The Dust diseases - Lung disorders caused by dust particles inhaled and absorbed into the lung tissues. There, they may cause fibrosis (formation of scar tissue) and progressive lung damage.
The main symptoms are a cough and breathing difficulty. It may take at least ten years of exposure to dusts containing coal, silica, talc, or asbestos before serious lung damage develops (see pneumoconiosis). Hypersensitivity to moulds on hay or grain may lead to allergic alveolitis.
Preventive measures, such as the installation of dust...
11/15/15
Duroziez's disease
The Duroziez's disease - A congenital (present at birth) form of mitral stenosis (a narrowing of the opening of the mitral valve, which is situated on the left side of the heart...
Dupuytren's contracture
The Dupuytren's contracture - A disorder of the hand in which one or more fingers become fixed in a bent position. In about half of the cases, both hands are affected. In most cases there is no apparent cause, but the disease may be, in part, inherited. Men over the age of 40 are most often affected.
The tissues just under the skin in the...
duplex kidney
The duplex kidney - Two fused kidneys on one side of the body. Another structural abnormality of the kidney is duplex renal pelvis, in which a single kidney has two renal pelvises (urine-collecting chambers).
A third possibility is duplex ureter, in which there are two ureters leading from one kidney. The ureters may open into the bladder, or, in females, one may open into the vagina. These malformations arise during formation in the embryo. Surgical correction may be necessary to prevent complications such as infection...
duodenum
The duodenum - The first part of the small intestine. The duodenum begins at the duodenal cap, just beyond the pylorus (the muscular valve at the lower end of the stomach). It extends to the ligament of Treitz, which marks the boundary with the second part of the small intestine (the jejunum). (See Location of the duodenum, opposite page.)
The...