April 2009

URINATION, FREQUENT

Description and Possible Medical Problems Not only can an enlarged prostate make it more difficult to urinate, it can have the opposite effect, making you need to urinate more frequently. Since you’re never able to empty your bladder fully, you’ll probably feel the urge to urinate more often because the signals that a full bladder [...]

PAIN IN UPPER RIGHT QUADRANT WITH VOMITING, NAUSEA, AND FEVER: DESCRIPTION AND POSSIBLE MEDICAL PROBLEMS

Like the appendix and the spleen, the gallbladder is one of those organs we’ve all heard of. But whenever I ask a patient to describe its function and location, I always get a blank stare. Okay, function first. The gallbladder is a sac that stores bile, a substance secreted by the liver that helps to [...]

HOW THE BREASTS AGE

Though some of the effects aging has on a woman’s body may largely pass unnoticed, it’s the rare woman who doesn’t measure the passage of time by the noticeable changes in her breasts. Because the breasts lose both fat and glandular tissue as they age, they may begin to sag and flatten a bit when [...]

HUNCHBACK

Description and Possible Medical Problems If you’ve ever visited a public park where a lot of elderly people congregate, you’ve probably noticed that several of the women and a few of the men walk in a stooped manner and have a visible hunchback. It looks as though it must be difficult for them to get [...]

NECK, ENLARGED MASS ON ONE SIDE OF

Description and Possible Medical Problems When any part of the neck swells up—on either the side or the front— the thyroid gland is usually responsible. If you see and feel a lump or mass on one side of your neck but are still able to eat and drink as usual, you’ll probably be tempted to [...]