Abdomen: The belly , that part of the body that contains all of the structures between the chest and the pelvis . The abdomen is separated anatomically from the chest by the diaphragm , the powerful muscle spanning the body cavity below the lungs .
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Abdominal: Relating to the abdomen, the belly , that part of the body that contains all of the structures between the chest and the pelvis . The abdomen is separated anatomically from the chest by the diaphragm , the powerful muscle spanning the body cavity below the lungs .
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Abdominal pain: Pain in the belly (the abdomen). Abdominal pain can come from conditions affecting a variety of organs. The abdomen is an anatomical area that is bounded by the lower margin of the ribs above, the pelvic bone (pubic ramus) below, and the flanks on each side. Although abdominal pain can arise from the tissues of the abdominal wall that surround the abdominal cavity (the skin and abdominal wall muscles), the term abdominal pain generally is used to describe pain originating from organs within the abdominal cavity (from beneath the skin and muscles). These organs include the stomach, small intestine, colon, liver, gallbladder, and pancreas.
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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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Absorb: 1. To take something in, as through the skin or the intestine.
2. To react with radiation and reduce it in intensity, as with a dose of radiation or transmitted light.
See also: Absorbed dose; Absorption; Malabsorption; Reabsorption.
Adrenaline: A substance produced by the medulla (inside) of the adrenal gland, adrenaline (the official name in the British Pharmacopoeia) is synonymous with epinephrine. Technically speaking, adrenaline is a sympathomimetic catecholamine. It causes quickening of the heart beat, strengthens the force of the heart's contraction, opens up the bronchioles in the lungs and has numerous other effects. The secretion of adrenaline by the adrenal is part of the "fight-or-flight" reaction that we have in response to being frightened.
Adverse reaction: In pharmacology, any unexpected or dangerous reaction to a drug. An unwanted effect caused by the administration of a drug. The onset of the adverse reaction may be sudden or develop over time.
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Allergen: A substance that is foreign to the body and can cause an allergic reaction in certain people. For examples, pollen, dander, mold.
Allergic reaction: The hypersensitive response of the immune system of an allergic individual to a substance.
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Allergy : A misguided reaction to foreign substances by the immune system , the body system of defense against foreign invaders, particularly pathogens (the agents of infection ). The allergic reaction is misguided in that these foreign substances are usually harmless. The substances that trigger allergy are called allergen. Examples include pollens , dust mite, molds , danders , and certain foods. People prone to allergies are said to be allergic or atopic .
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Amino acids: The building blocks of polypeptides and proteins.
Anaphylaxis: Allergic reaction. In severe cases, this can include potentially deadly anaphylactic shock.
Antibody: An immunoglobulin, a specialized immune protein , produced because of the introduction of an antigen into the body, and which possesses the remarkable ability to combine with the very antigen that triggered its production.
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Antihistamines: Drugs that combat the histamine released during an allergic reaction by blocking the action of the histamine on the tissue. Antihistamines do not stop the formation of histamine nor do they stop the conflict between the IgE and antigen. Therefore, antihistamines do not stop the allergic reaction but protect tissues from some of its effects. Antihistamines frequently cause mouth dryness and sleepiness. Newer "non sedating" antihistamines are generally thought to be somewhat less effective. Antihistamine side effects that very occasionally occur include urine retention in males and fast heart rate.
Arthritis: Inflammation of a joint. When joints are inflamed they can develop stiffness, warmth, swelling, redness and pain. There are over 100 types of arthritis. (see osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, psoriatic arthritis, lupus, gout, pseudogout).
Assay: An assay is an analysis done to determine: - The presence of a substance and the amount of that substance. Thus, an assay may be done for example to determine the level of thyroid hormones in the blood of a person suspected of being hypothyroid (or hyperthyroid).
- The biological or pharmacological potency of a drug. For example, an assay may be done of a vaccine to determine its potency.
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Asthma : A common disorder in which chronic inflammation of the bronchial tubes (bronchi) makes them swell, narrowing the airways. Asthma involves only the bronchial tubes and does not affect the air sacs ( alveoli ) or the lung tissue (the parenchyma of the lung) itself.
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Asthmatic: 1. Pertaining to asthma as, for example, asthmatic bronchitis.
2. A person with asthma.
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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Bacterial: Of or pertaining to bacteria. For example, a bacterial lung infection.
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".
Breast : The breast refers to the front of the chest or, more specifically, to the mammary gland. The mammary gland is a milk producing gland. It is composed largely of fat. Within the mammary gland is a complex network of branching ducts. These ducts exit from sac-like structures called lobules, which can produce milk in females. The ducts exit the breast at the nipple.
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Breast feeding: See: Breastfeeding.
Breast milk: Milk from the breast . Human milk contains a balance of nutrients that closely matches infant requirements for brain development, growth and a healthy immune system . Human milk also contains immunologic agents and other compounds that act against viruses , bacteria , and parasites. Since an infant's immune system is not fully developed until age 2, human milk provides a distinct advantage over formula.
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Breastfeeding: Feeding a child human breast milk . According to the American Academy of Pediatrics , human breast milk is preferred for all infants. This includes even premature and sick babies, with rare exceptions. It is the food least likely to cause allergic reactions; it is inexpensive; it is readily available at any hour of the day or night; babies accept the taste readily; and the antibodies in breast milk can help a baby resist infections.
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Breathing: The process of respiration, during which air is inhaled into the lungs through the mouth or nose due to muscle contraction, and then exhaled due to muscle relaxation.
Capsule: Capsule has many meanings in medicine including the following: - In medicine, a membranous structure that envelops an organ, a joint, tumor, or any other part of the body. It is usually made up of dense collagen-containing connective tissue.
- In pharmacy, a solid dosage form in which the drug is enclosed in a hard or soft soluble container, usually of a form of gelatin.
- In microbiology, a coat around a microbe, such as a bacterium or fungus.
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Carbohydrates: Mainly sugars and starches, together constituting one of the three principal types of nutrients used as energy sources (calories) by the body. Carbohydrates can also be defined chemically as neutral compounds of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen.
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Celiac sprue: See: Celiac disease.
Cell: The basic structural and functional unit in people and all living things. Each cell is a small container of chemicals and water wrapped in a membrane .
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Cerebral: Pertaining to the brain, the cerebrum or the intellect.
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Chest: The area of the body located between the neck and the abdomen . The chest contains the lungs , the heart and part of the aorta . The walls of the chest are supported by the dorsal vertebrae , the ribs , and the sternum .
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Childhood: (1) The time for a boy or girl from birth until he or she is an adult. (2) The more circumscribed period of time from infancy to the onset of puberty .
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Clinical: 1. Having to do with the examination and treatment of patients. 2. Applicable to patients. A laboratory test may be of clinical value (of use to patients).
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Colic: An attack of crying and apparent abdominal pain in early infancy. This is a common condition, occurring in about 1 in every 10 babies. Colic is characterized by episodes of irritability, loud crying, and what appears to be abdominal pain with the legs drawn up and the abdomen feeling rigid.
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Condition: The term "condition" has a number of biomedical meanings including the following: - An unhealthy state, such as in "this is a progressive condition."
- A state of fitness, such as "getting into condition."
- Something that is essential to the occurrence of something else; essentially a "precondition."
- As a verb: to cause a change in something so that a response that was previously associated with a certain stimulus becomes associated with another stimulus; to condition a person, as in behavioral conditioning.
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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Cure: 1. To heal, to make well, to restore to good health. Cures are easy to claim and, all too often, difficult to confirm.
2. A time without recurrence of a disease so that the risk of recurrence is small, as in the 5-year cure rate for malignant melanoma .
3. Particularly in the past, a course of treatment. For example, take a cure at a spa.
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Diagnosis: 1 The nature of a disease ; the identification of an illness. 2 A conclusion or decision reached by diagnosis. The diagnosis is rabies . 3 The identification of any problem. The diagnosis was a plugged IV.
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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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Differential diagnosis: The process of weighing the probability of one disease versus that of other diseases possibly accounting for a patient's illness. The differential diagnosis of rhinitis (a runny nose) includes allergic rhinitis (hayfever), the abuse of nasal decongestants and, of course, the common cold.
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.
Double-blind: Term used to described a study in which both the investigator or the participant are blind to (unaware of) the nature of the treatment the participant is receiving. Double-blind trials are thought to produce objective results, since the expectations of the researcher and the participant about the experimental treatment such as a drug do not affect the outcome. Also called double-masked. See also: Double-blinded study.
Double-masked: See: Double-blind.
Dyspepsia: Dyspepsia refers to a condition ( disease ) in which there are upper abdominal symptoms which may include upper abdominal pain , bloating (a feeling of abdominal fullness without objective abdominal distention ), early satiety (a feeling of unusual fullness with very little intake of food), nausea , or belching . The symptoms often are provoked by eating.
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Eczema: A particular type of inflammatory reaction of the skin in which there are typically vesicles (tiny blister-like raised areas) in the first stage followed by erythema (reddening), edema (swelling), papules (bumps), and crusting of the skin followed, finally, by lichenification (thickening) and scaling of the skin. Eczema characteristically causes itching and burning of the skin.
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ELISA: ELISA stands for "enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay." This is a rapid immunochemical test that involves an enzyme (a protein that catalyzes a biochemical reaction). It also involves an antibody or antigen (immunologic molecules).
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Enteropathy: Any pathology (disease) of the intestine.
Enzyme: A protein (or protein-based molecule) that speeds up a chemical reaction in a living organism. An enzyme acts as catalyst for specific chemical reactions , converting a specific set of reactants (called substrates) into specific products. Without enzymes, life as we know it would not exist.
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Enzymes: Proteins that act as a catalysts in mediating and speeding a specific chemical reaction .
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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.
Event: A set of outcomes. Cardiovascular events might include a heart attack and gastrointestinal events a GI bleed. The use of the term "event" in medicine comes from probability theory.
Family: 1. A group of individuals related by blood or marriage or by a feeling of closeness. 2. A biological classification of related plants or animals that is a division below the order and above the genus. 3. A group of genes related in structure and in function that descended from an ancestral gene. 4. A group of gene products similarly related in structure and function and of shared genetic descent. 5. Parents and their children. The most fundamental social group in humans.
Fat: 1 Along with proteins and carbohydrates, one of the three nutrients used as energy sources by the body. The energy produced by fats is 9 calories per gram. Proteins and carbohydrates each provide 4 calories per gram. 2 Total fat; the sum of saturated, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats. Intake of monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats can help reduce blood cholesterol when substituted for saturated fats in the diet. 3 A slang term for obese or adipose. 4 In chemistry, a compound formed from chemicals called fatty acids. These fats are greasy, solid materials found in animal tissues and in some plants. Fats are the major component of the flabby material of a body, commonly known as blubber.
FDA: The Food and Drug Administration, an agency within the U.S. Public Health Service, which is a part of the Department of Health and Human Services.
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Food poisoning : A common flu-like illness typically characterized by nausea, vomiting and diarrhea , due to something the victim ate or drank that contained noxious bacteria, viruses, parasites, metals or toxins.
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Forearm: The portion of the upper limb from the elbow to the wrist.
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Gallstones : Stones that form when substances in the bile harden. Gallstones can be as small as a grain of sand or as large as a golf ball. There can be just one large stone, hundreds of tiny stones, or any combination.
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Gastroenteritis: Inflammation of the stomach and the intestines. Can cause nausea and vomiting and/or diarrhea. Gastroenteritis has numerous causes: including infectious organisms (viruses, bacteria, etc.), food poisoning, and stress.
Gastrointestinal: Adjective referring collectively to the stomach and small and large intestines.
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Gastrointestinal tract: The tube that extends from the mouth to the anus in which the movement of muscles and release of hormones and enzymes digest food. The gastrointestinal tract starts with the mouth and proceeds to the esophagus, stomach, duodenum, small intestine, large intestine (colon), rectum and, finally, the anus. Also called the alimentary canal, digestive tract and, perhaps most often in conversation, the GI tract.
Glutamate: A form of glutamic acid. See: Glutamic acid.
Gluten: A protein found in wheat or related grains and many foods that we eat. Gluten can be found in a large variety of foods including soups, salad dressings, processed foods and natural flavorings. Unidentified starch, binders and fillers in medications or vitamins can be unsuspected sources of gluten.
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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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Health: As officially defined by the World Health Organization, a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being, not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.
Heredity: Genetic transmission from parent to child.
Histamine: Substance that plays a major role in many allergic reactions. Histamine dilates blood vessels and makes the vessel walls abnormally permeable.
Hives: A raised, itchy area of skin that is usually a sign of an allergic reaction. It can be rounded or flat-topped but is always elevated above the surrounding skin. It reflects circumscribed dermal edema (local swelling of the skin). The hives are usually well circumscribed but may be coalescent and will blanch with pressure. They typically last less than 4 hours but they may stay for days or weeks. Approximately 20% of the population has experienced a bout of hives.
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Hyperactivity: A higher than normal level of activity. An organ can be described as hyperactive if it is more active than usual. Behavior can also be hyperactive.
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Immune: Protected against infection. The Latin immunis means free, exempt.
Immune response: Any reaction by the immune system.
Immune system: A complex system that is responsible for distinguishing us from everything foreign to us, and for protecting us against infections and foreign substances. The immune system works to seek and kill invaders.
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Immunoglobulin: A protein produced by plasma cells and lymphocytes and characteristic of these types of cells. Immunoglobulins play an essential role in the body's immune system. They attach to foreign substances, such as bacteria, and assist in destroying them. Immunoglobulin is abbreviated Ig. The classes of immunoglobulins are termed immunoglobulin A (IgA), immunoglobulin G (IgG), immunoglobulin M (IgM), immunoglobulin D (IgD) and immunoglobulin E (IgE).
Immunoglobulin E: Abbreviated IgE. A class of immunoglobulins that includes the antibodies elicited by an allergic substance (allergen). A person who has an allergy usually has elevated blood levels of IgE. IgE antibodies attack and engage the invading army of allergens.
Infant: A child up to 2 years (24 months) of age.
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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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Lactase: Enzyme that breaks down the milk sugar lactose into glucose and galactose. Persons with a deficiency of lactase in the gut can develop abdominal cramping and diarrhea after ingesting milk products.
Lactase deficiency: Not enough of an enzyme called lactase in the small intestine to digest lactose, a prominent component of milk and most other dairy products. Lactose is sometimes also used as an ingredient in other foods, so anyone with lactase deficiency should check food labels with care.
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Lactose: The sugar found in milk. The body uses the enzyme lactase to break down lactose into galactose and glucose.
Lightheadedness: A feeling you are "going to faint." Lightheadedness is medically distinct from dizziness, unsteadiness, and vertigo. See: Dizziness, Unsteadiness, and Vertigo.
Lungs: The lungs are a pair of breathing organs located with the chest which remove carbon dioxide from and bring oxygen to the blood. There is a right and left lung.
Malabsorption: The impaired absorption by the intestines of nutrients from food. Malabsorption can be specific and involve sugars, fats , proteins , or vitamins . Alternatively, malabsorption can be general and nonspecific.
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Mast cell: A connective tissue cell whose normal function is unknown but which is frequently injured in allergic reactions, releasing chemicals including histamine that are very irritating and cause itching, swelling, and fluid leakage from cells. These allergic chemicals may also cause muscle spasm and lead to lung and throat tightening, as in asthma. Also known as a mastocyte or labrocyte.
Medical history: 1. In clinical medicine, the patient's past and present which may contain clues bearing on their health past, present, and future. The medical history, being an account of all medical events and problems a person has experienced, including psychiatric illness, is especially helpful when a differential diagnosis is needed.
2. The history of medicine.
Medication: 1. A drug or medicine. 2. The administration of a drug or medicine. (Note that "medication" does not have the dangerous double meaning of "drug.")
Microscope: An optical instrument that augments the power of the eye to see small objects. The name microscope was coined by Johannes Faber (1574-1629) who in 1628 borrowed from the Greek to combined micro-, small with skopein, to view. Although the first microscopes were simple microscopes, most (if not all) optical microscopes today are compound microscopes.
Migraine: Usually, periodic attacks of headaches on one or both sides of the head. These may be accompanied by nausea, vomiting, increased sensitivity of the eyes to light (photophobia), increased sensitivity to sound (phonophobia), dizziness , blurred vision, cognitive disturbances, and other symptoms. Some migraines do not include headache, and migraines may or may not be preceded by an aura.
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Mold: A very large group of microscopic fungi that live on plant or animal matter. Most are filamentous organisms and produce spores that can be air-, water-, or insect-borne. A common trigger for allergies .
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Mother: (1) The female parent. (2) To produce offspring as a female. To attribute the maternity of. (3) A cell or other structure from which similar cells or structures are formed. Accordingly, such a cell might be referred to as the mother cell.(4) To provide maternal protection, guidance, and nurturing to children.
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Mouth: 1. The upper opening of the digestive tract, beginning with the lips and containing the teeth, gums, and tongue. Foodstuffs are broken down mechanically in the mouth by chewing and saliva is added as a lubricant. Saliva contains amylase, an enzyme that digests starch. 2. Any opening or aperture in the body. The mouth in both senses of the word is also called the os, the Latin word for an opening, or mouth. The o in os is pronounced as in hope. The genitive form of os is oris from which comes the word oral.
Nausea: Nausea is the urge to vomit. It can be brought by many causes including, systemic illnesses, such as influenza, medications, pain, and inner ear disease.
Nose: The external midline projection from the face.
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Objective: In a microscope, the objective (also called the objective lens) is the lens nearest to the object being examined whereas the lens closest to the eye is termed the ocular (the eyepiece).
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Onset: In medicine, the first appearance of the signs or symptoms of an illness as, for example, the onset of rheumatoid arthritis . There is always an onset to a disease but never to the return to good health. The default setting is good health.
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Osteoarthritis: A type of arthritis caused by inflammation, breakdown, and eventual loss of cartilage in the joints. Also known as degenerative arthritis.
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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Peptic ulcer: A hole in the lining of the stomach, duodenum, or esophagus. A peptic ulcer of the stomach is called a gastric ulcer, an ulcer of the duodenum is a duodenal ulcer, and a peptic ulcer of the esophagus is an esophageal ulcer. A peptic ulcer occurs when the lining of these organs is corroded by the acidic digestive juices which are secreted by the stomach cells.
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Poisoning: Taking a substance that is injurious to health or can cause death. Poisoning is still a major hazard to children, despite child-resistant (and sometimes adult-resistant) packaging and dose-limits per container.
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Pollen: Small, light, dry protein particles from trees, grasses, flowers, and weeds that may be spread by the wind. Pollen particles are usually the male sex cells of the plant, and are smaller than the tip of a pin. Pollen is a potent stimulator of allergic responses. It lodges in the mucus membranes that line the nose and in other parts of the respiratory tract, causing irritation and histamine reactions.
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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.
Prevalence: The proportion of individuals in a population having a disease. Prevalence is a statistical concept referring to the number of cases of a disease that are present in a particular population at a given time.
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Primary: First or foremost in time or development. The primary teeth (the baby teeth) are those that come first. Primary may also refer to symptoms or a disease to which others are secondary.
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Protein: A large molecule 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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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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Psychiatric: Pertaining to or within the purview of psychiatry , the medical specialty concerned with the prevention, diagnosis , and treatment of mental illness.
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Ragweed: Any of a number of weedy composite herbs that produce a pollen that is a frequent cause of allergies. Of all allergy sufferers in the United States, 75% are allergic to ragweed.
Range: In medicine and statistics, the difference between the lowest and highest numerical values. For example, if five premature infants are born weighing two, three, four, four, and five pounds respectively, the range of their birth weights is two to five pounds.
RAST: An allergy test done on a sample of blood. The aim with RAST, as with skin tests, is to check for allergic sensitivity to specific substances.
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Regional enteritis: Crohn's disease , a chronic inflammatory disease of the intestine primarily in the small and large intestines but which can occur anywhere in the digestive system between the mouth and the anus.
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Rheumatoid arthritis : An autoimmune disease which causes chronic inflammation of the joints, the tissue around the joints, as well as other organs in the body. Autoimmune diseases occur when the body tissues are mistakenly attacked by its own immune system. The immune system is a complex organization of cells and antibodies designed normally to "seek and destroy" invaders of the body, particularly infections. Patients with these diseases have antibodies in their blood which target their own body tissues, where they can be associated with inflammation. Because it can affect multiple other organs of the body, rheumatoid arthritis is referred to as a systemic illness and is sometimes called rheumatoid disease. While rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic illness (meaning it can last for years) patients may experience long periods without symptoms.
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Runny nose: Rhinorrhea is the medical term for this common problem. From the Greek words "rhinos" meaning "of the nose" and "rhoia" meaning "a flowing."
Shock: In medicine, shock is a critical condition brought on by a sudden drop in blood flow through the body. There is failure of the circulatory system to maintain adequate blood flow. This sharply curtails the delivery of oxygen and nutrients to vital organs. It also compromises the kidney and so curtails the removal of wastes from the body. Shock can be due to a number of different mechanisms including not enough blood volume (hypovolemic shock) and not enough output of blood by the heart (cardiogenic shock). The signs and symptoms of shock include low blood pressure (hypotension), overbreathing (hyperventilation), a weak rapid pulse, cold clammy grayish-bluish (cyanotic) skin, decreased urine flow (oliguria), and mental changes (a sense of great anxiety and foreboding, confusion and, sometimes, combativeness).
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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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Small intestine: The part of the digestive tract that extends from the stomach to the large intestine.
Stomach: 1. The sac-shaped digestive organ that is located in the upper abdomen, under the ribs. The upper part of the stomach connects to the esophagus, and the lower part leads into the small intestine.
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Stool: The solid matter discharged in a bowel movement.
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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Syringe: A device used in medicine to inject fluid into or withdraw fluid from the body. Medical syringes consist of a needle attached to a hollow cylinder that is fitted with a sliding plunger. The downward movement of the plunger injects fluid; upward movement withdraws fluid.
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Taste: Taste belongs to our chemical sensing system, or the chemosenses. The complicated process of tasting begins when molecules released by the substances stimulate special cells in the mouth or throat. These special sensory cells transmit messages through nerves to the brain where specific tastes are identified.
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Temperature: The temperature is the specific degree of hotness or coldness of the body. It is usually measured with a thermometer.
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Throat: The throat is the anterior (front) portion of the neck beginning at the back of the mouth , consisting anatomically of the pharynx and larynx . The throat contains the trachea and a portion of the esophagus .
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Tissue: A tissue in medicine is not like a piece of tissue paper. It is a broad term that is applied to any group of cells that perform specific functions. A tissue in medicine need not form a layer. Thus, - The bone marrow is a tissue;
- Connective tissue consists of cells that make up fibers in the framework supporting other body tissues; and
- Lymphoid tissue is the part of the body's immune system that helps protect it from bacteria and other foreign entities.
Tongue: The tongue is a strong muscle anchored to the floor of the mouth. It is covered by the lingual membrane which has special areas to detect tastes.
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Toxicity: The degree to which a substance can harm humans or animals.
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Ulcer: An area of tissue erosion, for example, of the skin or lining of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. Due to the erosion, an ulcer is concave. It is always depressed below the level of the surrounding tissue.
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