Coma

In medicine, coma (from the Greek κῶμα koma, meaning "deep sleep") is a state of unconsciousness in which a person: cannot be awakened; fails to respond normally to painful stimuli, light, or sound; lacks a normal wake-sleep cycle; and does not initiate voluntary actions. A person in a state of coma is described as being comatose. Typically, a distinction is made in the medical community between a coma and a medically induced coma, the former is generally understood to be a result of circumstances beyond the control of the medical community, while the latter is generally understood to be a means by which medical professionals may allow a patient's injuries to heal in a controlled environment.

A comatose person exhibits a complete absence of wakefulness and is unable to consciously feel, speak, hear, or move. For a patient to maintain consciousness, two important neurological components must function. The first is the cerebral cortex—the gray matter that forms the outer layer of the brain. The other is a structure located in the brainstem, called reticular activating system (RAS). Injury to either or both of these components is sufficient to cause a patient to experience a coma. The cerebral cortex is a group of tight, dense, "gray matter" composed of the nuclei of the neurons whose axons then form the "white matter", and is responsible for perception, relay of the sensory input (sensation) via the thalamic pathway, and many other neurological functions, including complex thinking.

Coma (novel)

Coma is Robin Cook's first major published novel, published by Signet Book in 1977.Coma was preceded in 1973 by Cook's lesser known novel, The Year of the Intern (also published by Signet Book).

Synopsis

Susan Wheeler is an attractive, 23-year-old third-year medical student working as a trainee at Boston Memorial Hospital. Susan, along with four other students—George, Harvey, Geoffrey, and Paul—takes rounds in surgery rooms and ICUs making post-treatment notations on the health of patients. Mark Bellows, a surgery resident in the hospital, is the instructor and supervisor of this group.

The book is a journey into the inner workings of a hospital. As these students complete their three-month surgical rotation, the dilemmas and problems faced by a woman in a so-called "man's" profession are also highlighted.

It comes to Susan's attention that two patients, Nancy Greenly and Sean Berman, mysteriously went into comas immediately after their operations. These incidents were attributed to complications due to anesthesia. Nancy Greenly became comatose when her brain did not receive sufficient oxygen during surgery. Similarly, Sean Berman, a young man in his 30s in good physical condition, underwent a scheduled knee operation. Despite the operation's success, Sean failed to regain consciousness. Medically, the odds for such occurrences are one in 100,000; however, such odds seemed resolutely higher at the Boston Memorial Hospital.

List of Twin Peaks episodes

Twin Peaks, an American serial drama television series created by David Lynch and Mark Frost, premiered on April 8, 1990 on the ABC Network in the United States and ended on June 10, 1991. The show spans 30 episodes over two seasons. The original pilot and season 2 premiere are 90 minutes long, while all the other episodes are approximately 45 minutes long. ABC canceled the series due to declining ratings in the second season.

Both seasons of Twin Peaks were released on DVD in the U.S. in 2001 and 2007, respectively. A complete series DVD box set, titled "The Definitive Gold Box Edition", with additional features was released on October 30, 2007. The complete series (including the film) was released on Blu-ray with even further material on July 29, 2014.

Twin Peaks follows FBI Special Agent Dale Cooper, who is sent to the fictional town of Twin Peaks, Washington to investigate the murder of popular and respected high school student, Laura Palmer. A feature-length prequel film, titled Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me, was released on August 28, 1992, which depicts the events leading up to Laura's death.

Birth

Birth, also known as parturition, is the act or process of bearing or bringing forth offspring. In mammals, the process is initiated by hormones which cause the muscular walls of the uterus to contract, expelling the fetus at a developmental stage when it is ready to feed and breathe. In some species the offspring is precocial and can move around almost immediately after birth but in others it is altricial and completely dependent on parenting. In marsupials, the fetus is born at a very immature stage after a short gestational period and develops further in its mother's pouch.

It is not only mammals that give birth. Some reptiles, amphibians, fish and invertebrates carry their developing young inside them. Some of these are ovoviviparous, with the eggs being hatched inside the mother's body, and others are viviparous, with the embryo developing inside her body, as in mammals.

Birth in mammals

Large mammals, such as primates, cattle, horses, some antelopes, giraffes, hippopotamuses, rhinoceroses, elephants, seals, whales, dolphins, and porpoises, generally are pregnant with one offspring at a time; although, they may have twin or multiple births on occasion. In these large animals, the birth process is similar to that of a human though in most, the offspring is precocial. This means that it is born in a more advanced state than a human baby and is able to stand, walk and run (or swim in the case of an aquatic mammal) shortly after birth. In the case of whales, dolphins and porpoises, the single calf is normally born tail first which minimises the risk of drowning. The mother encourages the newborn calf to rise to the surface of the water to breathe.

Birth (disambiguation)

Birth is the process in animals by which an offspring is expelled from the body of its mother.

Birth may also refer to:

See also

Birth (Index Case album)

Birth is the debut indie album by Index Case, released in 2000.

Track listing