The Clueless Doctor

The type of anemia where the RBCs are large. It can be either megaloblastic or non-megaloblastic, with common causes for megaloblastic being vitamin B12 and folate deficiency while that for non-megaloblastic being alcohol use and liver disease.

Sickle cell anemia is a genetic disease inherited in an autosomal recessive manner that causes the RBS to be defective. It’s rather common, so being aware of it is quite important.

A highly underrated disease, lead poisoning still remains relevant especially for children.

As the second most common type of anaemia, it is important to diagnose anaemia of chronic disease accurately.

Another cause for microcytic anaemia, thalassemia is a group of disorders characterised by genetic defects that result in ineffective haemoglobin.

A brief ramble on iron deficiency anaemia, the most common form of anaemia worldwide.

Classification of anaemia

An indispensable part of the body, I dive in to the structure, functions and clinical aspects of red blood cells.

In this episode, I provide a summarised description of blood.

The cell cycle is the sequence of events in the cell’s life that usually prepare for its multiplication.

Autophagy is the process in which cells degrade and recycle their own components. While usually occurring in nutrient starvation, autophagy is also crucial for various other physiological and pathological processes. To reach out to me email me at thephysiologybeat@gmail.com

A kind of programmed cell death, apoptosis is very vital for normal functioning of the body.

It is a type of endocytosis by which cells, especially phagocytes, digest substances, usually bacteria and other pathogens. Things that I forgot to mention: 1. The process by which apoptotic cell debris are digested is specifically called efferocytosis, 2. The size of substances undergoing phagocytosis is more than 0.5 micron.

For cells to function well, substances have to pass across the cell membrane, which occurs passively or actively or by using vesicles.

A deep dive into the extracellular matrix, which not just fills up the space between cells but performs a wide variety of functions.

Cell adhesion molecules (CAMs) link cells to one another. Overall, they are of four types - cadherins, integrins, selectins and immunoglobulin superfamily - and perform a wide range of functions.

They are connections between adjacent cells, that regulate coordination between the cells and tissues.

The cytoskeleton helps the cell move and adapt to external signals. It includes actin filaments, microtubules and intermediate filaments.

The Golgi apparatus mainly processes and sorts the various proteins formed in the cell.

Ribosomes are the protein machinery of the cell. Made up of two subunits, they synthesise proteins in a three step process - initiation, elongation and termination.

A brief overview of the endoplasmic reticulum, organelles which take part in initial protein synthesis.

Wishing everyone a very happy New Year. In this episode, I briefly talk about the lysosome, a cell organelle that primarily takes part in degradation of waste products and harmful pathogens.

Popularly known as the powerhouses of the cell, mitochondria are indeed important. Without them, we wouldn’t last.

The nucleus is a very important component of the cell. It contains all our genetic information, though which it controls almost all aspects of our biology.

In this episode, I explain in detail about the structure of the cell membrane, a component essential to all cells.