The answer to this is Yes and No.  When we are developing inside our own mothers, as mammals, we develop what’s known as a milk line that extends from the underarms to the groin. This is obvious in other mammals who have multiple nipples. This occurs along these lines in all mammals, many with multiple pairs. According to the 2015 edition of Guinness World Records, the female shrewish short-tailed opossum holds the record at 27!  In humans, however, as we develop, the extra breast tissue along the milk line disappears and we are left with just a pair of nipples, one on each side. Int ..read more

Cholesterol is a fat-like waxy substance made by our liver, and found in our blood and throughout all the cells of our body. Cholesterol is essential for our good health and is needed for making cell walls, tissues, hormones, vitamin D, and bile acid. As with so many things regarding our health – amounts matter.  With high cholesterol, over time, you can develop fatty deposits, known as atherosclerosis in your blood vessels. As these deposits thicken and grow, they can create blockages, inhibiting the flow of blood through your arteries. These deposits (also called plaques or atherosclero ..read more

One of my friends, Britney, was just diagnosed with colitis. She had been having severe abdominal pain, frequent diarrhea and first thought it might be food poisoning or a lactose intolerance. After many tests, she was diagnosed with colitis.  Colitis occurs when an overactive immune system launches an attack on healthy tissue in the gut and causes inflammation of the large intestine. This attack leads to Ulcerative Colitis (UC) when ulcers (open sores) develop in the large intestine, also known as your colon. It is one of a few conditions that is grouped under the heading of inflammatory ..read more

This blog could also be titled, “What no one tells you about breastfeeding” because there’s so much that’s a big surprise, that we’re completely unaware of when we get pregnant and give birth.   Did you know that many women have breast tissue that actually extends deep into our underarms?  This breast tissue is known as the “Tail of Spence.”  We also have a cluster of lymph nodes, which are part of our immune system, located there, which can also swell. In fact, many women noticed this swelling after their Covid vaccinations as their immune systems ramped up and their under ..read more

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune disorder in which the sheath that protects our brain and spinal cord nerve fibers, called myelin, undergoes changes and becomes damaged by a person’s own body. This is a disease of the central nervous system where communication between the brain and body through the nerves that make up our neural network is disrupted.  What do MS Symptoms Look Like? Symptoms and signs of MS vary widely patient to patient. In some cases, the damage to nerves is rapid and the person may lose their ability to walk. Others will have long remission periods where no new ..read more

Watching the Olympic athletes twirling on the ice and racing down the snowy slopes can inspire us to get out to participate in our favorite winter sports. Whether it’s skating, sledding, snowboarding, skiing, or ice hockey, no one wants the fun to end with an injury, especially a serious one. The number one cause of a trip to the emergency room is injury from skiing and snowboarding followed by sledding. Unfortunately, because high speed is involved, many of these injuries are serious. Common Winter Sports Injuries Dislocated shoulder Compacted snow and ice are hard surfaces. Shoulder joints ..read more

When we get pregnant, suddenly we’re inundated with information about what to do, what not to do, what to eat, to avoid, and then our prenatal providers ask us to decide on various prenatal testing options. The amount of information can be overwhelming. Way back when I was pregnant, I wanted to make sure everything was ok with the baby and decided to have an amniocentesis to screen for Down Syndrome and other serious genetic conditions. It was scary, because even though there was a very low risk of miscarriage, it was still a possibility. I remember wanting to make sure the baby was okay, but ..read more

If you’re thinking about getting pregnant and wonder if you can be tested for some of the silent , recessive genetic disorders, then keep reading. January was National Birth Defects Prevention Month, which is a great opportunity to discuss carrier testing for recessive disorders. Carrier screening is a type of genetic test that can tell you whether you carry a gene for certain genetic abnormalities that cause disease. The testing finds out if a prospective parent, who has no illness, is carrying 1 copy of a defective gene. It’s only when both parents contribute 1 copy of the defective gene tha ..read more

  It’s Glaucoma Awareness Month, so it’s a good time to talk about what it is and why regular eye exams are so important. Glaucoma is an eye disease that if left untreated can cause damage to the optic nerve and blindness. About 3 million Americans have glaucoma, and it is the second leading cause of blindness worldwide. The most common type in the United States is called “open-angle glaucoma.”  Here’s What’s Happening in the Eye Scientists aren’t sure of the root cause of glaucoma, but many people with glaucoma have high eye pressure (called intraocular pressure or IOP) and treatmen ..read more

My patient, Jennifer, (not her real name) just returned for her annual exam and had a big announcement. “I finally did it!” she exclaimed. “I had my breast reduction surgery.” She went on to say the same thing, I’ve heard from thousands of women. “I wish I had done this a long time ago.”  There’s a lot to consider when thinking about breast reduction surgery. They’ve been endlessly photographed and used to market everything from tires to tomato sauce. Breasts are revered, worshiped, pushed up, enhanced, and no matter what your size receive amazing amounts of attention – unwanted and wante ..read more