Cat Scratch Disease Glossary of Terms

Bacillary angiomatosis: A bacterial infection due to a cat scratch most often seen today in people with HIV . The disease characteristically presents with swollen lymph nodes (lymphadenitis), sore throat, fatigue , and fever, chills, sweats, vomiting, loss of appetite, and weight loss. There is usually a little bump (a papule ) which may be pus-filled (a pustule ) at the site of the scratch. Then more nodules appear on and under the skin. As the number of nodules increases, patients get sicker.
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Bacterial: Of or pertaining to bacteria. For example, a bacterial lung infection.

Bacterium: The singular of bacteria.

Cancer: An abnormal growth of cells which tend to proliferate in an uncontrolled way and, in some cases, to metastasize (spread).
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Cat scratch disease: A bacterial infection due to a cat scratch seen most often today in people with HIV . The disease characteristically presents with swollen lymph nodes (lymphadenitis), sore throat, fatigue , and fever, chills, sweats, vomiting, loss of appetite, and weight loss. There is usually a little bump (a papule ) which may be pus-filled (a pustule ) at the site of the scratch. Then more nodules appear on and under the skin. As the number of nodules increases, patients get sicker.
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Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: The US agency charged with tracking and investigating public health trends. The stated mission of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, commonly called the CDC, is "To promote health and quality of life by preventing and controlling disease, injury, and disability."
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Encephalitis: Inflammation of the brain. Encephalitis occurs, for example, in 1 in 1,000 cases of measles . It may start (up to 3 weeks) after onset of the measles rash and present with high fever , convulsions, and coma. It usually runs a blessedly short course with full recovery within a week. Or it may eventuate in central nervous system impairment or death.
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Fatigue: A condition characterized by a lessened capacity for work and reduced efficiency of accomplishment, usually accompanied by a feeling of weariness and tiredness. Fatigue can be acute and come on suddenly or chronic and persist.
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Fever : Although a fever technically is any body temperature above the normal of 98.6 degrees F. (37 degrees C.), in practice a person is usually not considered to have a significant fever until the temperature is above 100.4 degrees F (38 degrees C.).
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Headache : A pain in the head with the pain being above the eyes or the ears, behind the head (occipital), or in the back of the upper neck. Headache, like chest pain or back ache, has many causes.
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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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Immunocompromised: Having an immune system that has been impaired by disease or treatment.
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Immunosuppressive: 1. Pertaining to immunosuppression , the suppression of the immune system .
2. An agent capable of suppressing the immune response .
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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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Injury: Harm or hurt. The term "injury" may be applied in medicine to damage inflicted upon oneself as in a hamstring injury or by an external agent on as in a cold injury. The injury may be accidental or deliberate, as with a needlestick injury. The term "injury" may be synonymous (depending on the context) with a wound or with trauma.

Lymph: An almost colorless fluid that travels through vessels called lymphatics in the lymphatic system and carries cells that help fight infection and disease.

Morbidity: Illness, disease.

Mortality: A fatal outcome or, in one word, death. The word "mortality" is derived from "mortal" which came from the Latin "mors" (death). The opposite of mortality is, of course, immortality. Mortality is also quite distinct from morbidity (illness).
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Neck: The part of the body joining the head to the shoulders. Also, any narrow or constricted part of a bone or organ that joins its parts as, for example, the neck of the femur bone.
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Organ: A relatively independent part of the body that carries out one or more special functions. The organs of the human body include the eye, ear, heart, lungs, and liver.

Palm: The grasping side of the hand; the flexor surface of the hand. In contrast to the back of the hand, the extensor surface of the hand.
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Pus: A thick whitish-yellow fluid which results from the accumulation of white blood cells (WBCs), liquified tissue and cellular debris. Pus is commonly a site of infection or foreign material in the body.

Syndrome: A set of signs and symptoms that tend to occur together and which reflect the presence of a particular disease or an increased chance of developing a particular disease.
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Transplant: The grafting of a tissue from one place to another, just as in botany a bud from one plant might be grafted onto the stem of another. The transplanting of tissue can be from one part of the patient to another (autologous transplantation), as in the case of a skin graft using the patient's own skin; or from one patient to another (allogenic transplantation), as in the case of transplanting a donor kidney into a recipient.

From the Doctors at MedicineNet.com

Headache - Learn about the different types of headaches, migraine, tension, cluster, menstrual, and spinal headaches; and their causes, symptoms, diagnosis and treatment. Source:MedicineNet Human Immunodeficiency Virus - Read about HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) causes, symptoms, treatment, prevention, transmission, facts, testing, research (into vaccines), statistics and AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome). Source:MedicineNet Cancer - Learn about cancer types, disease statistics, facts, and survival rates, and get information about how malignant tumors (cancerous growths) metastasize or spread. Source:Government Read 14 more Cat Scratch Disease related articles ... Health Tip: When Antibiotics May Help