The incidence of pancreatic carcinoma is increasing tremendously. Increasing evidence suggests that it may result from exposure to chemical carcinogens. Lowest socioeconomic classes and people in urban regions develop more. Individuals of either male or female who smoke one to two packs of cigarette per day have a two to three folds increased risk of […]
In order of increasing frequency, the following are the commonest causes of nipple discharge in the non lactating breast: carcinoma, intraductal papilloma, and mammary dysplasia with ectasia of the ducts. The important characteristics of the discharge and some other factors to be evaluated by history and physical examination are as follows:
This common benign neoplasm occurs most frequently in young women, usually within 20 years after puberty. It is somewhat more frequent and tends to occur at an earlier age in black than in white women. Multiple tumors in one or both breasts are found in 10-15% of patients.
Mammary Dysplasia (Fibrocystic Disease)
Essential of Diagnosis
• Painful, often multiple, usually bilateral masses in the breast.
• Rapid fluctuation in the size of the masses is common.
• Frequently, pain occurs or increases and size increases during premenstrual phase of cycle.
• Most common age is 30-50. Rare in post menopausal women.
Essentials of diagnosis
• Obstructive jaundice (may be painless).
• Enlarged gallbladder (may be painful).
• Upper abdominal pain with radiation to back, weight loss, and thrombophlebitis are usually late manifestations.
Chronic pancreatitis occurs most often in patients with alcoholism, hereditary pancreatitis, severe malnutrition or untreated hyperparathyroidism, or it may be idiopathic. Progressive fibrosis and destruction of functioning glandular tissue occur as a result. Pancreaticolithiasis and obstruction of the duodenal end of the pancreatic duct are often present. (Acute pancreatitis recurring after cholecystectomy for cholelithiasis should […]
Acute Pancreatitis
Essentials of Diagnosis
• Abrupt onset of deep epigastric pain, often with radiation to the back.
• Nausea, vomiting, sweating, weakness
• Abdominal tenderness and distention, fever.
• Leukocytosis, elevated serum amylase, elevated serum lipase.
• History of previous episodes, often related to alcohol intake.
I-cell disease (mucolipidosis 2) and pseudo-Hurler polydystrophy (mucolipidosis 3) are related diseases that arise from defects in Lysosomal enzyme targeting because of a deficiency in the enzyme that transfers N-acetyglucosamine phosphate to the high-mannose type oligosaccharides of proteins destined for the lysosome.
Intravesical chemotherapy
Immuno or chemotherapeutic agents can be delivered directly into the bladder by a urethral catheter. They can be used to eradicate existing disease or to reduce the likelihood of recurrence in those who have undergone complete transurethral resection. Such therapy is more effective in the latter situation. Most agents are administered weekly for 6-12 […]
For the right diagnosis of a particular disease, it is always better to estimate a few (three or more) serum enzymes, instead of a single enzyme. Examples of enzyme patterns in important diseases are given here.
Primary tumors of the kidney
Renal cell carcinoma
Essentials of diagnosis
• Gross or microscopic hematuria
• Flank pain or mass in some patients.
• Systemic symptoms such as fever, weight loss may be prominent
• Solid renal mass on imaging
Although nitric oxide is essential in tumoricidal and bactericidal functions of macrophages, overproduction of nitric oxide has been implicated in septic/cytokine-induced circulatory shock in humans through the activation of guanylate cyclase. This mechanism is responsible for profound hypotension in postoperative patients whose recovery is complicated by bacterial infections that produce endotoxins. Hypotension in these patients […]
Essentials of diagnosis
• Irritative voiding symptoms.
• Gross or microscopic hematuria.
• Positive urinary cytology in most patients.
• Filling defect within bladder noted on imaging.
Symptoms and signs
Most prostatic cancers are detected in asymptomatic men who are found to have focal nodules or areas of induration within the prostate at the time of digital rectal examination.
Essentials of diagnosis
• Prostatic indurations on digital rectal examination or elevation of PSA.
• Most often asymptomatic.
• Systemic symptoms (weight loss, bone pain) in 20% of patients.
Stress tests, or graded exercise tests, are conducted primarily to aid in diagnosing or quantifying heart or lung disease and to evaluate the functional capacity asymptomatic individuals. The tests are usually given on motorized treadmills or bicycle ergometers (stationary, variable-resistance bicycles). Workload intensity (how hard the subject is working) is adjusted by progressively increasing the […]
A group of cells having the same origin, similar shape and specific or common generalized function is known as a tissue. The tissues are classified into four major groups. They are epithelial tissue, connective tissue, muscular tissue, nervous tissue. These four groups of tissues are called elementary tissues.
Chromatography is one of the most useful and popular tools of biochemistry. It is an analytical technique dealing with the separation of closely related compounds from a mixture. These include proteins, peptides, amino acids, lipids, carbohydrates, vitamins and medicines.
Flow Cytometry has numerous applications and as in case of PCR it might be said that the applications of flow Cytometry are limited only by our own imagination. A detailed discussion of these applications is impossible her. However, major well documented applications have been cursorily dealt with.
Many authorities recommend screening asymptomatic individuals by measuring plasma cholesterol. A level less than 200 mg% is considered desirable, and a level over 240 mg% requires lipoprotein analysis, especially determination of LDL cholesterol. Reduction of LDL cholesterol depends on dietary restriction of cholesterol to less than 300mg day -1, of calories to attain ideal body […]
There is numerous application of PCR and since the techniques is comparatively recent, new applications are being added with an amazing speed. We will not discuss the applications which are common and which can easily be imagined by the reader. Instead some of the novel applications of PCR are discussed in this section.
PCR in cancer […]
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