Stomach acid is the collection of gastric secretions secreted by the lining of the stomach and contained with the stomach cavity. It is a combination of hydrochloric acid (HCl), pepsin and intrinsic factor and due to the presence of HCl, the overall pH of the solution is low meaning that it is acidic. The stomach secretes >> Read More ...
Polycythemia is an increase in the circulating red blood blood cell count or a higher than normal concentration of hemoglobin in the blood. In the true sense of the word, polycythemia is not a high level of hemoglobin on its own but a consequence of either an elevated red blood cell count or low plasma levels. Polycythemia >> Read More ...
Causes of Chest Pain on the Right Side Broadly, chest pain may be either centrally located (pain in center of chest) or occur more laterally (side chest pain). Right sided chest pain may be due to the same causes that can affect the left side. Although cardiac chest pain is more likely to occur on the left side, it can >> Read More ...
Inactivity is a major contributing factor to the development of both arterial and venous problems that lead to poor leg circulation. Even when these conditions are caused by other factors, being sedentary will accelerate the progression of the condition, exacerbate the symptoms and possibly lead to complications that could >> Read More ...
What is anemia? Anemia is a deficiency of circulating red blood cells or low hemoglobin levels. There are number of different types of anemia and this term may encompass a number of defects in size, shape, structure and quantity of red blood cells in the blood. Irrespective of the type of anemia, the oxygen-carrying >> Read More ...
The average male adult has just over 5 million red blood cells per cubic millimeter (microliter) while adult females have over 4.5 million red blood cells per microliter. This quantity of red blood cells may vary for a number of reasons – both physiological and pathological. While the body can cope with a slight >> Read More ...
Red blood cells, or erythrocytes, are the most abundant cells in the bloodstream and contains hemoglobin, the compound that carries oxygen through the body. While hemoglobin can occur in a free state in some animals, in the human body it has to be contained within a cell – the red blood cell. Any disruption of the >> Read More ...
Oxygen-rich blood enters the leg via the leg arteries, travel via the multiple branches of the major arteries until it enters the arterioles and then the capillaries. Here the exchange of gas, nutrients and waste between the blood in the capillaries and the tissue of the leg ensures that the leg structures are provided >> Read More ...
When blood flow within a leg vein is compromised, blood pools within the foot and lower leg. This is known as venous stasis in the legs. It essentially means that the circulation is sluggish and blood is moving too slowly or only small quantities of blood are able to exit the leg. For venous stasis to to occur, the >> Read More ...
Venous insufficiency is a condition where the flow of blood from the leg back to the heart is impaired. The leg veins carry oxygen deficient blood away from the legs and certain anatomical features and physiological mechanisms in the leg enable the unidirectional flow of blood to the heart. This includes the : >> Read More ...
