Articles on Medical Diseases and Conditions

Endoscopic retrograde choledochopancreatography entails passing a special endoscopic tube system into the duodenum, entering the pancreatic duct or the common bile duct with the end of a cannula, and injecting x-ray contrast material. The procedure is used predominantly for diagnosis of pancreatic disease, but it may occasionally be helpful in equivocal cases of biliary tract […]

Percutaneous transhepatic cholangiography consists of inserting a cannula into one of the intrahepatic bile ducts through a long biopsy needle and injecting x-ray contrast material directly into the duct. This procedure outlines the biliary duct system and both confirms biliary tract obstruction by demonstrating a dilated duct system and pinpoints the location of the obstruction. […]

Ultrasound has been reported to detect metastatic liver tumor in approximately 85%-90% of patients (literature range, 63%-96%, with some of the lower figures being earlier ones). Computerized tomography (CT) has a sensitivity of 90%-95%. Radionuclide scans detect a few more patients with diffuse liver abnormality than CT or ultrasound. However, CT and ultrasound can differentiate […]

If a radioactive colloidal preparation is injected intravenously, it is picked up by the reticuloendothelial system. The Kupffer cells of the liver take up most of the radioactive material in normal circumstances, with a small amount being deposited in the spleen and bone marrow. If a sensitive radioactive counting device is placed over the liver, […]

Fetal liver produces an alpha-1 globulin called “alpha fetoprotein” (AFP), which becomes the dominant fetal serum protein in the first trimester, reaching a peak at 12 weeks, then declining to 1% of the peak at birth. By age 1 year, a much greater decrease has occurred. Primary liver cell carcinomas (hepatomas) were found to produce […]

Antibodies that react against specific structures in cells can be demonstrated by immunofluorescent technique. Antimitochondrial antibodies are found in 80%-100% of biliary cirrhosis patients and may aid in the diagnosis of this uncommon disease. False positive results have been reported in some patients with drug-induced cholestasis and chronic active hepatitis, as well as in a […]

The vast majority of procedures to repair or replace heart valves are done on the mitral and aortic valves on the left side of the heart. The mitral valve controls in?ow and the aortic valve controls out?ow for the hard-working left ventricle that pumps blood to the rest of the body. These two valves are […]

Although medications cannot “?x” a diseased valve, they can help ease your symptoms, reduce the load on your heart as it works to compen- sate for a damaged valve, and regulate your heart’s rhythm if it is dis- turbed by abnormal blood ?ow. Digitalis (digoxin) is frequently prescribed for a person with valve disease to […]

The pulmonary valve controls the blood ?ow between the right ventri- cle and the pulmonary artery leading into the lungs . Although disease is rare, the pulmonary valve can develop regurgitation (backward leakage) or stenosis (narrowing). Pulmonary Regurgitation Pulmonary regurgitation is a condition in which some blood is allowed to leak back from the pulmonary […]

The tricuspid valve is on the right side of the heart, regulating the blood ?ow between the right atrium and the right ventricle. Disease in this valve is fairly rare. However, regurgitation (backward leakage of blood through the valve) may occur as the only valve problem or may occur with other problems. Stenosis (narrowing of […]