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Autoimmune diseases occur when the immune system destroys its own healthy tissues. When this occurs, white blood cells cannot distinguish between pathogens and normal cells.
The top five reasons that children stay home from school are as follows: colds, stomach flu (gastroenteritis), ear infection (otitis media), pink eye (conjunctivitis), and sore throat.
In ancient Rome, many of the richer people in the population had lead-induced gout. The reason for this is unclear. Lead poisoning has also been linked to madness.
In 2006, a generic antinausea drug named ondansetron was approved. It is used to stop nausea and vomiting associated with surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy.
It is believed that the Incas used anesthesia. Evidence supports the theory that shamans chewed cocoa leaves and drilled holes into the heads of patients (letting evil spirits escape), spitting into the wounds they made. The mixture of cocaine, saliva, and resin numbed the site enough to allow hours of drilling.
![This engraving by William Russell Birch shows Congress Hall (left), which was occupied by Congress f](https://biology-forums.com/gallery/47/medium_374628_16_08_15_9_52_06_222501221.jpeg)
![In the summer of 1793, a yellow fever epidemic struck Philadelphia, killing nearly 4,000. Tens of th](https://biology-forums.com/gallery/47/medium_374628_16_08_15_9_52_07_222511109.jpeg)
![Chinese workers on a railway in the far West. “Without them,” Leland Stanford, president of the Cent](https://biology-forums.com/gallery/47/medium_376063_22_08_15_11_31_02_223711629.jpeg)