Medical Today

Definition
Sprain refers to damage or tearing of ligaments or a joint capsule. Strain refers to damage or tearing of a muscle.

Description
When excessive force is applied to a joint, the ligaments that hold the bones together may be torn or damaged. This results in a sprain, and its seriousness depends on how badly the ligaments are torn. Any ligament can be sprained, but the most frequently injured ligaments are at the ankle, knee, and finger joints.

Definition
Stroke is the common name for the injury to the brain that occurs when the flow of blood to brain tissue is interrupted by a clogged or burst artery. Arterial blood carries oxygen and nutrition to the cells of the body. When arteries are unable to carry out this function due to rupture, constriction, or obstruction, the cells nourished by these arteries die. The medical term for stroke is the acronym CVA, or cerebral vascular accident.

Definition
Hair loss, or alopecia, is total or partial baldness caused by hormonal changes or physical or mental stress.

Description
Hair loss occurs for many reasons. Some causes, such as hormonal changes, are considered natural, while others signal serious health problems. Some conditions are confined to the scalp, while others reflect disease processes throughout the body.

Definition
Diabetes mellitus is a condition in which the pancreas no longer produces enough insulin or when cells stop responding to the insulin that is produced, so that glucose in the blood cannot be absorbed into the cells of the body. Symptoms include frequent urination, tiredness, excessive thirst, and hunger.

Description
Diabetes mellitus is a chronic disease that causes serious health complications including renal (kidney) failure, heart disease, stroke, and blindness. Approximately 14 million Americans (about 5% of the population) have diabetes. Unfortunately, as many as one-half of them, are unaware that they have it.

Definition
Tennis elbow is an inflammation of several structures of the elbow. These include muscles, tendons, bursa, periosteum, and epicondyle (bony projections on the outside and inside of the elbow, where muscles of the forearm attach to the bone of the upper arm). This condition is also called epicondylitis, lateral epicondylitis, medial epicondylitis, or golfer’s elbow, where pain is present at the inside epicondyle.