Epileptic seizures can occur in someone who does not have epilepsy â as a consequence of head injury, drug overdose, toxins, eclampsia or febrile convulsions, for example. Medically, when used on its own, the term seizure implies an epileptic seizure. The lay use of this word can also include sudden attacks of illness, loss of control, spasm or stroke. Where the physician is uncertain as to the diagnosis, the medical term paroxysmal event and the lay terms spells, funny turns or attacks may be used.
Print Email. For generations the appendix was thought to have no purpose. But now, researchers say they have discovered the true function of this organ, and it is anything but redundant. Researchers now say that the appendix acts as a safe house for good bacteria. The body uses this to essentially ârebootâ the digestive system when one suffers from a bout of dysentery or cholera.
Appendicitis is an inflammation of the appendix, a 3 1/2-inch-long tube of tissue that extends from the large intestine. The appendix contains specialized tissue that can produce antibodies, but no one is absolutely certain what its function is. One thing we do know: We can live without it, without apparent consequences. Appendicitis is a medical emergency that requires prompt surgery to remove the appendix.