Femoral Artery Wound Has NFL Player Sean Taylor Struggling for Life

Washington Redskins safety Sean Taylor is in critical condition and struggling for his life after being shot in his home in Miami-Dade county, Florida. It is believed that the incident was the result of a robbery attempt or home intrusion.

He was discovered in his home by police early Monday morning after his girlfriend called 911. Sean Taylor was then airlifted to Jackson Memorial Hospital. Police were not saying anything about the extent of Sean Taylor's injuries, but it has been reported that he was shot in the leg and had been bleeding heavily from a wound to a femoral artery.

The femoral artery is a major blood vessel that starts in the lower abdomen and goes down past the groin and into the thigh near the upper leg bone, or femur. The femoral artery supplies blood to the muscles and other tissues in the leg and foot. The leg muscles are the largest muscle group in the body. Because the femoral artery is such an important blood vessel, injuries to it can lead to death if the bleeding is not stopped in a timely fashion.

Taylor played college football at the University of Miami and has been in the NFL for four years. He is known for his talent, but also for a number of on- and off-the-field problems. He's been fined for late hits during games, and has faced assault charges off the field.

Cigarette Smoking Speeds Up Hair Loss in Men

Here's another reason to stop smoking: a new study says that it accelerates hair loss in men.

The reasoning that smoking "may destroy hair follicles, interfere with the way blood and hormones are circulated in the scalp or increase the production of estrogen," according to researchers with the Far Eastern Memorial Hospital and National Taiwan University in Taipei.

The study examined 740 men in Taiwan with an average age of 65, and found that cigarette use played an important role "in the development of moderate or severe" hair loss, the authors of the study said, when the men smoked 20 or more cigarettes a day.

The research was published in the November issue of the Archives of Dermatology. It recommended that men who show early signs of hair loss should be told about the role smoking can play in hair loss, to help them prevent further loss.