Hangman’s fracture
A broken neck involving a fracture of an upper cervical vertebra similar to the injury suffered in death by hanging. The fracture affects the vertebra called the axis, the second cervical vertebra (C2), with or without subluxation (slippage) of C2 on the third cervical vertebra (C3).
Read Also:
- Hansen bacillus
Mycobacterium leprae, the agent of leprosy (Hansen disease).
- Hansen disease
Leprosy, a chronic granulomatous infection caused by a bacterium which affects various parts of the body, including in particular the skin and nerves. (Granulomatous refers to the formation of granulomas, inflammatory nodules that are usually small, granular, firm, and persistent.) The bacterium responsible for leprosy is called Mycobacterium leprae or, for short, M. leprae. M. […]
- Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome
A severe lung condition caused by hantavirus infection. Abbreviated HPS. In 1993, HPS struck the Four Corners area (where the states of Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada, and Utah meet) with devastating, frequently fatal consequences. As the name indicates, HPS is due to a hantavirus. The HPS outbreak in Four Corners followed 2 years of more […]
- Hantavirus
A group of viruses that cause hemorrhagic fever and pneumonia. The hantaviruses include the hantaan virus that causes Korean (and Manchurian) hemorrhagic fever. Hantaviruses are transmitted to humans by direct or indirect contact with the saliva and excreta of rodents, such as deer mice, field mice, and ground voles.
- HAPE
Acronym for High Altitude pulmonary edema, the accumulation in the lungs of extravascular fluid (fluid outside of blood vessels) at high altitude, a consequence of rapid altitude ascent, especially when that ascent is accompanied by significant exercise. HAPE leads to dyspnea (shortness of breath), cough, tachycardia (fast heart rate) and decreased arterial oxygen levels. HAPE […]