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Many people have small pouches in their colons that bulge outward through weak spots. Each pouch is called a diverticulum. About 10% of Americans older than age 40 years have diverticulosis, which, when the pouches become infected or inflamed, is called diverticulitis. The main cause of diverticular disease is a low-fiber diet.
The longest a person has survived after a heart transplant is 24 years.
Cancer has been around as long as humankind, but only in the second half of the twentieth century did the number of cancer cases explode.
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.
There are over 65,000 known species of protozoa. About 10,000 species are parasitic.