The thought of medicine

Baad Medicine: We interrupt the regularly scheduled post…

admin — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 12:25:07 +0000

I had a post all written and ready to go. It was a brief description of my 36 hr trip to Calgary and back (whirlwind trip, yes, but quite fabulous).But then today as I was rushing home from work, with 2 screaming (ok, not screaming so much as non-stop talking) kids and groceries to put away, I stopped to get the mail. There was a package in it from a blogger-friend, and someone I’ve been lucky to get to know in real life too.And this is what she sent me.Along with a really sweet note - and I agree Jill, chocolate and yarn does make everything better.Thanks Jill - you rock (and you really should think about Etsy shop……)

Steve Rack’s Blog: Happy Birthday Candy or Medicine!!!!

admin — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 12:25:04 +0000

Happy 1st Birthday Candy or Medicine!Candy or Medicine is a mini-comic anthology by Josh Blair. I have contributed artwork to two of the issues; 3 and 5. The cover of Volume 4 is by my fellow artist friend, Simon Corry.The creator of Candy or Medicine, Josh Blair, has published FIVE issues that each feature loads of cool artwork by a diverse selection of artists (both established and emerging).Here are the issues so far….Check out Candy or Medicine for more info!Oh…and here is a picture depicting Candy or Medicine’s 1st Birthday bash by JB Sapienza.See Goldbebble in the picture..he he (below is my painting of Goldbebble that was recently part of an expo at The Brick Lane Gallery in London.

NewsLinks: UCSF Researcher Places 4th in Nikon Microscopic Images Competition

admin — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 12:24:52 +0000

Matthew Springer, PhD, assistant professor in cardiology at UCSF, placed 4th among 2,000 entries in the 2008 Nikon Small World Competition for excellence microscopic photography, for this photo titled, “Differentiation of unicellular Dictyostelium discoideum into multicellular slugs,” or, “The Dance of the Dicty,” as Dr. Springer calls it. The top entries in the Nikon competition will appear on Nikon’s yearly calendar.

dhamma musings: The Medicine Buddha Or The Buddha’s Medicine?

admin — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 12:24:42 +0000

As far as medicine is concerned the Buddha’s teaching as preserved in the Pali Tipitaka is distinctly different that which proceeded it and to a large extent even different from what came later. The medicines and healing procedures in pre-Buddhist Indian literature is what can be called religio-magical, i.e. prayers, mantra, spells and rituals. Likewise, many sicknesses were believed to be caused by evil spirits. The Pali Tipitaka is the earliest evidence of a departure from such notions, none of which are found in it. Instead, we find the beginning of empirico-rational medicine. In the Bhesajjakkhandaka of the Vinaya is a list of herbs, resins, salts and oils which can be used as medicines. I will give some of these below. Now whether or not such substances really did have healing properties, their mention without any magical additions suggests a new type of thinking. Caraka Samhita and Susruta Samhita, (dates uncertain but defiantly post-Buddha, probably between 200 BCE and 300 CE) also contain a strong empirical and experimental outlook but one can also see the either the inability to shake off or perhaps the reintroduction of, magic. My favorite prescription in Caraka starts, ‘Take the left ear of a donkey, boil it and…’ By the time the great Mahayana sutras were composed religio-magical healing was well on the way to completely replaced rational medicine. A good example of this would be the Bhaisajyarajan Sutra (Medicine Buddha Scripture) which says, ‘May every being be cured of deformity by hearing my name. May every ailing being too poor to afford medicine be cured of their sickness by hearing my name. May all female beings get rid of their femininity by hearing my name, etc.’ Worshiping the Medicine Buddha, reciting his name and doing Medicine Buddha pujas had almost completely superseded rational healing. Later Tantric text contains huge amounts of healing dharanis, mantras and spells. Picture above shows monks making a Medicine Buddha mandalaI give here some of the medicinal plants mentioned by the Buddha and include their application according to S. K. Jain and Robert A. DeFillipps’ authoritative Medical Plants of India, Algonac, 1991. Amalaka, Emblica officinalis. Bark: Applied to sores, pimples, with the bark of Dillenia pentagyna for tubercular fistula; for cholera, dysentery, diarrhea. Leaf: For gravel, diarrhea and sores. Fruit: Refrigerant, diuretic, laxative, for indigestion, with Swertia and fnugreek for gonorrhea. Raw fruit: Aperient, dried and used in haemorrhagia, diarrhea, as a liver tonic, for scurvy, the juice as an eye drop. Seeds: For asthma and stomach disorders.Ativisa, Hiptage mabadlota. Astringent, tonic, for fevers, cough, diarrhea and dysentery.Bhanga, Cannabis sativa. Leaves boiled and steam inhaled and/or rubbed on the skin. Whole plant: Stomachic, antispasmodic, analgesic and sedative, for epilepsy, with root of Bryonopsis laciniosa, Melothria heterophylla and opium for convulsions; on sores, for cough and cold. Leaf: for dyspepsia, gonorrhea, bowel complaints, narcotic nerve stimulant and for skin diseases.Bhaddamuttaka, Cyperus rotundus. Whole plant: For heat stroke. Root: For stomach disorders.Candana, Santalum album. Bark; With root bark of Solanum torvum and Achyranthes aspera for malaria. Oil: For enlarged spleen, with Lepidium, Nerium oleander, Nymphaea, root of Michelia and almonds for dysentery; in a paste and applied for headaches, skin complaints, burns and fever inflammation. Oil from heart wood: As diuretic, diaphoretic, refrigerant, expectorant and for dysuria. Oil from seeds: For skin diseases.Halidda, Curcuma domestitca. Root; For hazy vision, inflammation of eyes, with tobacco for night blindness; subnormal temperature, body pains, rheumatism, with green gram for scabies, sores, with Dolichos biflous for infantile fistula ani; with mustard and Solanum surattense for coughs; with leaves of sweet potato, Negella indica and Buettneria herbacea root to stimulate lactation. Flowers: For sores in the throat, with Shorea robusta and bark of Ventilago calyulata for syphilis.Haritaka, Terminalia chebula. Bark: As diuretic, cardiotonic, for eczema, mouth sores. Fruit: For dysentery, enlarged spleen, externally for measles, applied to inflammation of the eyes, constipation, coughs, bronchitis, asHingu, Balanites aejyptiaca. Bark: For colds and cough. Fruit: For pneumonia and skin diseases.Kalanusari, Nardostachys jatamansi. Root. As an aromatic, bitter tonic, stimulant, antiseptic, for convulsions, inhaled (with other plants) for ulcers of nose and palate, dysentery, constipation, bronchitis (with other plants), as a laxative and to improve urination.Kutaja, Holarrhaena antidysenterica. Root: Spleen complaints, diarrhea, discharge in urine and excreta, haematuria, blood dysentery, the bites of dogs or poisonous animals. Bark: For bronchitis, cold, menorrhagia,, dysentery and other stomach disorders. Flowers: For worms, leucoderma and as an appetite stimulant. Seeds: For epilepsy, postnatal complaints, leprosy and other skin diseases, constipation and indigestion, colic and dysentery.Lasuna, Allium sativum. Bulb: For fever, pulmonary phthisis, gangrene of lung, whooping cough, rheumatism, duodenal ulcer, hyperlipidemia, certain typhoides, flatulence, atonic dyspepsia, juice on skin diseases and as an ear drop.Padma, Nelumbo necifera. Tuber: To relieve strangulation of the intestine. Rhizome: Yields nutritious arrowroot useful for diarrhea and dysentery in children. Carpel: Demulcent. Flower: As astringent and cooling agent for cholera.Talisa, Flacourtia cataphracta. Bark: Given together (with the roots of other plants) to women as prenatal and post natal treatment to purify the blood; for biliousness. Fruit: For biliousness and liver complaints.Usira, Andropogon muricatum. Root: Chewed for coughs and colds, promotes bronchial secretion, asthma, diarrhea and dysentery, the oil is used as a nerve stimulant, sedative, analgesic, epilepsy, constipation. Stem: Cough and colds. Root: Vermifuge, in intermittent fever. Whole plant: Sedative, analgesic, depressant for blood pressure, rubbed on aching body parts.Tagara, Tabernaemontana coronaria. Root: Bitter-tasting and applied locally as an anodyne, chewed to relieve toothaches. Stem: The bark as a refrigerant. Leaf: Latex used for eye diseases.

veterinary Medicine CPD: Veterinary History Society - Meeting and AGM

admin — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 12:24:42 +0000

A meeting will take place in November of the UK Veterinary History Society. There will be a series of lectures:-Contagious disease control at the Board of Agriculture, 1890-1922: science, politics and professional advancement- The history of the British Veterinary Hospitals Association- The wear and tear of horses during the South African WarThe AGM of the UK Veterinary History Society will be scheduled for the afternoon.Date: November 26th, 2008Location: Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons, Belgravia House, 62-64 Horseferry Road, London, UK.Information: contact secretary@veterinaryhistorysociety.org.uk

The Medical Quack: Posting Your Genes on the Web

admin — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 12:24:31 +0000

You can read more about the project here. Also there is another up and coming company in California who will bring the price down even more. Dr. Halamka of Harvard/Beth Israel Hospital (aka Life as a Healthcare CIO) was kind enough to post some of the interpretations of his own. You can read more here and visit his blog. He’s also the only one I have seen on the web to admit being “chipped” with his medial records. You can fill out an application at the site to see if you are accepted, but you will need to make your information publicly available as well. BD Participants include Harvard psychology professor Steven Pinker, technology investor Esther Dyson; John Halamka, chief information officer at Boston’s Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, and Rosalynn Gill, a founder of the Colorado personal-genetics company Sciona. It’s all part of the Personal Genome Project, an effort in which members of the public release their genome sequence and other personal details for the sake of scientific advancement. The project is trying to recruit 100,000 people to participate. Gene on the web Related Reading: Is a complete personal genome sequence worth $350,000? The Future of Personal Genomics BT and the X PRIZE Foundation Team Up to Inspire World Changing Innovations – Personalized Medicine Sequencing Those Incredible Men and their Gene Machines..Personalized Medicine in the making… The Polonator - the DNA Machine for $150,000 Technorati Tags: Genomics,Personalized medicine,George Church,X-Prize,Personal Genomics Project,Polonator,Sequencing,DNA Testing,Health Insurance,Harvard Medical School,Risk Management

Legal Medicine: DANVILLE REGIONAL HOSPITAL IN THE NEWS!

admin — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 12:24:26 +0000

As many of our readers know, Danville (VA) Regional Medical Center (DRMC) has been a news topic for quite some time….most of it for problems with the delivery of health care. Well, here we go again!It appears that DRMC is being sued in federal court for its Emergency Room staff”s failure to provide competent medical care. The case, Everett W. Scruggs v. Danville Regional Medical Center, involves among other issues, an allegation that the hospital Emergency Room did not provide competent medical care as required by federal law called the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA). The EMTALA statute imposes two primary obligations on hospitals. First, it requires that when an individual seeks medical treatment in a hospital’s emergency room, the hospital must provide for an appropriate medical screening examination . . . to determine whether or not an emergency medical condition exists. Second, if the screening examination reveals the presence of an emergency medical condition, the hospital must stabilize the medical condition before transferring or discharging the patient.The lawsuit alleges Scruggs arrived at DRMC Emergency Department at 1:50 a.m. on September 3, 2006 complaining of prolonged dry heaves over the previous two days. Upon arrival, Scruggs was triaged by a registered nurse and prioritized as a “non-urgent” patient based upon the nurse’s triage screening examination. The nurse’s triage report did not include Scrugg’s diabetic ketoacidosis condition or his history of diabetes.The Emergency Room doctor did not examine Scruggs for over 11 hours after he arrived in the ER. That physician ordered various tests but, unfortunately, Scruggs was found unresponsive and in cardiac arrest approximately 20 minutes later. The hospital argued that its Emergency Department had meet the requirements of EMTLA as a result of the nurse’s triage assessment. Thankfully, the trial court disagreed!

Mothers in Medicine: Future babies

admin — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 12:24:20 +0000

I know a lot of the women contributing to this blog have concluded their babymaking years, but I still am hoping for one more. Just one. Sometime in the not so near future. But not so far either, since my aching back has just reminded me that I’m getting on in years.Considering I’ve still yet to finish residency and then will possibly do a fellowship and likely my first real job will not be a permanent one, I worry a lot about having to make a job switch while pregnant. Is there anything more unpleasant than having to tell your new employer that you’re X weeks pregnant and will be taking Y weeks of maternity leave in the near future? Surprise! Bet you didn’t notice that during the interview, did you? Of course not, or else you never would have hired me!(A sad truth: my pregnant friends had to dress very creatively during their residency interviews.)I already had the pleasure of being three months pregnant going into residency, so I’m not looking forward to explaining another baby bulge to a new employer someday. I’m hoping I have the luxury of being at a job for at least a year before the stork pays my uterus another visit (that’s how it happens, right??). Long enough for people to maybe get to like me before they grow to resent me.Or maybe I’ll find a job where the people I work with will actually be happy for me and not just congratulating me through gritted teeth. A magical job in Happyland in a gumdrop hospital on Lollipop Lane.Of course, with the economy being the way it is, maybe I’ll luck out and be unemployed for the next 5-6 years.