edgepedia

Human health and medicine

25,729 articles

Stress ulcer of stomach

Stress ulcer of stomach (ICD-11 DA60.3), also called acute gastric stress ulcer or Curling's ulcer, is an acute gastric mucosal lesion in critically ill patients, usually superficial fundic erosions, driven by splanchnic hypoperfusion and acid, prevented with PPIs or H2RAs.

Stretch marks

Stretch marks (striae distensae) are linear dermal scars from rapid skin stretching, affecting 50-90% of pregnant women. Prevention creams lack evidence; tretinoin plus bipolar radiofrequency ranks best among treatments.

Stretch marks of pregnancy

Stretch marks of pregnancy (striae gravidarum) are atrophic linear scars affecting 50-90% of pregnant women, mainly on the abdomen, breasts, and thighs in the third trimester. Risk factors include young maternal age, family history, and weight gain; no topical preparation is proven to prevent them.

Stretch reflex

Stretch (myotatic, deep tendon) reflex: involuntary muscle contraction on rapid stretch, via monosynaptic Ia afferent–alpha motor neuron spinal connections; basis of knee jerk, ~20 ms upper-limb latency, delayed 14 ms in older adults.

Stretchers

Stretchers, also called gurneys, trolleys, or litters, are bed-like structures for transporting or holding patients in hospitals, ambulances, and rescue work; includes history, adverse-event data, powered models, and standards.

Stretching

Muscle stretching exercises (MeSH D052580) are exercises to increase muscle-tendon flexibility and range of motion, including static, dynamic, ballistic, active, passive, isometric, and PNF stretching; they improve ROM but do not reduce overall injury risk.

Striatal cholinergic-GABAergic neuron

A striatal cholinergic-GABAergic neuron, or CGIN, is a large aspiny striatal interneuron that releases both acetylcholine and GABA, making up about half of the striatum's cholinergic interneurons.

Striate palmoplantar keratoderma

Striate palmoplantar keratoderma (keratosis palmoplantaris striata, Brünauer–Fuh–Siemens syndrome) is a rare autosomal dominant PPK with linear palmar hyperkeratosis, caused by DSG1, DSP, or KRT1 mutations.

Striated Muscle Contraction

Striated muscle contraction: force generation in skeletal and cardiac muscle via actin-myosin ATP hydrolysis in sarcomeres, triggered by calcium binding troponin, with DHPR-RyR1 triads in skeletal and CICR in cardiac muscle.

Striated muscle tissue

Striated muscle tissue: skeletal and cardiac muscle with sarcomere-based actin-myosin banding, sliding-filament contraction, DHPR versus CICR calcium coupling, fiber types, and diseases such as DMD and rhabdomyolysis.

Stricture of artery

Stricture of artery (arterial stenosis), ICD-11 BD52.2: narrowing of an arterial lumen, usually from atherosclerosis; severity thresholds, imaging (duplex, CTA, MRA), and revascularization versus medical therapy by vascular bed.

Stricturotomy

Stricturotomy, or endoscopic stricturotomy, is an endoscopic technique that incises fibrotic gastrointestinal strictures with an electrosurgical knife to widen the lumen, used mainly for refractory Crohn's disease and benign anastomotic strictures.

Stridor

Stridor: high-pitched noisy breathing from turbulent airflow through a partially obstructed upper airway (pharynx, larynx, trachea). Timing localizes the lesion; stridor at rest is an emergency; croup and laryngomalacia dominate in children.

STROBE statement

The STROBE statement (STrengthening the Reporting of OBservational studies in Epidemiology) is a 22-item checklist for reporting cohort, case-control, and cross-sectional studies, first published in 2007.

Stroboscopy

Stroboscopy is an endoscopic examination that uses light flashing in sync with a patient's voice to show the rapidly vibrating vocal folds in apparent slow motion, the standard exam for evaluating voice disorders.

Stroke

A stroke, also called a brain attack, is a medical emergency in which blood flow to part of the brain is blocked or a vessel bursts, killing brain cells within minutes.

Stroke (journal)

Stroke, formally Stroke: a Journal of Cerebral Circulation, is a peer-reviewed medical journal published since 1970 by the American Heart Association covering cerebral circulation and its diseases.

Stroke Belt

Stroke Belt: southeastern US region (8 core states including Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi) with roughly 20% higher stroke mortality than the rest of the nation since at least 1940; includes the higher-mortality "stroke buckle".

Stroke in China

Stroke in China: the world's largest stroke burden, with 4.1 million incident and 26.3 million prevalent cases and 2.6 million deaths in 2021; ischemic stroke dominates, high blood pressure the leading risk factor.

Stroke in pregnancy

Stroke in pregnancy is a rare ischemic or hemorrhagic stroke occurring during pregnancy or the weeks after delivery, raising risk two- to threefold and causing 4–6% of US maternal deaths.

Stroke in the elderly

Stroke in the elderly covers stroke in people 65 and over, whose cases rose from 4.39 million in 1990 to 8.19 million in 2021 despite falling age-standardized rates.

Stroke recovery

Stroke recovery: rehabilitation after stroke, also called stroke rehab, restoring movement, speech, cognition, and mood. Key facts: start within 48 hours when medically stable; 2026 AHA/ASA guideline; ~800,000 US strokes yearly.

Stroke systems of care

Stroke systems of care are regional networks of EMS, certified stroke centers (ASRH, PSC, TSC, CSC), telestroke, and mobile stroke units that deliver time-sensitive thrombolysis and thrombectomy.

Stroke volume

Stroke volume is the volume of blood ejected by a ventricle with each contraction, typically 60 to 100 mL per beat in healthy adults at rest.

Stromal cell of thymus

Thymic stromal cells are the non-lymphocyte support cells of the thymus, including thymic epithelial cells, fibroblasts, endothelial cells, and pericytes, which build the microenvironment for T cell development, selection, tolerance, and age-related involution.

Stromme syndrome

Stromme syndrome (Strømme syndrome, OMIM 243605, CILD31) is a rare autosomal recessive ciliopathy caused by biallelic CENPF variants, combining microcephaly, apple-peel intestinal atresia, and ocular anomalies, first described in 1993.

Strophanthin

Strophanthin is a family of steroidal cardiac glycosides extracted from Strophanthus vine seeds, historically used as injectable drugs for heart failure and including ouabain, still used in the laboratory to inhibit the sodium pump.

Structural heart interventions in adults

Structural heart interventions in adults are catheter-based procedures that repair or replace heart valves, close septal defects, and occlude the left atrial appendage without open surgery, a subspecialty grouped from older pediatric techniques.

Structured Clinical Interview for DSM

The Structured Clinical Interview for DSM (SCID) is a semi-structured clinician interview that establishes psychiatric diagnoses using DSM criteria, long considered the research gold standard.

Strychnine poisoning

Strychnine poisoning, also called strychnine intoxication, is glycine-receptor blockade from Strychnos nux-vomica alkaloid, causing painful conscious muscle spasms, respiratory failure, and often death; treated with benzodiazepines and supportive care.