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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Akinesia: Impaired body movement; without movement (or without much movement). Akinesia is a term used in neurology to denote the absence (or poverty) of movement.
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Amino acid: One of the 20 building blocks of protein . The sequence of amino acids in a protein and, hence, the function of that protein are determined by the genetic code in the DNA .
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Anatomy: The study of form. Gross anatomy involves structures that can be seen with the naked eye. It is as opposed to microscopic anatomy (or histology) which involves structures seen under the microscope. Traditionally, both gross and microscopic anatomy have been studied in the first year of medical school in the U.S. The most celebrated textbook of anatomy in the English-speaking world is Gray's Anatomy, still a useful reference book. The word "anatomy" comes from the Greek ana- meaning up or through + tome meaning a cutting. Anatomy was once a "cutting up" because the structure of the body was originally learned through dissecting it, cutting it up. The abbreviation for anatomy is anat.
Antipsychotic: A medication (or another measure) that is believed to be effective in the treatment of psychosis. For example, aripiprazole (Abilify) is an antipsychotic medication used to treat schizophrenia.
Anxiety: A feeling of apprehension and fear characterized by physical symptoms such as palpitations , sweating, and feelings of stress . Anxiety disorders are serious medical illnesses that affect approximately 19 million American adults. These disorders fill people's lives with overwhelming anxiety and fear. Unlike the relatively mild, brief anxiety caused by a stressful event such as a business presentation or a first date, anxiety disorders are chronic, relentless, and can grow progressively worse if not treated.
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Asymptomatic: Without symptoms. For example, an asymptomatic infection is an infection with no symptoms.
Atrophy: Wasting away or diminution. Muscle atrophy is wasting of muscle, decrease in muscle mass.
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Autosomal: Pertaining to a chromosome that is not a sex chromosome; relating to any one of the chromosomes save the sex chromosomes.
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Autosomal dominant: A pattern of inheritance in which an affected individual has one copy of a mutant gene and one normal gene on a pair of autosomal chromosomes. (In contrast, autosomal recessive diseases require that the individual have two copies of the mutant gene.) Individuals with autosomal dominant diseases have a 50-50 chance of passing the mutant gene and therefore the disorder onto each of their children. Examples of autosomal dominant diseases include Huntington disease, neurofibromatosis, and polycystic kidney disease.
Basal ganglia: A region consisting of 3 clusters of neurons (called the caudate nucleus, putamen, and the globus pallidus) located at the base of the brain that are responsible for involuntary movements such as tremors, athetosis, and chorea. The basal ganglia are abnormal in a number of important neurologic conditions including Parkinson disease and Huntington disease. The term "basal ganglia" refers to the fact that this region is in the "basement" of the brain.
Biochemistry: The chemistry of biology, the application of the tools and concepts of chemistry to living systems.
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Brain: That part of the central nervous system that is located within the cranium ( skull ). The brain functions as the primary receiver, organizer and distributor of information for the body. It has two (right and left) halves called "hemispheres."
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Cavities: Holes in the two outer layers of a tooth called the enamel and the dentin. The enamel is the outermost white hard surface and the dentin is the yellow layer just beneath enamel. Both layers serve to protect the inner living tooth tissue called the pulp, where blood vessels and nerves reside. Small cavities may not cause pain, and may be unnoticed by the patient. Larger cavities can collect food, and the inner pulp of the affected tooth can become irritated by bacterial toxins, foods that are cold, hot, sour, or sweet - causing toothache. Also referred to as caries.
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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Chorea: Ceaseless rapid complex body movements that look well coordinated and purposeful but are, in fact, involuntary.
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Chromosome: A visible carrier of the genetic information.
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Chromosomes: The microscopically visible carriers of the genetic material. They are composed of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and proteins and, under a microscope, look like little rods.
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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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Clinical trials: Trials to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of medications or medical devices by monitoring their effects on large groups of people.
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Cognition: The process of knowing and, more precisely, the process of being aware, knowing, thinking, learning and judging. The study of cognition touches on the fields of psychology, linguistics, computer science, neuroscience, mathematics, ethology and philosophy.
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Cognitive: Pertaining to cognition , the process of knowing and, more precisely, the process of being aware, knowing, thinking, learning and judging. The study of cognition touches on the fields of psychology , linguistics, computer science, neuroscience , mathematics, ethology and philosophy.
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Computed tomography: An x-ray procedure that uses the help of a computer to produce a detailed picture of a cross section of the body. Also called a CT scan or CAT scan.
Conception: 1. The union of the sperm and the ovum. Synonymous with fertilization.
2. The onset of pregnancy, marked by implantation of the blastocyst into the endometrium.
3. A basic understanding of a situation or a principle.
From the Latin conceptio, conceptionis meaning conception, becoming pregnant; drawing up of legal formulae; and from the Latin conceptus meaning conceiving, pregnancy; collecting, or a collection.
Constipation: Infrequent (and frequently incomplete) bowel movements. The opposite of diarrhea, constipation is commonly caused by irritable bowel syndrome, diverticulosis, and medications (constipation can paradoxically be caused by overuse of laxatives). Colon cancer can narrow the colon and thereby cause constipation. The large bowel (colon) can be visualized by barium enema x-rays, sigmoidoscopy, and colonoscopy. Barring a condition such as cancer, high-fiber diets can frequently relieve the constipation.
Contraction: The tightening and shortening of a muscle.
Cortex: The outer portion of an organ.
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CT scan: Computerized tomography scan. Pictures of structures within the body created by a computer that takes the data from multiple X-ray images and turns them into pictures on a screen. CT stands for computerized tomography.
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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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Dehydration : Excessive loss of body water. Diseases of the gastrointestinal tract that cause vomiting or diarrhea may, for example, lead to dehydration. There are a number of other causes of dehydration including heat exposure, prolonged vigorous exercise (e.g., in a marathon), kidney disease, and medications (diuretics).
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Deoxyribonucleic acid: DNA. One of two types of molecules that encode genetic information. (The other is RNA. In humans DNA is the genetic material; RNA is transcribed from it. In some other organisms, RNA is the genetic material and, in reverse fashion, the DNA is transcribed from it.)
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Depression : An illness that involves the body, mood, and thoughts, that affects the way a person eats and sleeps, the way one feels about oneself, and the way one thinks about things. A depressive disorder is not the same as a passing blue mood. It is not a sign of personal weakness or a condition that can be wished away. People with a depressive disease cannot merely "pull themselves together" and get better. Without treatment, symptoms can last for weeks, months, or years. Appropriate treatment, however, can help most people with depression.
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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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DNA: Deoxyribonucleic acid. One of two types of molecules that encode genetic information. (The other is RNA . In humans DNA is the genetic material; RNA is transcribed from it. In some other organisms, RNA is the genetic material and, in reverse fashion, the DNA is transcribed from it.)
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DNA sequence: The precise ordering of the bases (A,T,G,C) from which the DNA is composed.
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Dystonia: Involuntary movements and prolonged muscle contraction, resulting in twisting body motions, tremor, and abnormal posture. These movements may involve the entire body, or only an isolated area. Symptoms may even be "task specific," such as writer's cramp. Dystonia can be inherited, occur sporadically without any genetic pattern, or be associated with medications or diseases (for example, a specific form of lung cancer). The gene responsible for at least one form of dystonia has recently been identified. Some types of dystonia respond to dopamine, or can be controlled with sedative-type medications, or surgery.
Embryo: The organism in the early stages of growth and differentiation from fertilization to, in humans, the beginning of the third month of pregnancy . After that point in time, it is termed a fetus.
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Essential: 1. Something that cannot be done without.
2. Required in the diet, because the body cannot make it. As in an essential amino acid or an essential fatty acid.
3. Idiopathic. As in essential hypertension. "Essential" is a hallowed term meaning "We don't know the cause."
Familial: A condition that is tends to occur more often in family members than expected by chance alone. A familial disease may be genetic (such as cystic fibrosis ) or environmental (such as tuberculosis ).
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Family history: The family structure and relationships within the family, including information about diseases in family members.
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Father: (1) The male parent. (2) One who originates. For example, "Wilhelm Roentgen is considered the father of radiology." (3) To produce offspring as a male. (4) To provide paternal protection and guidance to children.
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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Feeding tube: See: Enteral nutrition.
Fertilization: Fertilization is the process of combining the male gamete, or "sperm," with the female gamete, or "ovum." The product of this combination is a cell called a zygote.
Fetus: The unborn offspring from the end of the 8th week after conception (when the major structures have formed) until birth. Up until the eighth week, the developing offspring is called an embryo.
Gastrointestinal: Adjective referring collectively to the stomach and small and large intestines.
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Gene: The basic biological unit of heredity . A segment of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) needed to contribute to a function.
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Gene testing: Testing a sample of blood (or another fluid or tissue) for evidence of a gene. The evidence can be biochemical, chromosomal, or genetic. The aim is to learn whether a gene for a disease is present or absent.
Genes: The basic biological units of heredity . Segments of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) needed to contribute to a function.
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Genetic: Having to do with genes and genetic information.
Genetic counseling: An educational counseling process for individuals and families who have a genetic disease or who are at risk for such a disease. Genetic counseling is designed to provide patients and their families with information about their condition and help them make informed decisions.
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Genetic counselor: A health professional with a specialized graduate degree and experience in the areas of medical genetics and counseling.
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Genetic disease: A disease caused by an abnormality in an individual's genome .
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Genetic testing: Tests done for clinical genetic purposes. Genetic tests may be done for diverse purposes pertaining to clinical genetics, including the diagnosis of genetic disease in children and adults; the identification of future disease risks; the prediction of drug responses; and the detection of risks of disease to future children.
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Genetics: The scientific study of heredity . Genetics pertains to humans and all other organisms. So, for example, there is human genetics, mouse genetics, fruitfly genetics, etc.
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Glutamine: An amino acid, one of the 20 building blocks of protein. Glutamine is present in plant and animal proteins. It can be synthesized by the body and is therefore not essential to the diet. Glutamine serves as an important carrier of ammonia and contributes it to the formation of urea and purines (which are essential to make DNA and RNA). Glutamine is broken down in the kidney. It was isolated in 1833 from beet juice but not synthesized until 1933. Symbol: Gln.
Guanine: One of the four bases in DNA that make up the letters ATGC. Guanine is the "G". The others are adenine, cytosine, and thymine. Guanine always pairs with cytosine to form the base pair G-C (guanine-cytosine) in the DNA. The other base pair in the DNA is A-T (adenine-thymine). Each base pair forms a rung in the DNA ladder. Guanine is also one of the four bases in RNA.
Heredity: Genetic transmission from parent to child.
Horizontal: In anatomy, a plane passing through the standing body. A person lying on a bed is considered in a horizontal position.
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Huntingtin: The name of the gene responsible for Huntington disease (HD) and of the protein encoded by that gene. The molecular basis of HD is an increase in the length of a CAG triplet repeat (or 'polyglutamine') within the huntingtin gene. The gene is on chromosome 4p16.3.
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Huntington disease : An hereditary disorder with mental and physical deterioration leading to death. Although characterized as an "adult-onset" disease, it can affect children as well.
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In vitro: Literally in glass, as in a test tube. A test that is performed in vitro is one that is done in glass or plastic vessels in the laboratory.
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In vitro fertilization: IVF, a laboratory procedure in which sperm are placed with an unfertilized egg in a Petri dish to achieve fertilization . The embryo is then transferred into the uterus to begin a pregnancy or cryopreserved (frozen) for future use. IVF was originally devised to permit women with damaged or absent Fallopian tubes to have a baby. Normally a mature egg is released from the ovary (ovulated), then enters the Fallopian tube, and waits in the neck of the tube for a sperm to fertilize it. With defective Fallopian tubes, this is not possible. The first IVF baby, Louise Joy Brown, was born in England in 1978.
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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.
Indicate: In medicine, to make a treatment or procedure advisable because of a particular condition or circumstance. For example, certain medications are indicated for the treatment of hypertension during pregnancy while others are contraindicated.
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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Inheritance: Not something that is contained in a will, but rather a gene, chromosome or genome that is transmitted from parent to child.
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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.
Involuntary: Done other than in accordance with the conscious will of the individual. The opposite of voluntary.
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Isolate: A group in which mating is always between members of the group. For example, the Amish.
Juvenile: Between infantile and adult as, for example, in juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (onset before age 16 years) and juvenile diabetes (type 1 diabetes).
Kindred: An extended family or clan, a group of related individuals. The term "kindred" is used in population studies of diseases or genetic traits.
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Knockout: Inactivation of specific genes. Knockouts are often created in laboratory organisms such as yeast or mice so that scientists can study the knockout organism as a model for a particular disease.
Laboratory: A place for doing tests and research procedures and preparing chemicals, etc. Although "laboratory" looks very like the Latin "laboratorium" (a place to labor, a work place), the word "laboratory" came from the Latin "elaborare" (to work out, as a problem, and with great pains), as evidenced by the Old English spelling "elaboratory" designating "a place where learned effort was applied to the solution of scientific problems."
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Lithium : Lithium carbonate (brand names: Eskalith; Lithobid), a drug used as a mood stabilizer for the treatment of manic/depressive (bipolar) disorder . It prevents or diminishes the intensity of episodes of mania in bipolar patients. Typical symptoms of mania include pressure of speech, motor hyperactivity, reduced need for sleep , flight of ideas, grandiosity, elation, poor judgment, aggressiveness and possibly hostility.
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Long-term care facility: A facility that provides rehabilitative, restorative, and/or ongoing skilled nursing care to patients or residents in need of assistance with activities of daily living. Long-term care facilities include nursing homes, rehabilitation facilities, inpatient behavioral health facilities, and long-term chronic care hospitals.
Magnetic resonance imaging : A special radiology technique designed to image internal structures of the body using magnetism, radio waves, and a computer to produce the images of body structures. In magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), the scanner is a tube surrounded by a giant circular magnet. The patient is placed on a moveable bed that is inserted into the magnet. The magnet creates a strong magnetic field that aligns the protons of hydrogen atoms, which are then exposed to a beam of radio waves. This spins the various protons of the body, and they produce a faint signal that is detected by the receiver portion of the MRI scanner. A computer processes the receiver information, and an image is produced. The image and resolution is quite detailed and can detect tiny changes of structures within the body, particularly in the soft tissue, brain and spinal cord, abdomen and joints.
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Marker: A piece of DNA that lies on a chromosome so close to a gene that the marker and the gene are inherited together. A marker is thus an identifiable heritable spot on a chromosome. A marker can be an expressed region of DNA (a gene) or a segment of DNA with no known coding function. All that matters is that the marker can be detected and trailed.
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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.
Memory: 1. The ability to recover information about past events or knowledge. 2. The process of recovering information about past events or knowledge. 3. Cognitive reconstruction. The brain engages in a remarkable reshuffling process in an attempt to extract what is general and what is particular about each passing moment.
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Metabolic: Relating to metabolism, the whole range of biochemical processes that occur within us (or any living organism). Metabolism consists of anabolism (the buildup of substances) and catabolism (the breakdown of substances).
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Metabolism: The whole range of biochemical processes that occur within us (or any living organism). Metabolism consists both of anabolism and catabolism (the buildup and breakdown of substances, respectively). The term is commonly used to refer specifically to the breakdown of food and its transformation into energy.
Mitochondria: Normal structures responsible for energy production in cells. Mitochondria are located in the cytoplasm outside the nucleus of the cell. They consist of two sets of membranes, a smooth continuous outer coat and an inner membrane arranged in tubules or in folds that form plate-like double membranes (cristae).
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Molecule: The smallest unit of a substance that can exist alone and retain the character of that substance.
Motor: In medicine, having to do with the movement of a part of the body. Something that produces motion or refers to motion. For example, a motor neuron is a nerve cell that conveys an impulse to a muscle causing it to contract. The term "motor" today is also applied to a nerve that signals a gland to secrete. Motor is as opposed to sensory.
MRI: Abbreviation and nickname for magnetic resonance imaging. For more information, see: Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Paul C. Lauterbur; Peter Mansfield.
Mucus: A thick slippery fluid produced by the membranes lining certain organs such as the nose, mouth, throat, and vagina. Mucus is the Latin word for "a semifluid, slimy discharge from the nose." Note that mucus is a noun while the adjective is mucous.
Muscle: Muscle is the tissue of the body which primarily functions as a source of power. There are three types of muscle in the body. Muscle which is responsible for moving extremities and external areas of the body is called "skeletal muscle." Heart muscle is called "cardiac muscle." Muscle that is in the walls of arteries and bowel is called "smooth muscle."
Muscular: Having to do with the muscles. Also, endowed with above average muscle development. Muscular system refers to all of the muscles of the body collectively.
Mutation: A permanent change, a structural alteration, in the DNA or RNA . In humans and many other organisms, mutations occur in DNA. However, in retroviruses like HIV , mutations occur in RNA which is the genetic material of retroviruses.
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Myoclonus: A condition of abnormal contraction of muscles or portions of muscles.
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.
Nerve cell: See: Neuron.
Neurological: Having to do with the nerves or the nervous system.
Neurologist: A doctor who specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of disorders of the nervous system.
Neurology: The medical specialty concerned with the diagnosis and treatment of disorders of the nervous system -- the brain, the spinal cord, and the nerves.
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Neuron: A nerve cell that sends and receives electrical signals over long distances within the body. A neuron may send electrical output signals to muscle neurons (called motor neurons or motoneurons) and to other neurons. A neuron may receive electrical input signals from sensory cells (called sensory neurons) and from other neurons. A neuron that simply signals another neuron is called an interneuron.
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NIH: The National Institutes of Health. The NIH is an important U.S. health agency. It is devoted to medical research. Administratively under the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the NIH consists of 20-some separate Institutes and Centers. NIH's program activities are represented by these Institutes and Centers.
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NINDS: Stands for the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, one of the National Institutes of Health in the U.S., whose mission is to "support and conduct research and research training on the normal structure and function of the nervous system and on the causes, prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of more than 600 nervous system disorders including stroke, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease, head and spinal cord injury, Alzheimer's disease, and brain tumors."
Normal range: By convention, the normal range for whatever (a particular test, condition, symptom, behavior, etc.) is set to cover ninety-five percent (95%) of all values from the general population. Five percent (5%) of results consequently fall outside the normal range. Values that prove normal can therefore sometimes be outside the normal range.
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Nuclei: The plural of nucleus.
Nucleus: 1) In cell biology, the structure that houses the chromosomes. 2) In neuroanatomy, a group of nerve cells.
Nursing: 1) Profession concerned with the provision of services essential to the maintenance and restoration of health by attending the needs of sick persons. 2) Feeding a infant at the breast.
Nutrition : 1) The science or practice of taking in and utilizing foods. 2) A nourishing substance, such as nutritional solutions delivered to hospitalized patients via an IV or IG tube.
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Offspring: The offspring are strictly speaking the progeny, or young, born to a person.
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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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Pallidum: Part of what are called the basal ganglia of the brain which consist of the globus pallidus and the ventral pallidum. The globus pallidus itself is a pale-appearing spherical area in the brain. (Globus is a Latin word meaning a globe or sphere. Pallidus refers to its pallor relative to the surrounding brain substance.) The globus pallidus is specifically part of what is called the lentiform nucleus which, in turn, is part of the striate body, a component of the basal ganglia, large masses of gray matter at the base of the cerebral hemispheres of the brain.
Parkinson's disease: See: Parkinson disease.
Pedigree: In medicine, a family health history diagrammed with a set of international symbols to indicate the individuals in the family, their relationships to one another, those with a disease, etc.
Physiology: The study of how living organisms function including such processes as nutrition, movement, and reproduction.
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Pneumonia: Inflammation of one or both lungs with consolidation. Pneumonia is frequently but not always due to infection. The infection may be bacterial, viral, fungal or parasitic. Symptoms may include fever, chills, cough with sputum production, chest pain, and shortness of breath.
Positron emission tomography: PET. A highly specialized imaging technique that uses short-lived radioactive substances to produce three-dimensional colored images of those substances functioning within the body. These images are called PET scans and the technique is termed PET scanning.
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Pregnancy : The state of carrying a developing embryo or fetus within the female body. This condition can be indicated by positive results on an over-the-counter urine test, and confirmed through a blood test, ultrasound, detection of fetal heartbeat, or an X-ray. Pregnancy lasts for about nine months, measured from the date of the woman's last menstrual period (LMP). It is conventionally divided into three trimesters, each roughly three months long.
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Prenatal: Occurring or existing before birth.
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Programmed cell death: A term often used interchangeably with apoptosis. See: Apoptosis.
Progressive: Increasing in scope or severity. Advancing. Going forward. In medicine, a disease that is progressive is going from bad to worse.
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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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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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Psychiatrist: A physician (an M.D.) who specializes in the prevention , diagnosis, and treatment of mental illness . Psychiatrists must receive additional training and serve a supervised residency in their specialty. They may also have additional training in a psychiatric specialty, such as child psychiatry or neuropsychiatry. They can prescribe medication, which psychologists cannot do.
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Putamen: An area in the brain within a structure called the lentiform nucleus. The putamen may decrease in size as a result of damage in Huntington's disease .
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Recessive: A condition that appears only in individuals who have received two copies of a mutant gene, one copy from each parent. The individuals with a double dose of the mutated gene are called homozygotes. Their parents, each with a single dose of the mutated gene, appear normal and are called heterozygotes, or gene carriers.
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Regimen: With the accent on the first syllable (reg as in Reggie Jackson), a regimen is a plan, a regulated course such as a diet, exercise or treatment, designed to give a good result. A low-salt diet is a regimen.
Resident: In medicine, a physician who has finished medical school and internship and is now receiving training in a specialized area as, for example, surgery, internal medicine, pathology or radiology. Board certification in all medical and surgical specialties requires the satisfactory completion of a residency program.
Rule out: A term much used in medicine, meaning to eliminate or exclude something from consideration. The ACB (albumin cobalt binding) test helps rule out a heart attack in the differential diagnosis of severe chest pain.
Scan: As a noun, the data or image obtained from the examination of organs or regions of the body by gathering information with a sensing device.
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Senile: 1. Pertaining to old age. 2. Pertaining to the physical decline associated with old age. 3. Pertaining to the mental decline once associated with old age but now known to be due to dementia , such as Alzheimer's disease or cerebral atherosclerosis . "The road to senility is paved with plaques." (Paul F. Wehrle, MD [1921-2004] pediatrician and vaccine researcher)
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Senile chorea: A relatively mild and uncommon disorder that occurs in elderly adults and is characterized by choreic movements.
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Sensation: In medicine and physiology , sensation refers to the registration of an incoming ( afferent ) nerve impulse in that part of the brain called the sensorium , which is capable of such perception. Therefore, the awareness of a stimulus as a result of its perception by sensory receptors. (Sensory is here synonymous with sensation.)
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Speech therapy: The treatment of speech and communication disorders. The approach used depends on the disorder. It may include physical exercises to strengthen the muscles used in speech (oral-motor work), speech drills to improve clarity, or sound production practice to improve articulation.
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Sperm: A sperm is the male "gamete" or sex cell. It combines with the female "gamete," called an ovum, to form a zygote. The formation process is called "fertilization." (see ovum, zygote).
Sporadic: Occurring upon occasion or in a scattered, isolated or seemingly random way.
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Stage: As regards cancer , the extent of a cancer, especially whether the disease has spread from the original site to other parts of the body. See also: Staging .
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Stress: Forces from the outside world impinging on the individual. Stress is a normal part of life that can help us learn and grow. Conversely, stress can cause us significant problems.
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Striatum: Part of the basal ganglia of the brain. The basal ganglia are interconnected masses of gray matter located in the interior regions of the cerebral hemispheres and in the upper part of the brainstem.
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Stroke : The sudden death of some brain cells due to a lack of oxygen when the blood flow to the brain is impaired by blockage or rupture of an artery to the brain. A stroke is also called a cerebrovascular accident or, for short, a CVA.
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Substance: 1. Material with particular features, as a pressor substance.
2. The material that makes up an organ or structure. Also known in medicine as the substantia.
3. A psychoactive drug as, for example, in substance abuse.
Symptom: Any subjective evidence of disease. Anxiety, lower back pain, and fatigue are all symptoms. They are sensations only the patient can perceive. In contrast, a sign is objective evidence of disease. A bloody nose is a sign. It is evident to the patient, doctor, nurse and other observers.
Symptomatic: 1 With symptoms, as a symptomatic infection. 2 Characteristic, as behavior symptomatic of Huntington disease. 3 Directed at the symptoms, as symptomatic treatment.
Therapeutic: Relating to therapeutics , that part of medicine concerned specifically with the treatment of disease . The therapeutic dose of a drug is the amount needed to treat a disease.
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Therapeutics: In medicine, the branch that deals specifically with the treatment of disease and the art and science of healing.
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Therapy: The treatment of disease .
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Tomography: The process for generating a tomogram , a two-dimensional image of a slice or section through a three-dimensional object. Tomography achieves this remarkable result by simply moving an x-ray source in one direction as the x-ray film is moved in the opposite direction during the exposure to sharpen structures in the focal plane, while structures in other planes appear blurred. The tomogram is the picture; the tomograph is the apparatus; and tomography is the process.
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Trait: In genetics, a trait refers to any genetically determined characteristic. In technical terms, a genetic trait is amenable to segregation analysis rather than quantitative analysis.
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Transgenic: Having genetic material ( DNA ) from another species. This term can be applied to an organism that has genes from another organism. It is understood that the foreign genes are in the transgenic animal's germ-cell DNA and so can be transmitted from one generation to the next.
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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.
Triplet: One of three, as: 1. One of three babies in a multiple birth. Or three animals gestated together. 2. In genetics, a set of three bases in DNA. Also called a codon. See: Crick-Brenner experiment. 3. In optics, a combination of three simple lenses cemented together.
The word triplet came into use in the mid-17th century. It was formed from triple, just as doublet was formed from double.
Uncertainty: You may be uncertain why "uncertainty" deserves a place in a medical dictionary but some would say that uncertainty is a key element in medicine.
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Urine: Liquid waste. The urine is a clear, transparent fluid. It normally has an amber color. The average amount of urine excreted in 24 hours is from 40 to 60 ounces (about 1,200 cubic centimeters). Chemically, the urine is mainly an aqueous (watery) solution of salt (sodium chloride) and substances called urea and uric acid. Normally, it contains about 960 parts of water to 40 parts of solid matter. Abnormally, it may contain sugar (in diabetes), albumen (a protein) (as in some forms of kidney disease), bile pigments (as in jaundice), or abnormal quantities of one or another of its normal components.
Uterus: The uterus (womb) is a hollow, pear-shaped organ located in a woman's lower abdomen between the bladder and the rectum. The narrow, lower portion of the uterus is the cervix; the broader, upper part is the corpus. The corpus is made up of two layers of tissue.
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Ventricles: 1, The right ventricle and the left ventricle, the lower two chambers of the heart. 2. Two or more of the four connected spaces within the central portion of the brain.
Vertical: In anatomy, upright. As opposed to horizontal.
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Vital: Necessary to maintain life. Breathing is a vital function.
Vitamins: The word "vitamin" was coined in 1911 by the Warsaw-born biochemist Casimir Funk (1884-1967). At the Lister Institute in London, Funk isolated a substance that prevented nerve inflammation (neuritis) in chickens raised on a diet deficient in that substance. He named the substance "vitamine" because he believed it was necessary to life and it was a chemical amine. The "e" at the end was later removed when it was recognized that vitamins need not be amines.
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Voluntary: Done in accordance with the conscious will of the individual. The opposite of involuntary.
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Y chromosome: The sex chromosome found together with an X chromosome in most normal males. Once thought to be a genetic wasteland, the Y now is known to contain at least 20 genes, some of them unique to the Y including the male-determining gene and male fitness genes that are active only in the testis and are thought responsible for the formation of sperm. Other genes on the Y have counterparts on the X chromosome, are active in many body tissues and play crucial "housekeeping" roles with the cell.
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From the Doctors at MedicineNet.com  |
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