Category: N
Nutrition
Nutrition is the sum of the processes involved in consuming food and assimilating and utilizing it. Nutrition is concerned with all the nutrients that are needed to build sound bodies and promote health such as proteins, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals, water, and fiber. Good nutrition provides the essential nutrients that the body needs to function [...]
Nursing Home
Nursing homes serve as residence for individuals who are too frail, too sick, or too disabled to live in their homes. It is estimated that nearly 12 million individuals are disabled enough to require long-term care. As of 1999, 1.5 million resided in nursing homes and over one third of nursing home residents were 85 [...]
Nursing
Nursing is the profession of caring for the health of others; it is as much an art as it is a science. Nursing care was given by family members for many centuries and soldiers took care of wounded comrades in battles. However, nursing education did not begin until the 1800s when a hospital in Kaiserswerth, [...]
Nurse Practitioner
In the year 2000, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services reported that 2,694,540 of the workforce were licensed registered nurses, representing the largest segment of health care personnel. Of this number, 102,829 were nurse practitioners (NPs). The most recent Advanced Practice Nursing Survey indicates that women represent 81% of this population with approximately [...]
Novello, Antonia
Born in 1944 in a small town in Puerto Rico, Antonia Novello experienced the hardships of pain and disease early in life. Like many who go on to do great works, rather than breaking her, the challenges she faced shaped her character. Her father died when she was 8 and her childhood was overshadowed by [...]
Nightingale, Florence
During her parents’ 3-year honeymoon in Europe, Florence Nightingale was born on May 12, 1820, in Florence, Italy. She was named after her birthplace. Her only sister, Frances Parthenope, or Parthe, had been born a year before, also named after her birthplace (Parthenope is the Greek name for Naples). Florence’s parents were socially and politically [...]
Nicotine
Nicotine was first identified in the early 1800s. It is a stimulant from the same family as cocaine. Nicotine is a naturally occurring colorless liquid that turns brown when burned and acquires the odor of tobacco when exposed to air. Most nicotine is obtained through tobacco use. THE EFFECTS OF NICOTINE Most cigarettes in the [...]
New England Female Medical College
The world’s first medical college for women was established in the United States in 1848. Originally the school was called the Boston Female Medical College, but later the name was changed to the New England Female Medical College. The school first opened its doors in 1848 and immediately enrolled 12 women in its first class. [...]
Neuropathy
Nerves extend out from the central nervous system (spinal cord or brain) to supply muscle, skin, and other tissues. Nerves are comprised of a large number of microscopic nerve fibers. The core of each nerve fiber is the axon, which is a long, thin extension of a nerve cell located within or near the spinal [...]
Neural Tube Defects
Defects of neural tube development are congenital anomalies with an estimated incidence of 1 in 2,000 live births. Formation of the neural tube is completed by 28 days of gestation, before most women are even aware that they are pregnant. Neural tube defects (NTDs) result from the failure of closure of the neural folds at [...]
Neonatal Care Ethics
During the year 2000, there were over 4.5 million births in the United States. Nearly 12% of these births were defined as premature, that is, occurring at less than 37 weeks gestation, and 1% of these births were infants weighing less than 1,500 g. We have developed specialized expertise and technologies in order to take [...]
Nausea
Nausea is a common symptom that is associated with a wide variety of conditions. Nausea is an unpleasant sensation in the upper abdomen often referred to as “queasiness,” which is usually accompanied by an urge to vomit. Vomiting, usually preceded by nausea, is defined as the forceful ejection of stomach contents up to and out [...]
Natural Family Planning
Natural Family Planning planning is a method of understanding signs and patterns of fertility during the menstrual cycle to achieve or avoid pregnancy. Other terms for this method are fertility awareness method (FAM), the rhythm method, or periodic abstinence. The use of the term natural does not imply that other methods are “unnatural.” The expression [...]
Natural Childbirth
What is natural childbirth today and what does the word “natural” mean to today’s woman in this world of technologic intensive labor? The dictionary definition of the word “natural” means legitimate; a state of nature untouched by influences of civilization and society; freedom from artificiality or constraint. Could not this be a definition of the [...]
Nail Care
One of the most common problems in caring for nails is picking and biting. The habit is common across all age groups. Picking and biting nails and cuticles increases the risk of infection by introducing bacteria. In general, the behavior often occurs as a result of anxiety or nervousness. Filing, even of the cuticles, is [...]