NIAMS Audio Publications

Reviewed January 25, 2011

Acne, Fast Facts Time: 08:14 | Size: 7.7 MB
- Acne is a disease that affects the skin's oil glands. The small holes in your skin (pores) connect to oil glands under the skin. These glands make an oily substance called sebum.
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Alopecia Areata, Fast Facts Time: 09:02 | Size: 8.5 MB
- Alopecia areata is a disease that affects the hair follicles, which are part of the skin from which hairs grow. In most cases, hair falls out in small, round patches about the size of a quarter.
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Atopic Dermatitis, Fast Facts Time: 11:00 | Size: 11.0 MB
- Atopic dermatitis is a long-term skin disease. "Atopic" refers to a tendency to develop allergy conditions. "Dermatitis" means swelling of the skin.
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Back Pain, Fast Facts Time: 13:20 | Size: 12.5 MB
- Back pain can range from a dull, constant ache to a sudden, sharp pain that makes it hard to move. It can start quickly if you fall or lift something too heavy, or it can get worse slowly.
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Behcet's Disease, Fast Facts Time: 08:38 | Size: 8.1 MB
- Behçet's (BAY-sets) disease is an illness that causes symptoms in various parts of the body. The more common symptoms include sores in the mouth and on the genitals (sex organs). More serious symptoms can include inflammation (swelling, heat, redness, and pain) in the eyes and other parts of the body.
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Epidermolysis Bullosa, Fast Facts Time: 09:19 | Size: 8.7 MB
- Epidermolysis Bullosa (EB) is an illness that causes the skin to be fragile. Because the skin is so fragile, it can be easily injured, causing painful blisters to form. These blisters can cause serious problems if they become infected.
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Gout, Fast Facts Time: 09:06 | Size: 8.5 MB
- Gout is one of the most painful forms of arthritis. It occurs when too much uric acid builds up in the body.
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Growth Plate Injuries, Fast Facts Time: 08:07 | Size: 7.6 MB
- Growth plates are located on the long bones of children and young people. These plates are areas of growing tissue near the end of the bones.
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Heritable Disorders of Connective Tissue, Fast Facts Time: 09:29 | Size: 8.9 MB
- More than 200 heritable disorders of connective tissue (HDCTs) affect the tissues between the cells of your body. The disorders are called "heritable," because they are passed on from parent to child. HDCTs come from changes to genes that build tissues
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Hip Replacement, Fast Facts Time: 10:01 | Size: 9.4 MB
- Hip replacement surgery removes damaged or diseased parts of a hip joint and replaces them with new, man-made parts.
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Knee Problems, Fast Facts Time: 13:55 | Size: 13.0 MB
- The knees provide stable support for the body. They also allow the legs to bend and straighten. Both flexibility and stability are needed to stand, walk, run, crouch, jump, and turn.
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Lichen Sclerosus, Fast Facts Time: 09:12 | Size: 8.6 MB
- Lichen sclerosus is a long-term problem of the skin. It mostly affects the genital and anal areas. Sometimes, lichen sclerosus appears on the upper body, breasts, and upper arms.
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Lupus, Fast Facts Time: 11:30 | Size: 10.7 MB
- The immune system is designed to attack foreign substances in the body. If you have lupus, something goes wrong with your immune system and it attacks healthy cells and tissues. This can damage many parts of the body.
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Marfan Syndrome, Fast Facts Time: 11:11 | Size: 10.5 MB
- Marfan syndrome is a disorder that affects connective tissue. It is usually passed from parent to child through the genes, but may result from a new gene mutation.
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Osteoarthritis, Fast Facts Time: 09:59 | Size: 9.4 MB
- Osteoarthritis is a joint disease that mostly affects cartilage. Cartilage is the slippery tissue that covers the ends of bones in a joint. Healthy cartilage allows bones to glide over each other.
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Osteogenesis Imperfecta, Fast Facts Time: 09:16 | Size: 8.7 MB
- Osteogenesis imperfecta (OI) is a disease that causes weak bones that break easily. It is known as brittle bone disease. Sometimes the bones break for no known reason.
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Osteonecrosis, Fast Facts Time: 10:07 | Size: 9.5 MB
- Osteonecrosis is a disease caused by reduced blood flow to bones in the joints. With too little blood, the bone starts to die and may break down.
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Paget's Disease of Bone, Fast Facts Time: 10:17 | Size: 9.6 MB
- Paget's disease causes bones to grow too large and weak. You can have Paget's disease in any bones in your body, but most people have it in their spine, pelvis, skull, or leg bones.
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Psoriasis, Fast Facts Time: 06:51 | Size: 6.4 MB
- Psoriasis is a skin disease that causes scaling and swelling. Skin cells grow deep in the skin and slowly rise to the surface. This process is called cell turnover, and it takes about a month. With psoriasis, it can happen in just a few days because the cells rise too fast and pile up on the surface.
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Rheumatoid Arthritis, Fast Facts Time: 10:20 | Size: 9.7 MB
- Rheumatoid arthritis is disease that affects the joints. It causes pain, swelling, and stiffness. If one knee or hand has rheumatoid arthritis, usually the other does too. This disease often occurs in more than one joint and can affect any joint in the body. People with this disease may feel sick and tired, and they sometimes get fevers.
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Rosacea, Fast Facts Time: 08:16 | Size: 7.8 MB
- Rosacea is a long-term disease that affects the skin and sometimes the eyes. Its symptoms include redness, pimples, and, in later stages, thicker skin. In most cases, rosacea only affects the face.
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Scleroderma, Fast Facts Time: 11:39 | Size: 10.9 MB
- Scleroderma is a group of diseases that affect connective tissue in the body. This tissue supports your skin and internal organs. Scleroderma involves tissue that gets hard or thick. It can also cause swelling or pain in the muscles and joints.
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Sjögren's Syndrome, Fast Facts Time: 08:07 | Size: 7.6 MB
- Sjögren's (SHOW-griens) syndrome is a disease that affects the glands that make moisture. It most often causes dryness in the mouth and eyes. It can also lead to dryness in other places that need moisture, such as the nose, throat, and skin.
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Shoulder Problems, Fast Facts Time: 11:39 | Size: 10.9 MB
- The shoulder joint is made up of bones held in place by muscles, tendons, and ligaments. Tendons are tough cords of tissue that hold the shoulder muscles to bones. They help the muscles move the shoulder. Ligaments hold the three shoulder bones to each other and help make the shoulder joint stable.
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Spinal Stenosis, Fast Facts Time: 06:01 | Size: 8.3 MB
- The spine, a row of 26 bones in your back, allows you to stand up straight and bend over. The spine also protects your spinal cord from being hurt. In people with spinal stenosis, the spine is narrowed in one or more of three parts
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Sports Injuries, Fast Facts Time: 06:02 | Size: 11.7 MB
- "Sports injuries" are injuries that happen when playing sports or exercising. Some are from accidents. Others can result from poor training practices or improper gear. Some people get injured when they are not in proper condition. Not warming up or stretching enough before you play or exercise can also lead to injuries.
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Sprains and Strains, Fast Facts Time: 07:25 | Size: 6.9 MB
- A sprain is an injury to a ligament (tissue that connects two or more bones at a joint). In a sprain, one or more ligaments is stretched or torn. A strain is an injury to a muscle or a tendon (tissue that connects muscle to bone). In a strain, a muscle or tendon is stretched or torn.
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Vitiligo, Fast Facts Time: 09:34 | Size: 9.0 MB
- Vitiligo (vit-ill-EYE-go) is a disorder in which white patches of skin appear on different parts of the body. This happens because the cells that make pigment (color) in the skin are destroyed.
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