Large Bumps in the Back of the Tongue

At least once a week, a patient comes into the office concerned with large bumps in the very back of the tongue. This finding usually is first noticed during a sore throat which prompted an unusually careful look in the back of the mouth. The stereotypical appearance of such bumps of concern is shown in this picture. Fortunately, these bumps are NORMAL... We all have them and I often like to show patients my back-of-tongue-bumps in order to reassure that I too have them... and am not conc…

5/23/2018 0

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What is Found in Normal Nasal Fluid in a Healthy Human Being?

Table from this Reference Contrary to common belief, normal nasal fluid is not water... It is in fact more similar to sweat than water. Nasal fluid is normally produced by submucosal glands, seromucous glands, goblet cells, transsudation of blood plasma, mucosal tissue fluid, and tear fluid. The table shown is a description of what electrolytes are contained in normal nasal fluid produced by a normal, healthy human being. Along with these electrolytes, nasal fluid also contains glycopro…

12/22/2017 0

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Is 1 Liter of Nasal Fluid Produced a Day Truly Normal?

Ask any ENT how much nasal drainage is normally produced by a healthy human nose every day and you will be told 1 liter. But that's not what this blog article is about. Rather, HOW was this amount determined? What is the research behind this volume? The answer is surprisingly difficult to find and still up in the air... If any readers can do some sleuthing beyond what I report below, I would be much appreciative! The vast majority of references found on simple google searching are quot…

12/15/2017 0

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What is the Normal Body Temperature? The Fact and Alternative Fact

1800s Wunderlich Thermometer (the thermometer is over 12 inches long) If you said 98.6°F, you are wrong... Of course you are just parroting back what you were told by your teachers, family, friends, colleagues... well pretty much everybody since 1871. That year, Dr. Carl Wunderlich at Leipzig University in Germany published a book called " On the Temperature in Diseases: A Manual of Medical Thermometry ." Dr. Wunderlich took the temperatures of over 25,000 patients under his ca…

1/28/2017 0

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Normal Radiological Appearance After Endoscopic Treatment of Zenker's Diverticulum (ESD)

Patient's who suffer from Zenker's Diverticulum report significant difficulty in swallowing , food regurgitation, aspiration, noisy swallowing, etc. These symptoms all stem from the abnormal presence of a "pouch" in the throat where food and liquids get trapped during swallow. The main way of diagnosing a Zenker's Diverticulum is a radiological test called the barium swallow . Endoscopic staple diverticulostomy (ESD) is a minimally invasive procedure to eliminate th…

1/07/2017 0

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Breastfeeding Ultrasound

Although breastfeeding is something humans have provided longer than written history, it is only recently through ultrasound that we are only just discovering what actually is going on within the infant mouth. Here is a video showing the complex motion that tongue makes in order to obtain milk from the nipple. The key point is that the tongue moves both horizontally as well as vertically to achieve an effective and painless breastfeeding. Check it out here !

5/18/2015 0

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