MedStar Health Blog

Inflammation is the body’s way of protecting itself against harmful agents—injury, toxins, infection. When cells are damaged, an inflammatory response is triggered from the immune system to safeg...

The internal carotid arteries are among the most critical blood vessels in the body. Located on both sides of the neck, they deliver oxygen to the brain. But that critical function may be affected b...

Are you familiar with uterine fibroids?   If you’re a woman, chances are you may gain firsthand experience with fibroids at some point in your lifetime. In fact, the National Institutes...

As the command center for every system in the body, a healthy brain requires a lot of blood to stay functional; in fact, every minute, it makes use of ¼ of the blood pumped by the heart. A dimini...

From fad diets to old wives’ tales about food, it’s easy to be misled into believing popular food myths. But just because a particular way of eating generates a certain result for one person, doe...

Do you know what and where your esophagus is? Situated just in front of the spinal cord, this muscular tube connects the mouth to the stomach. It provides a critical pathway to deliver food and d...