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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.
People with high total cholesterol have about two times the risk for heart disease as people with ideal levels.
The first documented use of surgical anesthesia in the United States was in Connecticut in 1844.
The average human gut is home to perhaps 500 to 1,000 different species of bacteria.
According to the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, lung disease is the third leading killer in the United States, responsible for one in seven deaths. It is the leading cause of death among infants under the age of one year.