Health Articles

RSS

Vertebrate Digestion

Digestion is the process through which food is broken down into smaller components for easy absorption into the bloodstream.

2 Dec 2009

Digestion refers to the breakdown of food into smaller components that can be absorbed into the bloodstream. This digestion or catabolism is divided into two types – the mechanical digestion of food that occurs in the mouth when it is physically broken up into smaller pieces and the chemical digestion that occurs in the gastrointestinal tract when the food is broken down into small molecules by digestive enzymes.

2 Dec 2009

Creatinine Interpretation

Creatinine is essentially a metabolite of creatinine phosphate, a compound that acts as a source of energy in muscle. Men tend to have higher creatinine levels than women due to their greater skeletal mass. A high dietary intake of creatinine due to a meat-rich diet, for example, can also increase the creatinine level.

26 Nov 2009

Creatinine Diagnostic Use

Creatinine is a breakdown product of muscle metabolism. The main route of creatinine excretion is through the kidneys, where it is filtered by the glomerulus and also secreted by the proximal tubule.

26 Nov 2009

What is Creatinine?

Creatinine is essentially a metabolite of creatine phosphate, a compound that acts as a source of energy in muscle. This molecule is produced at a fairly constant rate in the body, although this does vary depending on muscle mass. Men tend to have higher creatinine levels than women, due to their greater skeletal mass.

26 Nov 2009

Hormone Pharmacology

Hormones are vital for maintaining normal health, growth, development and various other aspects of the body. Either excessive or deficient secretion of hormones can therefore cause diseases and disorders.

25 Nov 2009

Chemical Classes Of Hormones

Hormones are chemical messengers secreted from the ductless endocrine glands directly into the blood stream. Hormones have distinct structures that can sometimes be synthetically replicated to provide hormone replacement therapy in people who have certain types of hormone deficiency.

25 Nov 2009

Effects Of Hormone

Hormones have several effects on the body that are vital to its function. An excess or deficiency in hormones can significantly impact on an individual's normal daily living. Insulin deficiency, for example, leads to a decrease in the body's ability to synthesize and utilize the blood glucose absorbed from food, giving rise to diabetes and its associated complications.

25 Nov 2009

Physiology of Hormones

Hormones are produced by the cells of the endocrine glands. These glands are ductless and secrete the hormones directly into the bloodstream, which carries them to their sites of action. Hormones act as regulators of various bodily functions including the release of other hormones.

25 Nov 2009

Hormone Interactions with Receptors

Hormones are chemical messengers that interact with receptors present on the surface of a cell membrane or with receptors that are located inside the cell, in the cytoplasm (cytoplasmic receptors). This interaction gives rise to the effects hormones exert on target cells and organs.

25 Nov 2009

Hormones as a Signal

Hormones are signals or chemical messengers released from endocrine glands in the body. Endocrine glands such as the thyroid, pituitary, adrenal, pancreatic glands, the testes and the ovaries are ductless glands that secrete the hormones they produce directly into the bloodstream.

25 Nov 2009

What are Hormones?

Hormones are chemical messengers that are secreted directly into the blood, which carries them to organs and tissues of the body to exert their functions.

25 Nov 2009

Glycemia Abnormal Values

Glycemia or the concentration of glucose in the blood is strictly regulated in the body through several mechanisms.

25 Nov 2009

Glycemia Measurement

Glycemia measurement is one of the most important practices performed in clinical assessment.

25 Nov 2009

What is Glycemia?

Glycemia refers to the concentration of sugar or glucose in the blood. In the United States and in many other countries, it is expressed as milligrams per deciliter (mg/dl). In many of the European countries blood glucose or sugar is also measured as millimol per decilitre (mmol/dl). These measurements are referred to as the SI units.

25 Nov 2009

Electrolyte Electrochemistry

Electrolytes are formed when the components in a salt compound dissociate in a process called solvation. Electrolytes have several properties that can be utilized in the process of electrolysis as a means of separating and extracting the elements and compounds present in a solution.

24 Nov 2009

Electrolyte Health Importance

Electrolytes are essential substances in the body required for cell function and cell signalling. In the human body, the main electrolytes are...

24 Nov 2009

What is an Electrolyte?

Electrolyte is the medical term for a salt or ion in the blood or other bodily fluid that carries a charge.

24 Nov 2009

Antioxidant Enzyme Systems

There are several enzyme systems that catalyze reactions to neutralize free radicals and reactive oxygen species. These enzymes include:

24 Nov 2009

Antioxidant Metabolites

The antioxidant networks in the body are complex and are composed of several components. These may be endogenous factors such as Glutathione, thiols, haem proteins, Coenzymes Q, bilirubin and urates. These may also be endogenous enzymes like GSH reductase, GSH transferase, GSH peroxidises, Superoxide dismutase and Catalases.

24 Nov 2009