Abnormal: Not normal. Deviating from the usual structure, position, condition, or behavior. In referring to a growth, abnormal may mean that it is cancerous or premalignant (likely to become cancer ).
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Abrasion: An abrasion or "excoriation" is a wearing away of the upper layer of skin as a result of applied friction force. In dentistry an "abrasion" is the wearing away of the tooth substance.
Alcohol: An organic chemical in which one or more hydroxyl (OH) groups are attached to carbon (C) atoms in place of hydrogen (H) atoms. Common alcohols include ethyl alcohol or ethanol (found in alcoholic beverages), methyl alcohol or methanol (can cause blindness) and propyl alcohol or propanol (used as a solvent and antiseptic ). Rubbing alcohol is a mixture of acetone , methyl isobutyl ketone, and ethyl alcohol. In everyday talk, alcohol usually refers to ethanol as, for example, in wine, beer, and liquor. It can cause changes in behavior and be addictive.
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Aluminum: A naturally occurring element that makes up about 8% of the surface of the earth and is always found combined with other elements such as oxygen, silicon, and fluorine. Aluminum is is the most common metallic element in the earth's crust but has no clear biologic role. Everyone is exposed to low levels of aluminum from food, air, and water. Exposure to high levels of aluminum may result in respiratory problems (aluminosis). Inhalation of bauxite (aluminum ore) fumes may cause pulmonary fibrosis . Aluminum in the bloodstream may lead to neurological symptoms and may be fatal.
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Anal itching : Irritation of the skin around the anus accompanied by a desire to scratch. The intensity of itching increases with moisture, pressure, and sitting. At its most intense, anal itching causes intolerable discomfort described as burning and soreness. Treatment is to shower gently without directly rubbing or irritating the skin, clean and dry the anus thoroughly, and use moist pads rather than toilet paper after bowel movements. Local application of cortisone cream may help.
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Analgesic: A drug that relieves pain. With an effective analgesic, there is an inability to feel pain while still conscious. From the Greek an-, without + algesis, sense of pain.
Anesthetic: A substance that causes lack of feeling or awareness. A local anesthetic causes loss of feeling in a part of the body. A general anesthetic puts the person to sleep.
Anus: The opening of the rectum to the outside of the body.
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Bacteria: Single-celled microorganisms which can exist either as independent (free-living) organisms or as parasites (dependent upon another organism for life).
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Blood: The familiar red fluid in the body that contains white and red blood cells, platelets, proteins, and other elements. The blood is transported throughout the body by the circulatory system. Blood functions in two directions: arterial and venous. Arterial blood is the means by which oxygen and nutrients are transported to tissues while venous blood is the means by which carbon dioxide and metabolic by-products are transported to the lungs and kidneys, respectively, for removal from the body.
Blood pressure: The blood pressure is the pressure of the blood within the arteries. It is produced primarily by the contraction of the heart muscle. It's measurement is recorded by two numbers. The first (systolic pressure) is measured after the heart contracts and is highest. The second (diastolic pressure) is measured before the heart contracts and lowest. A blood pressure cuff is used to measure the pressure. Elevation of blood pressure is called "hypertension".
Bowel: Another name for the intestine . The small bowel and the large bowel are the small intestine and large intestine , respectively.
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Calamine: An astringent made from zinc carbonate or zinc oxide, usually used in lotion form to treat skin problems that cause itching or discomfort.
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Chloride: The major anion (negatively charged substance) in the blood and extracellular fluid (the body fluid that lies outside cells). Blood and other body fluids have almost the same concentration of chloride ion as sea water. The balance of chloride ion (Cl-) is closely regulated by the body.
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Chronic: This important term in medicine comes from the Greek chronos, time and means lasting a long time.
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Coagulation: In medicine, the clotting of blood. The process by which the blood clots to form solid masses, or clots.
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Cod liver oil: An oil extracted from the liver of the cod. Cod liver oil was once given religiously to children every day as a rich source of vitamins A and D. It was also used to treat children with rickets, a bone disease due to vitamin D deficiency.
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Colon: The part of the large intestine that runs from the cecum to the rectum as a long hollow tube that serves to remove water from digested food and let the remaining material, solid waste called stool , move through it to the rectum and leave the body through the anus . .
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Corticosteroid: Any of the steroid hormones made by the cortex (outer layer) of the adrenal gland. Cortisol is a corticosteroid.
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Crohn's disease : A chronic inflammatory disease, primarily involving the small and large intestine, but which can affect other parts of the digestive system as well. It is named for Burrill Crohn, the American gastroenterologist who first described the disease in 1932.
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Diabetes: Refers to diabetes mellitus or, less often, to diabetes insipidus . Diabetes mellitus and diabetes insipidus share the name "diabetes" because they are both conditions characterized by excessive urination (polyuria).
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Diabetes mellitus: Better known just as " diabetes " -- a chronic disease associated with abnormally high levels of the sugar glucose in the blood. Diabetes is due to one of two mechanisms:
(1) Inadequate production of insulin (which is made by the pancreas and lowers blood glucose) or
(2) Inadequate sensitivity of cells to the action of insulin.
The two main types of diabetes correspond to these two mechanisms and are called insulin dependent (type 1) and non-insulin dependent (type 2) diabetes. In type 1 diabetes there is no insulin or not enough of it. In type 2 diabetes, there is generally enough insulin but the cells upon it should act are not normally sensitive to its action.
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Diarrhea : A familiar phenomenon with unusually frequent or unusually liquid bowel movements, excessive watery evacuations of fecal material. The opposite of constipation . The word "diarrhea" with its odd spelling is a near steal from the Greek "diarrhoia" meaning "a flowing through." Plato and Aristotle may have had diarrhoia while today we have diarrhea. There are myriad infectious and noninfectious causes of diarrhea.
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Disease: Illness or sickness often characterized by typical patient problems (symptoms) and physical findings (signs). Disruption sequence: The events that occur when a fetus that is developing normally is subjected to a destructive agent such as the rubella (German measles) virus.
Epinephrine: A substance produced by the medulla (inside) of the adrenal gland. The name epinephrine was coined in 1898 by the American pharmacologist and physiologic chemist (biochemist) John Jacob Abel who isolated it from the adrenal gland which is located above (epi-) the kidney ("nephros" in Greek). (Abel also crystallized insulin). Technically speaking, epinephrine is a sympathomimetic catecholamine. It causes quickening of the heart beat, strengthens the force of the heart's contraction, opens up the airways (bronchioles) in the lungs and has numerous other effects. The secretion of epinephrine by the adrenal is part of the fight-or-flight reaction. Adrenaline is a synonym of epinephrine and is the official name in the British Pharmacopoeia.
Hemorrhoids: See: Hemorrhoid.
HIV: Acronym for the Human Immunodeficiency Virus , the cause of AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome). HIV has also been called the human lymphotropic virus type III, the lymphadenopathy-associated virus and the lymphadenopathy virus . No matter what name is applied, it is a retrovirus. (A retrovirus has an RNA genome and a reverse transcriptase enzyme. Using the reverse transcriptase , the virus uses its RNA as a template for making complementary DNA which can integrate into the DNA of the host organism).
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Incontinence: Inability to control excretions. Urinary incontinence is inability to keep urine in the bladder. Fecal incontinence is inability to retain feces in the rectum.
Infection: The growth of a parasitic organism within the body. (A parasitic organism is one that lives on or in another organism and draws its nourishment therefrom.) A person with an infection has another organism (a "germ") growing within him, drawing its nourishment from the person.
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Inflammation: A basic way in which the body reacts to infection , irritation or other injury, the key feature being redness, warmth, swelling and pain . Inflammation is now recognized as a type of nonspecific immune response .
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Insertion: Chromosome abnormality due to insertion of a segment from one chromosome into another chromosome.
Intestine: The long, tubelike organ in the abdomen that completes the process of digestion. It consists of the small and large intestines.
Itching: An uncomfortable sensation in the skin that feels as if something is crawling on the skin or in the skin, and makes the person want to scratch the affected area.
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Liver: An organ in the upper abdomen that aids in digestion and removes waste products and worn-out cells from the blood. The liver is the largest solid organ in the body. The liver weighs about three and a half pounds (1.6 kilograms). It measures about 8 inches (20 cm) horizontally (across) and 6.5 inches (17 cm) vertically (down) and is 4.5 inches (12 cm) thick.
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Nerve: A bundle of fibers that uses chemical and electrical signals to transmit sensory and motor information from one body part to another. See: Nervous system.
Ointment: A medication preparation that is applied topically (onto the skin). An ointment has an oil base whereas a cream is water-soluble. (The word ointment comes from the Latin ungere meaning anoint with oil).
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Pain: An unpleasant sensation that can range from mild, localized discomfort to agony. Pain has both physical and emotional components. The physical part of pain results from nerve stimulation. Pain may be contained to a discrete area, as in an injury, or it can be more diffuse, as in disorders like fibromyalgia . Pain is mediated by specific nerve fibers that carry the pain impulses to the brain where their conscious appreciation may be modified by many factors.
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Perianal: Located around the anus, the opening of the rectum to the outside of the body. Peri- is a prefix borrowed from the Greek. It means "around or about." So pericardial is around the heart. Perinatal is around birth. And periumbilical is around the umbilicus (the belly button). Peri- is a useful prefix in anatomy and so is much employed in medicine. Pericardial fluid is fluid around the heart. Periaortic lymph nodes are lymph nodes around the aorta. A perianal abscess is an abscess (a local accumulation of pus) that forms next to the anus causing tender swelling in that area and pain on defecation.
Phenol: 1. A poisonous corrosive compound obtained by the distillation of coal tar that, in dilute solution, is an antimicrobial agent. Also called carbolic acid. 2. A generic term for any compound similar in structure to phenol (an organic compound with one or more hydroxyl groups attached to an aromatic or carbon ring).
Prescription: A physician's order for the preparation and administration of a drug or device for a patient. A prescription has several parts. They include the superscription or heading with the symbol "R" or "Rx", which stands for the word recipe (meaning, in Latin, to take); the inscription, which contains the names and quantities of the ingredients; the subscription or directions for compounding the drug; and the signature which is often preceded by the sign "s" standing for signa (Latin for mark), giving the directions to be marked on the container.
Proteins: Large molecules composed of one or more chains of amino acids in a specific order determined by the base sequence of nucleotides in the DNA coding for the protein.
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Pruritus: Itching. Pruritus can result from drug reaction, food allergy, kidney or liver disease, cancers, parasites, aging or dry skin, contact skin reaction, such as poison ivy, and for unknown reasons.
Pruritus ani: A medical name for itchiness of the anus. See Anal itching.
Psoriasis : A reddish, scaly rash often located over the surfaces of the elbows, knees, scalp, and around or in the ears, navel, genitals or buttocks. Psoriasis is an autoimmune disease that is mediated by T lymphocytes. It is also a very common disease, Chronic plaque psoriasis affects approximately 2% of people around the world. About 10-15% of patients with psoriasis develop joint inflammation (inflammatory arthritis ). Treatment options include topical steroid creams, tar soap preparations, and exposure to ultraviolet light.
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Rectum: The last 6 to 8 inches of the large intestine. The rectum stores solid waste until it leaves the body through the anus. The word rectum comes from the Latin rectus meaning straight (which the human rectum is not).
Side effects: Problems that occur when treatment goes beyond the desired effect. Or problems that occur in addition to the desired therapeutic effect.
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Skin: The skin is the body's outer covering. It protects us against heat and light, injury, and infection. It regulates body temperature and stores water, fat, and vitamin D. Weighing about 6 pounds, the skin is the body's largest organ. It is made up of two main layers; the outer epidermis and the inner dermis.
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Sleeplessness: Insomnia. See also Fatal familial insomnia.
Small intestine: The part of the digestive tract that extends from the stomach to the large intestine.
Stool: The solid matter discharged in a bowel movement.
Toilet: 1. In medicine, cleansing of a wound and the skin around it. 2. In obstetrics, cleansing of a woman just after childbirth. 3. In dentistry, the cleaning out of a cavity before a restoration. 4. A device for the disposal of urine and feces. Or the room containing such a device.
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Tremor: Any abnormal repetitive shaking movement of the body. Tremors have many causes and can be inherited, be related to illnesses such as thyroid disease, or caused by fever, hypothermia, drugs or fear.
Vitamin A: Vitamin A is retinol. Carotene compounds (found, for example, in egg yolk, butter and cream) are gradually converted by the body to vitamin A (retinol). A form of vitamin A called retinal is responsible for transmitting light sensation in the retina of the eye.
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Yeast: A group of single-celled fungi that reproduce by budding.
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Yeast infection: Overgrowth of yeast can affect the skin (yeast rash ), mouth (thrush), digestive tract, esophagus, vagina ( vaginitis ), and other parts of the body. Yeast infections occur most frequently in moist areas of the body. Although Candida albicans and other Candida yeasts are the most frequent offenders, other yeast groups are known to cause illness, primarily in immunocompromised patients. These include Torulopsis, Cryptococcus, Malassezia, and Trichosporon yeasts. Diagnosis is by observation, and can be confirmed by culturing a stool or mucosa sample, or a scraping from the affected area. Treatment is by topical or oral antifungal medications. Acidophilous, a helpful bacteria that normally helps to keep yeast in check, can also be tried in supplement form or in yogurt with live cultures.
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Zinc: A mineral essential to the body, zinc is a constituent of many enzymes that permit chemical reactions to proceed at normal rates. It is involved in the manufacture of protein (protein synthesis) and in cell division. Zinc is also a constituent of insulin , and is concerned with the sense of smell.
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Zinc oxide: A form of zinc that has antispasmodic qualities.
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From the Doctors at MedicineNet.com  |
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- Colonoscopy - Learn about the colonscopy procedure, what it is, why it is performed, preparation, complications, alternatives and the after effects of the screening exam on MedicineNet.com Source:MedicineNet
- Flexible Sigmoidoscopy - Read about flexible sigmoidoscopy procedure used to examine the lower portion of the colon and rectum. It may be used to investigate the cause of rectal bleeding, bowel changes, rectal pain, and diarrhea. Source:MedicineNet
- Pinworm Test - Read about the pinworm test, the "sticky tape test," or pinworm paddle, which confirms the most common worm infeciton in the US, the pinworm. Symptoms of pinworms include anal or vaginal itching. Source:MedicineNet
- Read 30 more Anal Itching related articles ...
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