The following are health and medical definitions of terms that appear in the Mad Cow Disease article.
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).
Analysis: A psychology term for processes used to gain understanding of complex emotional or behavioral issues.
Bovine: Having to do with cows and cattle, as in bovine spongiform encephalopathy (mad cow disease), bovine tuberculosis, and bovine growth hormone.
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."
Chronic: This important term in medicine comes from the Greek chronos, time and means lasting a long time. See the entire definition of Chronic
Chronic wasting disease: A transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE) of North American deer and elk, a progressive neurodegenerative disorder that produces spongiform changes in the brain and chronic weight loss leading to the death of these animals. There is no known relationship between chronic wasting disease (CWD) and any other TSE of animals or people. See the entire definition of Chronic wasting disease
Distal: The more (or most) distant of two (or more) things. For example, the distal end of the femur (the thigh bone) is the end down by the knee; the end more distant from the torso. The distal bile duct is the far end of the cystic duct, the end away from the gallbladder. And the distal lymph node in a chain of nodes is the most distant one. The opposite of distal is proximal. See the entire definition of Distal
Encephalopathy: Disease, damage, or malfunction of the brain. In general, encephalopathy is manifested by an altered mental state that is sometimes accompanied by physical changes. Although numerous causes of encephalopathy are known, the majority of cases arise from infection, liver damage, anoxia, or kidney failure. The term encephalopathy is very broad and, in most cases, is preceded by various terms that describe the reason, cause, or special conditions of the patient that leads to brain malfunction. For example, anoxic encephalopathy means brain damage due to lack of oxygen, and hepatic encephalopathy means brain malfunction due to liver disease. Depending upon the cause and severity of the condition, symptoms may range from mild alterations in mental status to severe and potentially fatal manifestations such as dementia, seizures, and coma.
Fats: Plural of the word "fat". See the definition of fat.
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. See the entire definition of FDA
Food and Drug Administration: The FDA, an agency within the U.S. Public Health Service, which is a part of the Department of Health and Human Services. See the entire definition of Food and Drug Administration
Ileum: The lowest part of the small intestine, located beyond the duodenum and jejunum, just before the large intestine (the colon). Pronounced "il-eum" in the US and "eye-leum" in the UK. See the entire definition of Ileum
Incidence: The frequency with which something, such as a disease, appears in a particular population or area. In disease epidemiology, the incidence is the number of newly diagnosed cases during a specific time period. The incidence is distinct from the prevalence which refers to the number of cases alive on a certain date.
Infectivity: The proportion of persons exposed to an infectious agent who become infected by it.
Intestine: The long, tubelike organ in the abdomen that completes the process of digestion. It consists of the small and large intestines.
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."
Neural: Having to do with nerve cells.
Neurological: Having to do with the nerves or the nervous system.
Prion: A disease-causing agent that is neither bacterial nor fungal nor viral and contains no genetic material. A prion is a protein that occurs normally in a harmless form. By folding into an aberrant shape, the normal prion turns into a rogue agent. It then coopts other normal prions to become rogue prions. See the entire definition of Prion
Prion disease: A disease due to a prion, a proteinaceous infectious particle that lacks nucleic acids. Prions are composed largely, if not entirely, of an altered formal (an abnormal isoform) of a normal cellular protein. See the entire definition of Prion disease
Progressive: Increasing in scope or severity. Advancing. Going forward. In medicine, a disease that is progressive is going from bad to worse.
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. See the entire definition of Protein
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. See the entire definition of Proteins
Public health: The approach to medicine that is concerned with the health of the community as a whole. Public health is community health. It has been said that: "Health care is vital to all of us some of the time, but public health is vital to all of us all of the time." See the entire definition of Public health
Small intestine: The part of the digestive tract that extends from the stomach to the large intestine.
Spinal cord: The major column of nerve tissue that is connected to the brain and lies within the vertebral canal and from which the spinal nerves emerge. Thirty-one pairs of spinal nerves originate in the spinal cord: 8 cervical, 12 thoracic, 5 lumbar, 5 sacral, and 1 coccygeal. The spinal cord and the brain constitute the central nervous system (CNS). The spinal cord consists of nerve fibers that transmit impulses to and from the brain. Like the brain, the spinal cord is covered by three connective-tissue envelopes called the meninges. The space between the outer and middle envelopes is filled with cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), a clear colorless fluid that cushions the spinal cord against jarring shock. Also known simply as the cord. See the entire definition of Spinal cord
Tonsils: Small masses of lymphoid tissue at the back of the throat, on either side of the throat.
Transmissible spongiform encephalopathy: One of a number of progressive neurodegenerative disorders in animals and humans caused by similar uncharacterized agents that produce spongiform changes in the brain. See the entire definition of Transmissible spongiform encephalopathy
USDA: US Department of Agriculture.
Variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease: Abbreviated vCJD. A human disease thought due to the same infectious agent as bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), or mad cow disease. Both the human and bovine disorders are invariably fatal brain diseases with unusually long incubation periods measured in years, and are caused by an unconventional transmissible agent, a prion, resulting in the deposition of amyloid tissue that causes a breakdown of brain tissue leaving the infected brain with a "spongy" ("spongiform") appearance. The disease in humans is sometimes called new variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (nvCJD). See the entire definition of Variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease
vCJD: Stands for variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, a human disease thought due to the same infectious agent as bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), or mad cow disease. Both the human and bovine disorders are invariably fatal brain diseases with unusually long incubation periods measured in years, and are caused by an unconventional transmissible agent, a prion, resulting in the deposition of amyloid tissue that causes a breakdown of brain tissue leaving the infected brain with a "spongy" ("spongiform") appearance. The disease in humans is sometimes called new variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (nvCJD). See the entire definition of vCJD
Wasting:1. Gradual loss (for example, of weight), deterioration, emaciation. As in a wasting disease. 2. Excessive depletion. As in salt wasting, the excessive loss of salt.
Western blot: A technique in molecular biology, used to separate and identify proteins. See the entire definition of Western blot
World Health Organization: An agency of the United Nations established in 1948 to further international cooperation in improving health conditions. Although the World Health Organization inherited specific tasks relating to epidemic control, quarantine measures, and drug standardization from the Health Organization of the League of Nations (that was set up in 1923) and from the International Office of Public Health at Paris (established in 1909), the World Health Organization was given a broad mandate under its constitution to promote the attainment of "the highest possible level of health" by all people. WHO defines health positively as "a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity." See the entire definition of World Health Organization
Food poisoning is common, but can also be life threatening. The most common form of food poisoning is caused by bacteria and include symptoms such as fever, abdominal pain, diarrhea, nausea and vomiting.
Encephalopathy means brain disease, damage, or malfunction. Causes of encephalopathy are varied and numerous. The main symptom of encephalopathy is an altered mental state. Other symptoms include lethargy, dementia, seizures, tremors, and coma. Treatment of encephalopathy depends on the type of encephalopathy (anoxia, diabetic, Hashimoto's, hepatic, hyper - hypotensive, infectious, metabolic, infections, uremic, or Wernicke's) are examples of types of encephalopathy.
Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) is a rare, degenerative, invariably fatal brain disorder. CJD generally appears in the later years and runs a rapid course. Symptoms of CJD include failing memory, lack of coordination, visual disturbances, failing memory, blindness, weakness, and eventually coma. There are three major categories of CJD; 1) sporadic CJD, 2) hereditary CJD, and 3) acquired CJD. There is no cure for Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease.
Food poisoning is a common infection that affects millions of people in the
United States each year.
Most commonly, patients complain of vomiting, diarrhea, and crampy
abdominal pain.
People should seek medical care if they have an associated fever, blood
in their stool, signs and symptoms of dehydration, or if their symptoms do not
resolve after a couple of days.
Treatment focuses on keeping the patient well hydrated.
Most cases of food poisoning resolve on their own.
Prevention is key and depends upon keeping food preparation areas clean,
good hand washing, and cooking foods thoroughly.
What is food poisoning?
Food poisoning might be described as a food borne disease. Food that contains
a toxin, chemical or infectious agent (like a bacterium, virus, parasite, or
prion) and cause symptoms in the body are considered types of food pois...
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