37
votes
Accepted
Why are iron levels different in the left and right hands?
I'm guessing the "iron" test was actually a hemoglobin test (though I'm certainly no expert in blood donation screens...).
I suspect your nurse is reporting a folk tale rather than any true ...
- 14.3k
8
votes
How to get rid of erectile dysfunction?
Before going directly into the topic, firstly, it is necessary to comprehend the mechanism of erection, because small fault due to different factors in the mechanism gives rise to its dysfunction.
...
- 735
7
votes
Accepted
Can very tight glasses restrict blood flow to the brain?
Not towards the brain.
Look at the two diagrams. The temporal artery is a branch of the external carotid artery that stays outside the skull. The internal carotid artery goes inside the skull.
...
- 5,814
7
votes
Accepted
Do shin injuries heal slower than similar injuries on other parts of the body?
It is commonly known by plastic surgeons etc that the close association of skin and bone in the shin area leads to poor healing. Anatomical studies suggest that this is caused by the comparative lack ...
- 13.3k
6
votes
Accepted
Surgery of the hemorrhoid or other veins
What happens when a blood vessel is cut during surgery?
Blood vessels (not just veins, but arteries also) are transected (cut), ligated (tied off), and/or cauterized (burned closed) in just about ...
- 3,178
6
votes
Ultrasound sniff test: why does lowering intrathoracic pressure collapse the subclavian vein?
Your thought process is correct; in the absence of all other factors, physics dictates that the reduction of pressure surrounding a flexible fluid-filled vessel would result in expansion.
But there ...
- 5,814
6
votes
Accepted
How long does it take for a body to get rid of blood clots and bubbles inside a cannula?
First, notice that bubbles are stopped by the drip chamber on the IV, or if there's an infusion pump instead of a drip chamber, the pump itself will detect it and stop the flow.
If there is a small ...
- 9,935
4
votes
Accepted
Dealing with a lot of standing
How can I deal with standing for long periods?
I have an odd sensation, like pins and needles
The technical name for that kind of altered sensation is paraesthesia. It can have a number of causes; ...
- 701
4
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Extreme bleeding - what shuts down first?
It's actually not terribly complicated. The heart will stop first.
In the scenario you describe, the heart will continue pumping until it runs out of blood to pump, and it may even continue pumping ...
- 9,935
4
votes
Bradyarrhythmia & Bradycardia- same or different?
Literally translating the terms would say that bradycardia is a "slow heart" and a bradyarrhythmia is a "slow abnormal/irregular (heartbeat)". In many cases they will substantially ...
- 14.3k
3
votes
Crystalloid infusion during anaphylactic shock
Your assumption that there is no fluid loss is wrong. In addition to the vasodilation Jan mentioned in his answer, there's significant fluid loss caused by increased permeability of the vasculature. ...
- 9,935
3
votes
How does blood flow change between systolic and diastolic phases?
General relative flow velocity in different vessel types
I found a nice image here which gives a general idea of several haemodynamic parameters over different vessel types:
Thus, this source says ...
- 397
3
votes
How does blood flow change between systolic and diastolic phases?
Flow is roughly constant once you get past the arterioles. You can see that on the figure you provided, no other source is needed: there's no pulsatile pressure there, just constant pressure ...
- 14.3k
3
votes
Can a colloid intravascular volume expander be used in chronic orthostatic hypotension?
Albumin is expensive and potentially dangerous, colloids have never been shown to be better than crystalloids, and there is no good evidence for their effective use in orthostatic hypotension.
...
- 13.3k
3
votes
Accepted
Can pectus excavatum increase the risk of cardio vascular disease?
This is a very interesting question. Thank you.
Just as a small background on pectus excavatum (PE) (also known as "funnel chest"). It is characterised by depression of the sternum that begins over ...
- 3,204
2
votes
Does Anemia equal poor circulation?
Anemia means decreased ability of the blood to carry oxygen. Two examples are iron deficiency anemia and pernicious anemia due to impaired vitamin B12 absorption. You can have anemia and good ...
- 15.9k
2
votes
Accepted
What are the health benefits of cold showers?
Short-Term Benefits
Cold showers boost recovery after exercise: Athletes often take ice baths after vigorous training do reduce soreness. You don’t have to take it that far, but you can obtain a ...
- 1,866
2
votes
Accepted
Tourniquet application on a venous bleed
In venous lacerations, blood would be able to be stopped by placing a tourniquet below the injury. By stopping the blood from returning from the limb, you wouod be able to effectively prevent blood ...
- 311
2
votes
At what speed would an average adult human male bleed out, if their arm was amputated?
Rate of blood loss through amputation of an arm will depend on a range of things including initial blood pressure and heart rate of the patient etc. Plus, blood pressure falls as the amount of fluid ...
- 6,236
2
votes
How does the circulatory system know where to distribute oxygen and nutrients?
The easiest explanation is that there is no "knowledge" involved, just physiology/molecular biology. In an area of low O2 and high CO2 (therefore a demand exists for O2), the oxygen dissociation curve ...
- 10.1k
2
votes
What ingredients in this list are causing my hands to get warm? (improve circulation to my fingers)
The ingredients one by one
Sorbitol:
An alcohol sugar, and a sugar substitute. However, xylitol has become more widely used because a few type of bacteria (Streptococcus mutans) can process sorbitol ...
- 6,930
1
vote
Why doesn't dissolved gas in blood come out of solution?
I think you're kind of on track, but I'd explain it a different way. Similar to this Q&A: Why doesn't water enter the venous system if injury happens far underwater? I think the main principle ...
- 14.3k
1
vote
Accepted
Does chronic caffeine use increase or decrease blood flow to connective tissue?
With regard to underlying biological mechanisms, most research has been devoted to BP-raising effects of caffeine. However, there are many other substances in coffee, such as polyphenols, soluble ...
- 126
1
vote
Accepted
How do I measure my resting heart rate?
Resting heart rate is measured sitting down after having rested for at least 10 minutes and for accuracy, not under the influence of any stimulants (like caffeine).
The normal range in general is ...
- 302
1
vote
The state of glucose in the blood
As pointed out in mytutor.co.uk in the basic biology section
When we breathe we inhale oxygen from the air into our lungs. The alveoli are tiny air sacs in the lung where oxygen diffuses into the ...
- 6,236
1
vote
Crystalloid infusion during anaphylactic shock
In anaphylaxic shock, vasodilation can result in severe hypotension. The aim of crystalloid infusion is to help correct hypotension. There are various treatment regimes possible, but most authors ...
- 15.9k
1
vote
Accepted
What ingredients in this list are causing my hands to get warm? (improve circulation to my fingers)
EDIT: Its thoracic outlet syndrome. If I do certain stretches it goes away
Old:
So I looked into it, and I found those ingredients are actually good for "carpel tunnel" which has been found to be ...
- 91
1
vote
What ingredients in this list are causing my hands to get warm? (improve circulation to my fingers)
Your experience that alcohol warms your fingers and the fact that the drug nifedipine is used in Raynaud's symptoms relief suggest that the mechanism involved in warming fingers is vasodilation.
From ...
- 15.9k
1
vote
Accepted
Why is this clinical difference between central and peripheral hemoglobincyanosis?
Cyanosis occurs when the concentration of deoxyhaemoglobin is high (greater than 5g/dL), because deoxyhaemoglobin absorbs differing wavelengths of light than oxyhaemoglobin and looks bluer.
Central ...
- 56
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible