Asterixis is the sudden loss of muscle tone during sustained contraction of an outstretched limb. It is associated with a silent period on EMG, distinguishing it from myoclonus, and is sometimes referred to as ‘negative myoclonus’.
Intracranial calcification may be divided into neoplastic, vascular, infectious or miscellaneous causes; basal ganglia calcification suggests specific underlying causes.
Suspect herniation due to an intracranial mass lesion as a cause of fixed dilated pupil in an unconscious patient. A fixed dilated pupil in an awake patient is NOT due to herniation.
Bronchiectasis is a suppurative lung disease characterised by the presence of permanently and abnormally widened (dilated) bronchial airways. Bronchiectasis may be the end result of a number of etiological processes.
Arthritis is inflammation of a joint (redness, warmth, pain, swelling, loss of function) that may be acute or chronic, and affect one or multiple joints.
Atrial fibrillation is an irregularly irregular tachydysrhythmia characterised by the presence of chaotic fibrillation waves on ECG, rather than p waves, due to disorganised electrical activity in the atria.