Cortisol is a steroid hormone. Cortisol is termed catabolic as it has the opposite effect to testosterone, insulin and growth hormone in that it breaks down tissue. In fact cortisol, which is released by the adrenal glands under conditions of high mental and physical stress and high temperature, is the body’s primary catabolic hormone. The three…
C-Reactive Protein Test (CRP): A plasma protein that rises in the blood with the inflammation from certain conditions. C-reactive protein (CRP) is one of the plasma proteins known as acute-phase proteins: proteins whose plasma concentrations increase (or decrease) by 25% or more during inflammatory disorders.
Exudate is produced from fluid that has leaked out of blood vessels and closely resembles blood plasma. Fluid leaks from capillaries into tissue at a rate that is determined by the permeability of the capillaries and the hydrostatic and osmotic pressures across the capillary walls. Most wounds will contain some exudate; this will vary from…
Along with the soleus muscle, the gastrocnemius forms half of the calf muscle. Its function is plantar flexing the foot at the ankle joint and flexing the leg at the knee joint.
Golgi tendon organs (GTO) are sensory mechanoreceptors located within tendons. They play a role in the management of muscle tension. They synapse with inhibitory interneurons in the spinal cord, allowing for the inhibition of specific alpha motor neurons.
A goniometer is a device used in physical therapy to measure the range of motion around a joint in the body. The word goniometer is derived from the Greek terms gonia and metron, which mean angle and measure, respectively
Hematoma is generally defined as a collection of blood outside of blood vessels. Most commonly, hematomas are caused by an injury to the wall of a blood vessel, prompting blood to seep out of the blood vessel into the surrounding tissues. A hematoma can result from an injury to any type of blood vessel (artery,…
Knee replacement is surgery for people with severe knee damage. Knee replacement can relieve pain and allow you to be more active. Your doctor may recommend it if you have knee pain and medicine and other treatments are not helping you anymore. When you have a total knee replacement, the surgeon removes damaged cartilage and…