Arthritis Essay -- essays research papers fc

Arthritis is a general term for approximately 100 diseases that produce either INFLAMMATION of connective tissues, particularly in words, or non incitive decadency of these tissues. The word means "joint inflammation," but because new(prenominal) structures are also affected, the diseases are often called connective tissue diseases. The terms rheumatism and rheumatic diseases are also used. Besides conditions so named, the diseases include gout, lupus erythematosus, ankylosing spondylitis, degenerative joint disease, and many others, among them the more recently identified LYME DISEASE. Causes of these disorders include immune-system reactions and the wear and tear of aging, while search indicates that the nervous system may often be equally involved. About one out of seven Americans exhibit some form of arthritis. INFLAMMATORY joining TISSUE DISEASES This varied group of diseases produces inflammation in the connective tissues, particularly in the joints. The signs of inflammation--warmth, redness, s salubriousing, and pain--may be apparent. Microscopic examination of the lesions reveals prominent blood vessels, abnormal accumulations of exsanguine blood cells, and varying degrees of wound healing with scarring. In some diseases, the inflammation is clearly an immune reaction, the bodys defense against invading microorganisms. In others, the cause is different or unknown. Infectious Arthritis This disease is most common in young adults. Infection in a joint is usually caused by bacteria or other microorganisms that invade the joint from its blood vessels. Within hours or a few days the joint, usually the knee or elbow, becomes inflamed. There is an abnormal accumulation of synovial, or joint, fluid, which may be cloudy and contain large numbers of white blood cells. Gonococcal arthritis, a complication of gonorrhea, is the most common form of infectious arthritis. manipulation with antibiotics and aspiration of synovial fluid is usually prompt ly effective, and only minor residual damage is done to the joint. Occasionally the infection is prolonged and produces joint expiry and requires surgery. Rheumatic Fever This is a form of infectious arthritis caused by hemolytic streptococcus, a bacterium. Unlike typical infectious arthritis, however, the disease is most common in children aged 5 to 15 years, begins weeks after the onset of the streptococc... ... certain adrenal cortical steroids are powerful tameors of inflammation, toxic side effects limit their usefulness. Similarly, drugs that inhibit proliferation of cells in the inflammatory masses have potentially severe side effects. Drugs that inhibit undesirable inflammation may also inhibit desired inflammatory responses. A result is a high frequency of secondary infections. More specific therapy, for example, allopurinol and colchicine in gout, is dependent on knowledge of the precise biochemical mechanisms of disease pathogenesis. Researchers are also studying the u se of drugs that act on the nervous system. Despite the wear-and-tear origin of degenerative joint disease, it, too, may respond well to so-called anti-inflammatory drugs. Perhaps they are primarily acting as analgesics (pain-killers), or they may act by decreasing the secondary inflammation that follows joint trauma. Franklin Mullinax Bibliography Arthritis Foundation, Understanding Arthritis (1986) Kelley, William N., et al., eds., Textbook of Rheumatology, 2d ed., (1985) McCarty, Daniel F., ed., Arthritis and Allied Conditions, 11th ed. (1988) Moll, J. M. H., Rheumatology in Clinical Practice (1987).

Essay on Rewriting History in Henry IV -- Henry IV Henry V Essays

Rewriting History in Henry IV The master of historiography is, perhaps, Shakespeare as evidenced by his History Plays. Whereas most writers merely borrow from floor to fuel their creative fires, Shakespeare goes so far as to rewrite history. The First Part of Henry the fourthly part follows history fairly closely, and Shakespeare draws this history primarily from Raphael Holinsheds Chronicle of England, Scotland, and Ireland and from Samuel Daniels verse epic The Civil Wars (Abrams 823). The play opens shortly after Henry Bolingbroke has usurped the throne from Richard II, becoming the fourth King Henry, and changing the royal lineage from the House of Plantagenet to the House of Lancaster. In the opening sequence, Henry IV is in the process of vowing peace in England and brilliant a crusade to liberate the Holy Land. No motive for this crusade surfaces in 1 Henry IV, other than the fact that it is some unfinished melodic line from Shakespeares preceding play Richard II ( Kelly 214). Henrys pledge of civil peace is ironic because during this first scene he receives word that his troops have been overtaken by Glendower in Wales, and Hotspur has met and defeated the Scots in the North (1.1.36-61). To the news, the King replies, It seems then that the tidings of this broil / Brake off our business for the Holy Land (1.1.47-8). Postponing the business in Jerusalem, Henry IV eventually leads England into civil war with Hotspur at the Battle of Shrewsbury. These actions will ultimately ignite the War of the Roses between the Lancasters (Henry IVs family) and the Yorks (descendants of Richard II). The play then shifts its nidus to the younger Henry, nicknamed Hal. Shakespeare portrays the ... ... as king. Shakespeare the Historian is not so wonderful as Shakespeare the Playwright, yet through Shakespeares History Plays many modern readers draw their knowledge of the history prior to Shakespeare. Works Cited * Drabble, Margaret, ed. The Oxford Compa nion to English Literature. 5th Ed. New York Oxford UP, 1985. * Jacob, E. F. The Fifteenth Century 1399-1485. capital of the United Kingdom Oxford UP, 1961. * Kelly, Henry Ansgar. Divine Providence in the England of Shakespeares Histories. Cambridge Harvard UP, 1970. * McFarlane, K. B. Lancastrian Kings and Lollard Knights. London Oxford UP, 1972. * Rowse, A. L. Bosworth Field From Medieval to Tudor England. New York Doubleday, 1966. * Shakespeare, William. 1 Henry IV. Ed. M. H. Abrams. The Norton Anthology of English Literature. Vol. 1, 6th ed. New York Norton, 1993.