You have the four major muscle groups (quadriceps, hamstrings, gluteals and erector spinae) to thank for most of your running, jumping, lifting, hitting and throwing ability. The muscles of your hips and upper legs provide the force needed to propel you forward or upward, and the positioning of your hips plays a critical role in how much force you can apply in throwing and hitting.There's also a universal high regard for firm glutes and well-proportioned thighs. Men and women alike admire this portion of the human anatomy, so for aesthetic reasons alone, it's a good idea to invest in a well-rounded   read more

A vasectomy is the procedure by which a man is rendered permanently unable to have children. It is a simpler operation than the sterilization of a woman and is growing in popularity as men increasingly accept responsibility for family planning. Some men are concerned that a vasectomy will affect their libido or masculinity, but this is not the case. Its only effect is to stop reproduction.A vasectomy consists of cutting and tying the vas deferens (the two tiny tubes that transport the sperm from the testicles to the penis) so that the sperm is prevented from forming part of the semen ejaculated   read more

After 12 months of 'normal marital endeavor' (as the textbooks so politely put it), 85% of couples should have conceived. The remaining 15% can be considered to have below-normal fertility. With the aid of medical techniques, all but 3% of couples can eventually have children.It must be remembered that fertility is a joint property, not just a feature of the male or female. One third of infertility is due to the male partner. It takes two to tango!In the male, the causes of infertility include premature ejaculation, undescended testes (which fail to work because of overheating), injury to the   read more

For weeks you have been waddling around uncomfortably. Every few hours you have Branxton-Hicks contractions that can be quite uncomfortable and sometimes wake you at night, but they always fade away. Your back aches, and you are going to the toilet every hour because your bladder has nowhere to expand. The long awaited date is due, and still nothing dramatic has occurred. Suddenly you notice that you have lost some blood-stained fluid through the vagina, and the contractions are worse than usual. You have passed the mucus plug that seals the cervix during pregnancy, and if a lot of fluid is lost,   read more

Colitis is an inflammation of the colon, or large intestine. Colitis has various causes and may take many different forms. Inflammation of the colon may be acute as a result of food or other poisoning, or it may be of the chronic catarrhal variety.A single or an occasional attack of colitis may be caused by food poisoning, a virus infection of the intestinal tract, or an emotional disturbance. These attacks of colitis usually last only one or two days and do not require special treatment.The latter is associated with chronic constipation and the habitual use (or abuse) of purgative drugs especially   read more

Breast lumps probably arouse more concern among women than any other condition. This is because of the fear of cancer in an organ that is so significantly associated with femininity and sexuality. It is important to understand that there are many other causes of lumps in the breast, so if a lump develops - particularly in a young woman — the chances are that it is NOT a cancer. Fewer than one breast lump in ten seen by a doctor proves to be malignant. However, if doctors knew that all breast lumps were benign (non-cancerous) they wouldn't bother about them at all, but it's because there is   read more

Bed-wetting is a medical problem that makes businessmen dread overnight trips to a conference, causes marriages to break up, stops teenagers from spending the night at a friend's, and drives the mothers of some children to desperation. The technical medical name for bed-wetting is enuresis. People with this problem are often too embarrassed to see their family doctor about it, but it may cause severe disruption to home life and a career.Normally, urine is retained in the bladder by the contraction of a ring-shaped bundle of muscle that surrounds the bladder opening. When you wish to pass urine,   read more

Unfortunately, for a variety of reasons, not all mothers are capable of breastfeeding. Those who can't should not feel guilty, but should accept that this is a problem that can occur through no fault of theirs, and be grateful that there are excellent feeding formulas available for their child.But for those that can, the advantages of breastfeeding include the obvious convenience of avoiding the need to sterilize bottles and prepare formulas, but more significant are the advantages it gives the child in protecting it from some childhood infections and the stimulation it gives the mothers uterus   read more

The word that patients fear most to hear from a doctor is 'cancer'. Cancer, the crab of astrology, is so named because the ancients could see the abnormal cancer cells clawing their way into the normal tissue, destroying everything in their path. Doctors now understand a great deal about cancer, but we do not fully understand what starts the process. Although the specific cause of cancer is unknown, sun exposure, a low-fiber diet and smoking are well-known contributing factors.Cancer occurs when otherwise normal cells start multiplying at an excessive rate, and the cells made by the rapid process   read more

An erection cannot be willed consciously but occurs as a nervous reflex which is outside the voluntary control of the man. The factors that are necessary for an erection to occur are adequate levels of testosterone (male hormone), healthy arteries to the penis (they may be blocked in men with diabetes or hardening of the arteries), and normal anatomy of the penis. Impotence, the failure of a male to obtain or sustain an erection, occurs for many reasons.Far from being a sexual stimulant, as is often thought, alcohol actually suppresses the ability to perform sexually. An alcoholic with liver damage   read more