and let food pass into the stomach. As a result, patients with achalasia have difficulty swallowing food.

Medical Word of the Day: Neutropenia

Neutropenia: an abnormally low level of neutrophils in the blood. Neutrophils are white blood cells (WBCs) produced in the bone marrow that ingest bacteria. Neutropenia is a serious disorder because it makes the body vulnerable to bacterial and fungal infections.

A person can be low in the other types of blood cells, such as Thrombocytopenia, which is an abnormally low level of the clotting cells or platelets; it can arise due to decreased production of platelets in the bone marrow or increased breakdown of platelets in the bloodstream, spleen, or liver. Thrombocytopenia is characterized by easy bruising and increased bleeding.

On an unrelated note, I promise to provide an update of West Coast Grace life that is unrelated to Medical Transcription, as it seems all I have done lately is Medical Word of the Day. I am enjoying my job immensely and just want to share all that information with you...

Medical Word of the Day: Hallux Valgus

Hallux Valgus: a big toe (the hallux) that is bent outward (valgus) so it overlaps the 2nd toe; a bunion is a localized painful swelling at the base of the big toe that can accompany hallux valgus and is frequently associated with inflammation. Hallux valgus can be related to bursitis or osteoarthritis. Or come from wearing the wrong kind of shoes all the time (shoes that are too tight or cause the toes to be squeezed together)... sad news for all those high-heal wearers.

Medical Word of the Day: Dental Caries

Dental Caries: holes or structural damage in the teeth; as in tooth decay, as in cavities. Hmmm, bet you didn't know that. Somehow, it just sounds better as cavities. If you went around telling people you had caries, people might think you had a weird disease.

Tooth decay is also one of the most common disorder, second only to the common cold. So brush your teeth.

Medical Word of the Day: pulpotomies

Pulpotomy: Surgical removal of a portion of the dental pulp, usually of the coronal portion; or removal in a dental procedure of the coronal portion of the pulp of a tooth in such a manner that the pulp of the root remains intact and viable. This is usually done to avoid pulpectomy, more commonly known as root canal.

Medical Word of the Day: Dermoid Cyst

Dermoid Cyst: usually in the ovary; a bizarre tumor, usually benign, in the ovary that typically contains a diversity of tissues including hair, teeth, bone, thyroid, etc.

A dermoid cyst develops from a totipotential germ cell (an embryonic cell that is capable of developing into any variety of body cells) that is retained within the egg sac (ovary). Being totipotential, that cell can give rise to all orders of cells necessary to form mature tissues and often recognizable structures such as hair, bone and sebaceous (oily) material, neural tissue and teeth.

Dermoid cysts may occur at any age but the prime age of detection is in the childbearing years. The average age is 30. Up to 15% of women with ovarian teratomas have them in both ovaries. Dermoid cysts can range in size from a centimeter (less than a half inch) up to 45 cm (about 17 inches) in diameter.

These cysts can cause the ovary to twist (torsion) and imperil its blood supply. The larger the dermoid cyst, the greater the risk of rupture with spillage of the greasy contents which can create problems with adhesions, pain etc. Although the large majority (about 98%) of these tumors are benign, the remaining fraction (about 2%) becomes cancerous (malignant).

Removal of the dermoid cyst is usually the treatment of choice. This can be done by laparotomy (open surgery) or laparoscopy (with a scope). Torsion (twisting) of the ovary by the cyst is an emergency and calls for urgent surgery.

Dermoid cysts of the ovary are also called simply dermoids or ovarian teratomas