Kidney and bladder stones cause excruciating pain, tend to recur, and are distressingly common. Roughly 10 percent of persons in the United States will have at least one stone in the course of their lives. The disorder has a long history. Stones have been ...

Kidney stones have a lifetime incidence of up to 13 percent in North America.¹ In the United States, this disorder was responsible for an estimated 1.32 million visits to physicians in 1995 and for $1.83 billion in health care costs in 1993.² In at least ...

In 2001 lung cancer caused more than 1 million deaths worldwide. Despite the well-recognized link between tobacco use and the development of lung cancer, the number of new cases continues to rise, especially among women. In girls and women 15 to 64 years ...

Important insights into the regulation of mineral-ion homeostasis, cartilage development, and thus bone growth have been obtained through the molecular definition of various genetic disorders. Several of these disorders, most of which are rare, are now ...

Terrorist attacks require our health care system to prepare for the unspeakable. The primary goal of terrorism is to erode the security of a nation, to disrupt the continuity of society, and to destroy the nation's social capital — its morale, cohesion, ...

To the Editor: Lydon-Rochelle and colleagues (July 5 issue)¹ quantify the risk of uterine rupture in a subsequent pregnancy after a first cesarean delivery. Once uterine rupture occurred, the relative risk of the perinatal death of the infant increased ...

To the Editor: Kapiteijn et al. (Aug. 30 issue)¹ reported that short-term preoperative radiotherapy reduces the risk of local recurrence in patients with rectal cancer who undergo standardized total mesorectal excision. There was no survival advantage. ...

To the Editor: Dr. Lapostolle and colleagues (Sept. 13 issue)¹ offer the best descriptions to date of the epidemiology of pulmonary embolism associated with air travel and of flight distance as a risk factor. There is a problem, however, with the data ...

To the Editor: The computed tomographic (CT) image of bilateral dermoid cysts (July 26 issue)¹ is indeed elegant and illustrative of the disease process. However, it also illustrates the unnecessary use of an expensive form of technology when a less ...

To the Editor: Anorexia nervosa is sometimes accompanied by self-induced vomiting. Associated electrolyte disturbances such as metabolic alkalosis and hypokalemia¹,² may predispose patients to arrhythmias and can be difficult to treat.

A 32-year-old ...

“A man shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh” (Genesis 2:24) is the unambiguous biblical directive to married men: participate in and enjoy sexual intercourse. Those who could not do so were considered to lack power — to be “impotent” — ...

Few physicians and fewer medical students read novels. Nonetheless, literature has much to teach physicians and medical students about the type of work they have chosen. This anthology, aimed primarily at first-year medical students, is made up of bite-...