News Author Ann Constantino
Autoimmunity
Photo by Towfiqu barbhuiya on Unsplash Over the past 100 years or so the medical world has gone from vehemently denying the possibility that the body’s immune system could turn on itself, to cataloging as many as 80 autoimmune disorders.…
I’ll Second That
Photo by National Cancer Institute on Unsplash An unexpected diagnosis, a nudge in the direction of a surgery that sounds scary, a sudden change in a child’s health, or just a lack of understanding of information your provider has explained…
Give it a Rest
Photo by No Revisions on Unsplash Are you getting enough sleep these days? If not, you probably recognize right away how that manifests in your body and your mind. Maybe you’re irritable, you struggle to concentrate, you feel heavy and…
Skin in the Game
Photo by Juan Pablo Serrano Arenas from Pexels The human skin is a multi-layered organ that covers almost the entire body. The related parts of the so-called integumentary system are the hair, nails and glands producing sweat and oil. The average human’s skin…
This Gland is Your Gland
Photo by Nhia Moua on Unsplash Your body has its own highly specialized and sophisticated chemical manufacturing system. Glands are tissues or mini-organs that produce substances and deliver them locally or systemically to perform a wide range of functions in…
Tour of the Organ Body, Endgame: The Intestines
Photo by Eduardo Goody on Unsplash Finally, we come to the end of the line on our tour of the organ body, the small and large intestine. This is where most nutrients are absorbed from the food we have eaten…
Tour of the Organ Body, Part 5: Love is a Many-Splenic Thing
Photo by RF._.studio from Pexels The spleen is a purplish, 4-5 inch long, roughly fist-shaped abdominal organ, sitting to the left of the stomach, attached to the left kidney by a ligament, and just within the lower-left rib basket. In ancient Greek and…
Tour of the Organ Body, Part 4: The Kidneys
Photo by Robina Weermeijer on Unsplash Published in the Humboldt Independent on November 9, 2021 A couple of fist-sized, bean-shaped organs tucked behind the stomach just beneath the lower back ribs, the kidneys were considered during biblical times to be…
Tour of the Organ Body, Part 3: Pancreas
Photo by cottonbro from Pexels Posted in the Humboldt Independent on October 26, 2021 When famous ancient Greek physician Galen of Pergamon declared the pancreas nothing more than spongy protective padding separating the stomach from some large blood vessels, no one challenged the…
Tour of the Organ Body, Part 2: The Stomach
Photo by Sander Dalhuisen from Unsplash Published in the Humboldt Independent on October 12, 2021. Platypuses and seahorses don’t have one, and if absolutely necessary you could live without one, but mostly it is a good thing to have a stomach, that repository…