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Dr.
Sloan's Medical Dictionary
Sometimes also doctors have to look something up in a dictionnary.
Maybe it is this one?
A
ABDOMEN : The
portion of the body which lies between the thorax and the pelvis. It
contains a cavity (abdominal cavity) separated by the diaphragm from
the thoracic cavity above and by the plane of the pelvic inlet from the
pelvic cavity below and lined with a serous membrane the peritoneum.
ABDOMINAL :
Pertaining to the abdomen.
ABUSE : 1.
Improper treatment or
use; application to a wrong or bad purpose; misuse; as, an abuse of our
natural powers; an abuse of civil rights, or of privileges or
advantages;
an abuse of language. "Liberty may be endangered by the abuses of
liberty,
as well as by the abuses of power." (Madison)
2. Physical ill
treatment; injury. "Rejoice . . . at the abuse of Falstaff."
ACIDOSIS : A
metabolic condition, characterised by an increase in hydrogen ion
concentration, that occurs when
the body is no longer able to buffer free hydrogen ions in the blood,
resluting
from either the accumulation of acid or depletion of the alkaline
reserve
(bicarbonate) in the blood and body tissues. This usually causes the pH
of the blood to drop (and become more acidic).
ACUTE : Having a
short and relatively severe course
ADENOMA :
A benign epithelial tumour in which the cells form recognisable
glandular structures or in which the cells are clearly derived from
glandular epithelium.
ADENOCARCINOMA :
A form of cancer that involves cells from the lining of the walls of
many different organs of the body. Breast cancer is a type of
adenocarcinoma.
ADRENALINE : A
hormone produced by the adrenal medulla in mammals. It can be produced
synthetically for medical purposes. It is secreted by the adrenal
medulla in response to low blood
glucose, exercise and stress and causes a breakdown of glycogen to
glucose
in the liver, encourages the release of fatty acids from adipose
tissue,
causes vasodilation of the small arteries within muscle and increases
cardiac
output.
AEROBIC : Having
molecular oxygen present.
AEROGENIC :
Gas-producing, for example, aerogenic fermentation.
AGORAPHOBIA : An
unexplained fear of open spaces.
AIR EMBOLISM: A serious condition that results when air (in
the form of bubbles) invades the blood vessels causing disruption of
normal blood flow.
AKINESIS --> AKINESIA : 1. <neurology> Absence or
poverty of movements.
2.
<pharmacology> The temporary paralysis of a muscle by the
injection of procaine.
ALBUMIN : Any
protein that is soluble in water and moderately concentrated salt
solutions and is coagulable by heat. Found in egg whites, blood, lymph,
and other tissues and fluids.
ALGESIA :
Synonym: algesthesia.
ALGESTHESIA : 1.
The appreciation of pain.
2. Hypersensitivity
to pain.
ALLERGEN : An
antigenic substance capable of producing immediate type
hypersensitivity reaction (allergy).
ALLORHYTHMIA : An
irregularity in the cardiac rhythm that repeats itself any number of
times.
ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE
: A progressive, neurodegenerative disease characterised by loss of
function and death of nerve cells in several areas of the brain leading
to loss of cognitive function such as memory and language.
The cause of nerve
cell death is unknown but the cells are recognised by the
appearance of unusual helical protein filaments in the nerve cells
(neurofibrillary tangles) and by degeneration in cortical regions of
brain, especially frontal and
temporal lobes.
Alzheimer's disease
is the most common cause of dementia.
AMNESIA : Lack or
loss of memory, inability to remember past experiences.
AMPHETAMINES :
Analogs or derivatives of amphetamine. Many are sympathomimetic and
central nervous system stimulators causing excitation, vasopression,
bronchodilation, and to varying degrees, anorexia, analepsis, nasal
decongestion, and some smooth muscle relaxation; these agents may be
used for fatigue, narcolepsy, parkinsonism, hypotension, or appetite
depression; since tolerance is quickly developed, they are
potentially prone to abuse and psychic dependence.
ANEMIA --> ANAEMIA : Too few red blood cells in
the bloodstream, resulting in insufficient oxygen to tissues and
organs.
ANAEROBIC : 1.
Lacking molecular
oxygen.
2. Growing, living or
occurring in the absence of molecular oxygen, pertaining to an
anaerobe.
ANALGESIA : A
state of insensitivity to pain, even though the subject is fully
conscious.
ANAMNESIS : A
medical or psychiatric patient history, as opposed to catamnesis
(follow up).
ANESTHESIA : Loss
of normal sensation or feeling.
ANEURYSM : A sac
formed by the dilatation of the wall of an artery, a vein or the heart.
The physical signs of arterial aneurysm are the formation of a
pulsating tumour and often a bruit (aneurysmal bruit) heard over the
swelling.
ANGINA : Chest
pain that occurs secondary to the inadequate delivery of oxygen to the
heart muscle.
ANGIOGRAPHY : A
radiographic technique where a radio-opaque (shows up on X-ray)
contrast material is injected
into a blood vessel for the purpose of identifying its anatomy on
X-ray.
This technique is used to image arteries in the brain, heart, kidneys,
gastrointestinal tract, aorta, neck (carotids), chest, limbs and
pulmonary circuit.
ANOREXIA : The
uncontrolled lack
or loss of the appetite for food.
ANOREXIA NERVOSA
: An eating disorder characterised a misperception of body image.
Individuals with anorexia
nervosa often believe they are overweight even when they are grossly
underweight.
ANTHRAX : An
infectious bacterial
zoonotic disease usually acquired by ingestion of Bacillus anthracis or
its spores from infected pastures by herbivores or indirectly from
infected
carcasses by carnivores.
AORTA : The
largest artery in the body which has its origin at the heart. It gives
off branches to the extremities, neck and major organs for the purpose
of supplying oxygenated blood.
APATHY : The lack
of feeling or emotion, indifference.
APHASIA : A
defect or loss of the ability to speak or write, loss of ability to
understand spoken or written language, due to injury or disease of the
brain centres.
APOPLEXY :
Haemorrhage into the brain. A stroke. It is usually associated with
loss of consciousness and paralysis of various parts of the body.
APPENDECTOMY : A
surgical procedure which involves the removal of an inflamed appendix.
This procedure may be
performed through a conventional abdominal incision or using a
laparoscope. In both approaches the patient is asleep under general
anaesthesia. Convalescence in the hospital is 1 to 3 days.
APPENDICITIS :
Inflammation (and
usually infection) of the appendix, a finger-like projection of the
first
portion of the colon, that often causes right, lower quadrant abdominal
pain, fever and loss of appetite.
ACUTE APPENDICITIS
: Acute inflammation of the appendix, usually due to bacterial
infection, which may be precipitated by obstruction of the lumen by a
fecalith; symptoms of periumbilical colicbin pain and vomiting are
followed by fever, leukocytosis, persistent pain,
and signs of peritoneal inflammation in the right lower quadrant of the
abdomen; perforation or abscess formation is a frequent complication.
ARRHYTHMIA : Any
variation from the normal rhythm of the heart beat, including sinus
arrhythmia, premature beat, heart block, atrial fibrillation, atrial
flutter, pulsus alternans and paroxysmal tachycardia.
ARTERIOSCLEROSIS
: Imprecise term for various disorder of arteries, particularly
hardening due to fibrosis or calcium deposition.
ARTHRITIS : An
inflammatory condition that affects joints. Can be infective,
autoimmune, traumatic in origin.
ARTHROSCOPY : The
introduction of a thin fibreoptic scope into a joint space to allow
direct visualisation of internal structures. In some cases, surgical
repair can also be performed using the arthroscope.
ARTHROSIS : A
disease of a joint.
ASPIRATION : 1.
<physiology> The act of inhaling.
2. <psychology>
Strong desires to accomplish something. This usually pertains to
greater values or high ideals.
AUTOPSY : A surgical procedure, postmortem, which involves
the examination of body tissues, often to determine cause of death.
B
BACTEREMIA -->
BACTERAEMIA :
The presence of viable bacteria circulating in the bloodstream.
BACTERIA : One of
the two major classes of prokaryotic organism (the other being the
Cyanobacteria). Bacteria are small (linear dimensions of around 1 m),
noncompartmentalised, with circular DNA and ribosomes of 70S.
BENIGN :
Something that does not
metastasise and treatment or removal is curative.
BILIRUBIN : A
pigment produced when the liver processes waste products. A high
bilirubin level causes yellowing of the skin.
BONE MARROW : The
soft, spongy tissue found in the centre of most large bones that
produces the cellular components of blood: white cells, red cells and
platelets (haemopoiesis). It is also the most radiation sensitive
tissue of the body.
BODY FLUIDS :
Liquid components of living organisms.
BRADYCARDIA : A
slowness of the heart beat, as evidenced by slowing of the pulse rate
to less than 60 beats per minute.
BRCA : BRCA1 is a
tumour-supressing gene, if even one copy of it is damaged, cancer can
develop.
Certain mutations
confer a high probability (85% lifetime risk) of developing breast
cancer, and other types cause ovarian cancer.
BULIMIA : An
eating disorder which is characterised by self-induced vomiting after
eating.
BYPASS : 1. A
shunt or auxiliary
flow.
2. <surgery> To
create new flow from one structure to another through a diversionary
channel. A by-passage, for a pipe, or other channel, to divert
circulation from the usual course.
C
CA : Carcinoma;
cardiac arrest; cancer; chronologic age; cytosine arabinoside.
1. <abbreviation
> Cathode.
2. Symbol for calcium.
CACHEXIA : A
profound and marked
state of constitutional disorder, general ill health and malnutrition.
CARDIOLOGY : The
medical study of the diagnosis and treatment ofdiseases affecting the
heart and blood vessels.
CARDIOSCOPE : An
instrument for inspecting the interior of the living heart.
CARDITIS :
Inflammation of the heart, including pericarditis, myocarditis and
endocarditis, according to whether the enveloping outer membrane, the
muscle or the inner lining is affected .
CEREBRAL : Of or
pertaining of the cerebrum or the brain.
CEREBRAL PALSY :
A persisting qualitative motor disorder appearing before the age of
three years, due to nonprogressive damage to the brain.
CHEMOTHERAPY :
The treatment of disease by means of chemicals that have a specific
toxic effect upon the disease producing microorganisms (antibiotics) or
that selectively destroy cancerous tissue (anticancer therapy).
CHICKENPOX : A
common highly infectious and contagious childhood viral infection that
results in a generalised blistery red rash. The name was meant to
distinguish this weak form of the pox from smallpox (chicken being
used, as in chickenhearted, to mean weak or timid). Starts as an
eruption of red papules (bumps) which become vesicles (blisters) than
pustules. Other symptoms include malaise, weakness, sore throat, cough
and fever. Incubation period is 14 to 17 days.
CHROMOSOMES : The
self-replicating genetic structures of cells containing the cellular
DNA that bears in its proteins.
CIRRHOSIS : Liver
disease characterised pathologically by loss of the normal microscopic
lobular architecture, with fibrosis and nodular regeneration.
CLAVICLE : Also
called the collar bone, it articulates with the shoulder on one end (at
the acromion process of the scapula) and the sternum (breast bone) on
the other.
COMA : A deep
prolonged unconsciousness where the patient cannot be aroused. This is
usually as the result of a
head injury, neurological disease, acute hydrocephaly, intoxication or
metabolic derangement.
CONCUSSION : A
more serious form
of head injury that is characterised by one or more of the following
features: loss of consciousness, amnesia, seizure or a change in
mentation.
CONVALESCENCE :
The stage of recovery following an attack of disease, a surgical
operation or an injury.
CREUTZFELDT-JAKOB DISEASE
: A very rare form of encephalopathy thought to be caused by a virus
(slow-virus), termed a prion. There is little known about the mode of
transmission. Human to human transmission has occurred through the use
of contaminated brain electrodes and transplantation of infected
tissues. The agent can be recovered in the CSF of infected individuals.
Standard disinfectants such as formalin, heat, exposure to ultraviolel
light or X-rays is ineffective to inactivate the virus. The disease
occurs primarily in adults, with peak incidence in the late 50's.
Infection results in dementia, myoclonus, ataxia and other neurologic
symptoms. The disease progresses rapidly to coma and death after a 3 to
12 month illness. There is no known cure.
CT --> COMPUTED TOMOGRAPHY : A special
radiographic technique that uses a computer to assimilate multiple
X-ray images into a 2 dimentional cross-sectional image.
This can reveal many
soft tissue structures not shown by conventional radiography. Scans may
also
be dynamic in which a movement of a dye is tracked. A special dye
material may be injected into the patients vein prior to the scan to
help differentiate abnormal tissue and vasculature.
CYANOSIS : A
bluish discolouration, applied especially to such discolouration of
skin and mucous membranes due to excessive concentration of reduced
haemoglobin in the blood.
CYST : Any closed
cavity or sac that is lined by epithelium often contains liquid or
semi-solid material.
CYSTOMA : A
tumour which contains
cysts (fluid-filled sacs).
D
DEFIBRILLATION :
The act to arrest the fibrillation of (heart muscle) by applying
electric shock across the chest, thus depolarising the heart cells and
allowing normal rhythm to
return.
DEHYDRATION : The
condition that
results from excessive loss of body water.
DELIRIUM : An
acut, reversible organic mental disorder characterised by reduced
ability to maintain attention
to external stimuli and disorganised thinking as manifested by
rambling,
irrelevant or incoherent speech.
There are also a
reduced level of consciousness, sensory misperceptions, disturbance of
the sleep wakefulness cycle and level of psychomotor activity,
disorientation to time, place or person and memory impairment.
Delirium may be caused
by a large number of conditions resulting in derangement
DELIRIUM TREMENS
: A form of acute organic brain syndrome due to alcohol withdrawal,
characterised by sweating, tremor, dyspepsia, restlessness,
tachycardia, fever, anxiety, chest pains, mental confusion and
hallucinations (often tactile----bugs crawling on
me)
DEMENTIA : An
organic mental disorder characterised by a general loss of intellectual
abilities involving impairment of memory, judgment and abstract
thinking as well as changes in personality.
It does not include
loss of intellectual functioning caused by clouding of consciousness
(as
in delirium) nor that caused by depression or other functional mental
disorder
(pseudodementia). Dementia may be caused by a large number of
conditions,
some reversible and some progressive, that cause widespread cerebral
and
damage or dysfunction. The most common cause is Alzheimer's disease,
others
are cerebrovascular disease (multi infarct dementia), central nervous
system
infection, brain trauma or tumours, pernicious anaemia, folic acid
deficiency,
Wernicke Korsakoff syndrome, normal pressure hydrocephalus, and,
neurological
diseases such as Huntington disease, multiple sclerosis and Parkinson's
disease.
DIABETES MILLUTES
: Relative or absolute lack of insulin leading to uncontrolled
carbohydrate metabolism. In juvenile onset diabetes (that may be an
autoimmune response to pancreatic cells)
the insulin deficiency tends to be almost total, whereas in adult onset
diabetes there seems to be no immunological component but an
association
with obesity.
DIARRHAEA : A
morbidly frequent and profuse discharge of loose or fluid evacuations
from the intestines, without tenesmus; a purging or looseness of the
bowels; a flux.
DIPHTHERIA : An
acute infectious
disease caused by toxigenic strains of Corynebacterium diphtheriae,
acquired
by contact with an infected person or a carrier of the disease, which
is
usually confined to the upper respiratory tract.
It is characterised
by the formation of a tough membrane (false membrane or pseudomembrane)
attached firmly to the underlying tissue that will bleed if forcibly
removed.
DNA : The
molecule that encodes genetic information in the nucleus of cells. It
determines the structure, function and behaviour of the cell.
DYSGENESIS :
Defective development.
DYSPNEA --> DYSPNOEA : Shortness of breath,
difficult or laboured breathing.
E
EBOLA HAEMORRHAGIC FEVER
: An epidemic viral illness seen in southern Sudan and Zaire, caused by
the Ebola virus. The illness is characterised by fever, malaise, muscle
aches, respiratory symptoms, diarrhoea, vomiting, epistaxis,
haemoptysis, haematemesis, rash, tremors and subconjunctival
haemorrhages. Transmitted by close bodily contact with infected
individuals (blood, faeces and body fluids). Incubation is-21 days with
initial symptoms of fever and headache. There is no specific
treatment and death can occur within 10 days.
ECG --> ELECTROCARDIOGRAM : An recording of the
electrical activity of the heart on a moving strip of paper. The
electrocardiogram detects and records the electrical potential of the
heart during contraction.
-ECTOMY : Removal
of an anatomical structure.
EDEMATOUS :
Marked by oedema.
ELECTROENCEPHALOGRAPHY
: The recording of the electric currents developed in the brain, by
means of electrodes
applied to the scalp, to the surface of the brain (intracranial e.) or
placed
within the substance of the brain (depth e.).
EMBOLISM : The
sudden blocking of an artery by a clot or foreign material which has
been brought to its site of lodgment by the blood current.
EMPHYSEMA : A
pathological accumulation of air in tissues or organs, applied
especially to such a condition of
the lungs.
ENCEPHALITIS : Inflammation of the brain.
ENDEMIC DISEASE :
Continued prevalence of a disease in a specific population or area.
ENDOCARDITIS :
Exudative and proliferative inflammatory alterations of the
endocardium, characterised by the presence of vegetations on the
surface of the endocardium or in the endocardium
itself and most commonly involving a heart valve, but sometimes
affecting
the inner lining of the cardiac chambers or the endocardium elsewhere.
It may occur as a primary disorder or as a complication of or in
association
with another disease.
EPIDEMIC :
Occurring suddenly in
numbers clearly in excess of normal expectancy, said especially of
infectious
diseases but applied also to any disease, injury or other health
related
event occurring in such outbreaks.
EPILEPSY : The
paroxysmal transient disturbances of brain function that may be
manifested as episodic impairment or loss of consciousness, abnormal
motor phenomena, psychic or sensory disturbances or perturbation of the
autonomic nervous system.
Symptoms are due to
paroxysmal disturbance of the electrical activity of the brain. On the
basis of origin, epilepsy is idiopathic (cryptogenic, essential,
genetic)
or symptomatic (acquired, organic). On the basis of clinical and
electroencephalographic
phenomenon, four subdivisions are recognised:
GRAND MAL EPILEPSY
: Older term for epilepsy characterised by generalised tonic -clonic
seizure.
PETIT MAL : A
type of seizure (absence seizures) that in contrast to the grand mal
seizure, are noted for their brevity and for the degree of loss of
awareness (brief staring spell) accompanied by minimal motor
manifestations. A common form of childhood epilepsy.
ESOPHAGUS : That
part of the alimentary canal between the pharynx and the stomach; the
gullet.
EXTENSION : 1.
<orthopaedics> The movement by which the two elements of any
jointed part are drawn away from each other.
2. <anatomy> A
movement which brings the members of a limb into or toward a straight
relation.
EXTRASYSTOLE : A
premature contraction of the heart that is independent of the normal
rhythm and arises in response to an impulse in some part of the heart
other than the sinoatrial node.
EXTUBATION :
Removal of a tube from an organ, structure, or orifice; specifically,
removal of the tube after intubation.
F
FEMUR : The large
bone in the thigh that articulates with the pelvis above and the knee
below.
FLEXION :
<gynaecology> A displacement of the uterus in which the organ is
bent so far forward or backward that an acute angle forms between the
fundus and the cervix.
FORENSIC :
Belonging to courts of judicature or to public discussion and debate;
used in legal proceedings, or in public discussions; argumentative;
rhetorical; as, forensic eloquence or disputes. Forensic medicine,
medical jurisprudence; medicine in its relations to law.
FRACTURE : A
break or rupture in
the cortex of bone. The act of breaking a bone.
FUGU POISON : A
poison in the roe and other parts of various species of Diodon,
Triodon, and Tetradon, fishes of eastern Asiatic waters.
G
GASTRITIS :
Inflammation of the stomach.
GASTROSCOPE : An
instrument for viewing or examining the interior of the stomach.
GLAUCOMA : A
group of eye diseases characterised by an increase in intraocular
pressure which causes pathological changes in the optic disk and
typical defects in the field of vision.
It can be corrected
by the use of laser light to punch a hole in the iris to relieve the
intraocular pressure within the eye. The procedure is painless and
requires no anaesthesia.
GONARTHRITIS :
Inflammation of the knee joint.
GUILLAIN-BARRE SYNDROME --> ACUTE
IDIOPATHIC POLYNEURITIS : Acute infective polyneuritis that
results in a form of peripheral neuropathy with temporary loss of
movement
and sensation due to inflammation of multiple nerves and loss of myelin.
H
HEAD INJURY (OPENED, CLOSED)
: Refers to a group of head injuries ranging from minor to major.
Examples include scalp
contusion, scalp haematoma, concussion, brain contusion, skull
fracture,
epidural haematoma, intracerebral haemorrhage, subarachnoid haemorrhage
and
subdural haematoma. Features shared by all head injuries (serious and
nonserious)
include: dizziness, nausea, vomiting, giddiness, sleepiness and
headache.
More serious features include: protracted vomiting, lethargy,
difficulty
waking up, loss of consciousness, seizure, confusion, change in
mentation
or coma. head injuries, closed : Organic
or functional damage resulting from trauma to the head where continuity
of
the scalp and mucous membranes is maintained. When brain injury results
from
closed head injuries, the primary cause is mechanical stretching and
shearing
of nerve fibres. Also common are focal intracranial lesions including
haematomas
and contusions.
HEART FAILURE : A condition where there is ineffective
pumping of the heart leading to an accumulation of fluid in the lungs.
Typical symptoms include shortness of breath with exertion,
difficulty breathing when lying flat and leg or ankle swelling. Causes
include chronic hypertension, cardiomyopathy and myocardial infarction.
HEMATOMA --> HAEMATOMA : A localised collection of
blood, usually clotted, in an organ, space or tissue, due to a break in
the wall of a blood vessel.
HEMIPLEGIA :
Paralysis of one side of the body.
HEMOPHILIA -->
HAEMOPHILIA : A
haemorrhagic diathesis occurring in two main forms:
1. Haemophilia A
(classic haemophilia, factor VIII deficiency), an X linked disorder due
to deficiency of coagulation factor VIII.
2. Haemophilia B
(factor IX deficiency, Christmas disease), also X linked, due to
deficiency of
coagulation factor IX.
Both forms are
determined by a mutant gene near the telomere of the long arm of the X
chromosome
(Xq), but a different loci and are characterised by subcutaneous and
intramuscular haemorrhages, bleeding from the mouth, gums, lips and
tongue, haematuria and haemarthroses.
HEPATITIS :
Inflammation of the liver.
HODGKIN'S DISEASE
: A human malgnant disorder of lymph tissue (lymphoma) that appears to
originate in a particular lymph node and later spreads to the spleen,
liver and bone marrow. It occurs mostly in individuals between the ages
of 15 and 35. It is characterised by progressive, painless enlargement
of the lymph nodes, spleen and general lymph tissue.
Giant cells, the Reed
Sternberg cells, with mirror image nuclei are diagnostic. Immunological
depletion, caused perhaps by the excessive growth of neoplastic
histiocytes,
occurs.
Four types of the
disease are recognised depending on the relative predominance of
various neoplastic derivatives of the lymphoid series. Pyrexia is
often a feature of
the disease.
Death often results
from generalised immunological inability to respond to infections. If
detected early, it has a high remission rate.
HOLISTIC MEDICINE :
Various systems of health protection and restoration, both traditional
and modern, that are reputedly based on the bodys natural healing
powers, the various ways the different tissues affect each other and
the influence of the external environment.
HUMERUS : The
bone of the brachium, or upper part of the arm or fore limb.
The part of the limb
containing the humerus; the brachium.
HYPER :
<prefix > Signifying over, above, high, beyond, excessive, above
normal; as, hyperphysical,
hyperthyrion; also abnormally great, excessive; as, hyperaemia,
hyperbola,
hypercritical, hypersecretion.
f.e. HYPERGLYCEMIA --> HYPERGLYCAEMIA : Too high a level of
glucose (sugar) in the blood, a sign that diabetes is out of control.
It occurs when the
body does not have enough insulin or cannot use the insulin it does
have to
turn glucose into energy. Hyperglycaemia may be seen in diabetes
mellitus,
Cushing's disease and Cushing's syndrome.
HYPO- :
<prefix > A prefix
signifying a less quantity, deficient, below normal or a low state or
degree,
of that denoted by the word with which it is joined, or position under
or beneath. For example, hypocalcaemia is olow calcium in the blood.
f.e. HYPOTHYROIDISM : A deficiency of thyroid
activity.
In adults, it is most
common in women and is characterised by decrease in basal metabolic
rate, tiredness and lethargy, sensitivity to cold and menstrual
disturbances.
If untreated, it progresses to full blown myxoedema.
In infants, severe
hypothyroidism leads to cretinism.
In juveniles, the
manifestations are intermediate, with less severe mental and
developmental retardation
and only mild symptoms of the adult form.
I
ILEUM : The last
portion of the small intestine that communicates with the large
intestine.
ILEUS : An
obstruction of the intestines.
DYNAMIC ILEUS :
Intestinal obstruction due to spastic contraction of a segment of the
bowel.
MECHANICAL ILEUS
: Obstruction of the bowel due to some mechanical cause, e.g.,
volvulus, gallstone, adhesions.
PARALYTIC ILEUS :
Paralysis or inactivity of the intestine that prohibits the passage of
material within the intestine.
May be the result of
anticholinergic drugs, injury or illness. Paralytic ileus is a typical
occurrence post surgically. Patients may complain of constipation and
bloating.
INTUBATION : The
insertion of a tube into a body canal or hollow organ, as into the
trachea or stomach.
ISCHEMIA --> ISCHAEMIA : A low oxygen state usually
due to obstruction of the arterial blood supply or inadequate blood
flow leading to hypoxia in the tissue.
L
LAPAROSCOPY : A
surgical procedure
in which a tiny scope is inserted into the abdomen through a small
incision. It is used for a variety of procedures and often to diagnose
disease of
the fallopian tubes and pelvic cavity.
LARYNX :
(adj. Laryngeal) voice box.
LARYNX, ARTIFICIAL :
A device, activated electronically or by expired pulmonary air, which
simulates laryngeal activity and enables a laryngectomised person to
speak.
LEGIONNAIRES' DISEASE;
LEGIONELLOSIS : An acute, sometimes fatal, pneumonia-like
bacterial infection characterised by high fever, malaise, muscle aches,
respiratory disorders and headache. It is named for an outbreak at the
1976 philadelphia convention of the american legion.
LEUKEMIA : An
acute or chronic disease of unknown cause in man and other warm blooded
animals that involves the
blood forming organs, is characterised by an abnormal increase in the
number
of leucocytes in the tissues of the body with or without a
corresponding
increase of those in the circulating blood and is classified according
of
the type leucocyte most prominently involved.
LIPOMA : Clumps
of fat cells. Literally, fat cancer. These are benign tumours that can
form in the breast.
LUXATIO --> DISLOCATION :
The displacement of any part, more especially of a bone.
LYMPH : The
almost colourless fluid that bathes body tissues and is found in the
lymphatic vessels that drain the tissues of the fluid that filters
across the blood vessel walls from blood.
Lymph carries lymphocytes that have entered the lymph nodes from the
blood.
LYMPHADENOMA ---> LYMPHOMA
: Malignant tumour of lymphoblasts derived from B lymphocytes. most
commonly affects
children in tropical Africa: both Epstein Barr virus and
immunosuppression
due to malarial infection are involved.
M
MALARIA : In
humans, the set of diseases caused by infection by the protozoans
Plasmodium vivax causing the tertian type, P. Malariae the quartan type
and P. Falciparum the quotidian or irregular type of disease, the names
referring to the frequency of fevers. The fevers occur when the
merozoites are released from the erythrocytes. The organisms are
transmitted by the Anopheles mosquito.
MELANOMA : A
tumour arising from the melanocytic system of the skin and other
organs. When used alone the term refers to malignant melanoma.
MENINGITIS :
Inflammation of the meninges. When it affects the dura mater, the
disease is termed pachymeningitis, when the arachnoid and pia mater are
involved, it is called leptomeningitis or meningitis proper.
MORBIDITY RATE :
The sickness rate, the number of people who are sick or have a disease
compared with the number who are well.
MORTALITY : The
death rate. The ratio of the total number of deaths to the total
population.
MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS,
DISSEMINATED SCLEROSIS : Neurodegenerative disease
characterised by the gradual accumulation of focal plaques of
demyelination particularly in the periventricular areas of the brain.
Peripheral nerves are not affected. Onset usually in 3rd or 4th decade
with intermittent progression over an extended period. Cause still
uncertain.
MYOCARDIAL INFARCTION :
A term used to describe irreversible injury to heart muscle. Synonym:
heart attack. See: infarction.
Common symptoms
include substernal, crushing chest pain that may radiate to the jaw or
arms. Chest pains may be associated with nausea, sweating and shortness
of breath.
MYOMA : A benign
fibroid tumour of
the uterus.
N
NECROSIS : The sum of the morphological
changes indicative of cell death and caused by the progressive
degradative action of enzymes, it may affect groups of cells or part of
a structure or an organ.
NEUROSURGERY : A
surgical specialty concerned with the treatment of diseases and
disorders of the brain, spinal cord, and peripheral and sympathetic
nervous system.
O
EDEMA
--> OEDEMA : The presence of abnormally large amounts of
fluid in the intercellular
tissue spaces of the body, usually applied to demonstrable accumulation
of
excessive fluid in the subcutaneous tissues.
OPHTHALMOLOGY :
The area of medicine dealing with the eye.
OSTEOPOROSIS : A
reduction in the amount of bone mass, leading to fractures after
minimal trauma.
P
PANCREAS : A
tongue-shaped glandular organ lying below and behind the stomach.
PANCREATITIS :
Acute or chronic inflammation of the pancreas, which may be
asymptomatic or symptomatic and which is due to autodigestion of a
pancreatic tissue by its own enzymes.
It is caused most
often by alcoholism or biliary tract disease, less commonly it may be
associated with hyperlipaemia, hyperparathyroidism, abdominal trauma
(accidental or
operative injury), vasculitis or uraemia.
PARANOIA : A
psychotic disorder marked by persistent delusions of persecution or
delusional jealousy and behaviour like that of the paranoid
personality, such as suspiciousness, mistrust
and combativeness. It differs from paranoid schizophrenia, in which
hallucinations or formal thought disorder are present, in that the
delusions are logically consistent and that there are no other
psychotic features.
PARKINSONISM : A
group of neurological disorders characterised by hypokinesia, tremor
and muscular rigidity.
PARKINSON'S DISEASE :
A progressive, neurological disease. The pathology is not completely
understood, but there appears to be consistent changes in the melanin -
containing nerve cells
in the brainstem (substantia nigra, locus coeruleus), where there are
varying degrees of nerve cell loss with reactive gliosis along with
eosinophilic
intracytoplasmic inclusions Lewy bodies). Biochemical studies have
shown
below normal levels of dopamine in the caudate nucleus and putamen.
Symptoms
include shuffling gait, stooped posture, resting tremor, speech
impediments,
movement difficulties and an eventual slowing of mental processes and
dementia.
PATHOLOGY : The
branch of medicine
concerned with disease, especially its structure and its functional
effects
on the body.
PHOBIA : A
persistent, irrational,
intense fear of a specific object, activity or situation (the phobic
stimulus
fear that is recognised as being excessive or unreasonable by the
individual
himself.
PLAGUE : An
acute malignant contagious fever, that often prevails in Egypt, Syria,
and Turkey, and has at times
visited the large cities of Europe with frightful mortality; hence, any
pestilence; as, the great London plague. "A plague upon the people
fell." Cattle plague. See Rinderpest. Plague mark, Plague spot, a spot
or mark of the plague;
hence, a token of something incurable.
PLEURA (PARIETAL; VISCERAL =
PULMONARY) : The serous membranes covering the lungs
(visceral pleura) and lining the inner aspect of the pleural cavity
(parietal pleura).
PLEURISY :
Inflammation of the pleura, with exudation into its cavity and upon its
surface. It may occur as either an acute or a chronic process. In acute
pleurisy the pleura becomes reddened, then covered with an exudate of
lymph, fibrin and cellular elements (the
dry stage), the disease may progress to the second stage, in which a
copious
exudation of serum occurs (stage of liquid effusion). The inflamed
surfaces
of the pleura tend to become united by adhesions, which are usually
permanent.
The symptoms are a stitch in the side, a chill, followed by fever and a
dry
cough. As effusion occurs there is an onset of dyspnoea and a
diminution
of pain. The patient lies on the affected side.
PNEUMONIA :
Inflammation of the lungs with consolidation.
PNEUMOTHORAX (ARTIFICAL;
THERAPEUTIC) : A collapse of the lung due to an abrupt
change in the intrapleural pressure within the chest cavity. This may
be due to lung or chest penetration (trauma). May also occur
spontaneously (lung rupture).
Symptoms include
shortness of breath and severe, one-sided (affected side) chest pain on
inhalation.
POX : Strictly,
a disease by pustules or eruptions of any kind, but chiefly or wholly
restricted to three or four diseases, the smallpox, the chicken pox,
and the vaccine and the venereal diseases.
Pox, when used without
an epithet, as in imprecations, formerly signified smallpox; but it now
signifies syphilis.
PULSE : The
impulse transmitted to
arteries by contraction of the left ventricle of the heart.
PULSE DEFICIT :
The absence of palpable pulse waves in a peripheral artery for one or
more heart beats, as is often seen in atrial fibrillation, the number
of such missing pulse waves (usually expressed as heart rate minus
pulse rate per minute).
PULSE RATE : Rate
of the pulse as observed in an artery; recorded as beats per minute.
R
REANIMATE : To
animate anew; to restore to animation or life; to infuse new life,
vigor, spirit, or courage into; to revive; to reinvigorate; as, to
reanimate a drowned person; to reanimate disheartened troops; to
reanimate languid spirits.
RESECTION :
Excision of a portion or all of an organ or other structure.
RHEUMATISM : A
general disease characterised by painful, often multiple, local
inflammations, usually affecting the joints and muscles, but also
extending sometimes to the deeper organs, as the heart.
<medicine>
Inflammatory rheumatism, acute rheumatism attended with fever, and
attacking usually
the larger joints, which become swollen, hot, and very painful.
Rheumatism
root.
RINGER'S SOLUTION :
A solution resembling the blood serum in its salt constituents; used
topically for burns and wounds, a salt solution usually used in
combination with naturally occurring body substances (e.g., blood
serum, tissue extracts) and/or more complex chemically defined
nutritive solution's for culturing animal cells.
RUBELLA, GERMAN MEASLES
: An acute, usually benign, infectious disease caused by a togavirus
and most often affecting children and nonimmune young adults, in which
the virus enters the respiratory via droplet nuclei and spreads to the
lymphatic system.
It is characterised by
a slight cold, sore throat and fever, followed by enlargement of the
postauricular, suboccipital and cervical lymph nodes and the
appearances of a fine pink
rash that begins on the head and spreads to become generalised.
S
SALMONELLA : Genus of gram-negative Enterobacteriaceae
that are responsible for several infections in humans (gastroenteritis
and typhoid). If invasive they can cause enteric fevers (e.g. Typhoid,
caused by Salmonella typhi), food poisoning (usually Salmonella
typhimurium or Salmonella enteridis, the latter notorious for
contamination of poultry) and occasionally septicaemia in nonintestinal
tissues.
SARCOMA : A form
of cancer that arises in the supportive tissues such as bone,
cartilage, fat or muscle.
SCARLET FEVER :
An acute illness, characterised by a reddish skin rash, which is caused
by a systemic infection with the
bacterium Streptococcus pyogenes.
SCOLIOSIS : A
congenital lateral curvature of the spine.
SEPSIS : The
presence of organisms
in the blood.
SERUM : The
clear portion of any body fluid, the clear fluid moistening serous
membranes.
SKELETON : A
solid or fluid system
which allows muscles to relax after contracting (in general, because
there
is an opposing muscle which pulls the skeletal part in the opposite
direction
when it contracts).
SMEAR : 1. To overspread with anything unctuous, viscous, or
adhesive; to daub; as, to smear anything with oil. "Smear the sleepy
grooms with blood."
2. To soil in any way;
to contaminate; to pollute; to stain morally; as, to be smeared with
infamy.
SPLEEN : An
organ that produces lymphocytes, filters the blood, stores blood cells
and destroys those that are aging.
It is located on the left side of the abdomen near the stomach.
SYMPTOM : Any
subjective evidence of disease or of a patients condition, i.e. Such
evidence as perceived by the patient, a change in a patients condition
indicative of some bodily or mental state.
SYNDROME : A set
of signs or a series of events occurring together that often point to a
single disease or condition as the cause.
T
TACHYCARDIA : The excessive rapidity in the action of the
heart, the term is usually applied to a heart rate above 100 per minute
and may be qualified as atrial, junctional (nodal) or ventricular and
as
paroxysmal.
TACHYPNEA : An
abnormally rapid (usually shallow) respiratory rate. The normal resting
adult respiratory rate is
12-20 breaths/minute.
TETANUS : 1. An
acute, often fatal
infectious disease caused by the anaerobic, spore forming bacillus
Clostridium
tetani, the agent most often enters the body through contaminated
puncture
wounds (for example those caused by metal nails, wood splinters or
insect
bites), although other portals of entry include burns, surgical wounds,
cutaneous ulcers, injections sites of drug abusers, the umbilical stump
of neonates (t, neonatorum) and the postpartum uterus.
2. Physiological
tetanus, a state of sustained muscular contraction without periods of
relaxation
caused by repetitive stimulation of the motor nerve trunk at
frequencies
so high that individual muscle twitches are fused and cannot be
distinguished
from one another, also called tonic spasm and tetany.
THORAX : The
part of the trunk between the neck and the abdomen, containing that
part of the body cavity the walls of which are supported by the dorsal
vertebrae , the ribs, and the sternum, and which the heart and lungs
are situated; the chest.
TINNITUS : A
noise in the ears, as
ringing, buzsing, roaring, clicking, etc. Such sounds may at times be
heard
by others than the patient.
TOXICOLOGY : The scientific study of the chemistry, effects,
and treatment of poisonous substances.
TRACHEA; WINDPIPE :
The windpipe. A fibrocartilaginous tube lined with mucous membrane
passing from the larynx to the bronchi.
TRANSPLANTATION :
The grafting of tissues taken from the patients own body or from
another.
TRISOMY : Term
which indicates the
presence of an additional whole chromosome. Each cell usually has 46
but
in trisomy this is increased to 47.
TUBERCULOSIS :
An infection caused
by a species of Mycobacterium, still remains a major worldwide health
problem. Although deaths from this disease have declined since the
1950's there has been some increase in tuberculosis incidence.
Tuberculosis is transmitted from person to person by an aerosol of
organisms suspended in tiny droplets that are inhaled.
ENTERIC FEVER --> TYPHOID
FEVER : An infectious febrile illness usually spread by
contamination of food, milk or water supplies with Salmonella typhi,
either directly by sewage, indirectly by flies or by faulty personal
hygiene. Average incubation time is 10 -
14 days. Fever, diarrhoeal stools (often bloody), abdominal pain,
malaise
and a rose coloured rash on the upper abdomen are seen. Severe cases
may
progress to delirium and obtundation. Complications include
glomerulonephritis.
Treatment includes intravenous fluids and antibiotics (chloramphenicol
or
ampicillin).
U
ULCER; ULCUS : A
local defect or excavation, of the surface of an organ or tissue, which
is produced by the sloughing
of inflammatory necrotic tissue.
LEG ULCER :
Ulceration of the skin
and underlying structures of the lower extremity. About 90% of the
cases
are due to venous insufficiency (varicose ulcer), 5% to arterial
disease,
and the remaining 5% to other causes.
DUODENAL ULCER :
A nonmalignant ulcer that develops in the portion of the
gastrointestinal tract that is exposed to gastric secretions. Peptic
ulcers occur in the stomach or duodenum. Common symptoms include
epigastric abdominal pain and anorexia. Complications include
perforation, penetration (into adjacent organs) and bleeding. The
microorganism Helicobacter pylori has been implicated in the
development of peptic ulcer disease.
GASTRIC ULCER :
An ulcer in the mucosal lining of the stomach. Ulcer formation results
from gastric inflammation
that may be triggered by the use of alcohol, aspirin or non-steroidal
anti-inflammatories agents. Symptoms include recurrent abdominal pains
(may be relieved by antacids), nausea, vomiting, weight loss and
fatigue. Complications include GI bleeding, obstruction, perforation
and ulcer penetration into surrounding tissues.
ULTRASOUND : A
type of imaging technique which uses high-frequency sound waves. This
is highly operator-dependent
and is thought to be useful in diagnosis but not particularly accurate
in
the assessment of tumour response. For the latter, CT or MR imaging are
more
accurate.
V
VARICELLA-ZOSTER VIRUS :
A herpesvirus, morphologically identical to herpes simplex virus, that
causes varicella
(chickenpox) and herpes zoster in man; varicella results from a primary
infection
with the virus; herpes zoster results from secondary invasion by the
same
virus or by reactivation of infection which in many instances has been
latent
for many years.
VARICOSIS : A
dilated or varicose state of a vein or veins.
VEIN : Blood
vessel that returns blood from the microvasculature to the heart, walls
thinner and less elastic than those of artery.
VIRUS : Viruses
are obligate intracellular parasites of living but noncellular nature,
consisting of DNA or RNA and
a protein coat. They range in diameter from 20-300nm. The majority of
viruses are recognised by the diseases they cause in plants, animals
and prokaryotes.
W
WHIPLASH INJURY :
Popular term for
hyperextension-hyperflexion injury.
WHO :
World-Health-Organization
Y
YELLOW FEVER : An
acute febrile illness of tropical regions, caused by a group B
arbovirus and spread by a mosquito (Aedes aegypti).
Characteristic
features include: jaundice, black vomit and the absence of urination.
Vaccination is available for travelers to endemic areas.
Z
ZOONOSES : Diseases of non-human animals that may be
transmitted to man or may be transmitted from man to non-human animals.
Special Thanks to http://cancerweb.ncl.ac.uk/omd/
for their great site, which helped me a lot with the translation!!! |
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