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 Male Menopause Main Article |  Glossary |  Male Menopause Index 

Male Menopause Glossary of Terms

The following are health and medical definitions of terms that appear in the Male Menopause article.

Aging: The process of becoming older, a process that is genetically determined and environmentally modulated.
See the entire definition of Aging

Androgen: A male sex hormone that promotes the development and maintenance of the male sex characteristics. The major androgen is testosterone.

Atherosclerosis: A process of progressive thickening and hardening of the walls of medium-sized and large arteries as a result of fat deposits on their inner lining.
See the entire definition of Atherosclerosis

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.

Cancer: An abnormal growth of cells which tend to proliferate in an uncontrolled way and, in some cases, to metastasize (spread).
See the entire definition of Cancer

Condition: The term "condition" has a number of biomedical meanings including the following:

  1. An unhealthy state, such as in "this is a progressive condition."
  2. A state of fitness, such as "getting into condition."
  3. Something that is essential to the occurrence of something else; essentially a "precondition."
  4. 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.

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.
See the entire definition of Depression

Diabetes: Refers to diabetes mellitus or, less often, to diabetes insipidus . Diabetes mellitus and diabetes insipidus share the name "diabetes" because they are both conditions characterized by excessive urination (polyuria).
See the entire definition of Diabetes

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.
See the entire definition of Diagnosis

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.

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.
See the entire definition of Fatigue

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.

Hormone: A chemical substance produced in the body that controls and regulates the activity of certain cells or organs.
See the entire definition of Hormone

Hormone therapy: A form of treatment that takes advantage of the fact that certain cancers depend on hormones to grow. Hormone therapy may include giving hormones to the patient or decreasing the level of hormones in the body.

Male: The traditional definition of male was "an individual of the sex that produces sperm" (or some such). However, things are not so simple today. Male can be defined by physical appearance, by chromosome constitution (see Male chromosome complement), or by gender identification.

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Menopause : The time in a woman's life when menstrual periods permanently stop; it is also called the "change of life." Menopause is the opposite of the menarche.
See the entire definition of Menopause

Natural menopause : Natural menopause occurs when the ovaries naturally decrease their production of the sex hormones estrogen and progesterone; there are no menstrual periods for 12 consecutive months; and no other biological or physiological cause can account for this.
See the entire definition of Natural menopause

Ovary: The female gonad, the ovary is one of a pair of reproductive glands in women. They are located in the pelvis, one on each side of the uterus. Each ovary is about the size and shape of an almond. The ovaries produce eggs (ova) and female hormones. During each monthly menstrual cycle, an egg is released from one ovary. The egg travels from the ovary through a fallopian tube to the uterus. The ovaries are the main source of female hormones, which control the development of female body characteristics, such as the breasts, body shape, and body hair. They also regulate the menstrual cycle and pregnancy.

Prostate: A gland within the male reproductive system that is located just below the bladder. Chestnut shaped, the prostate surrounds the beginning of the urethra, the canal that empties the bladder.
See the entire definition of Prostate

Prostate cancer: An uncontrolled (malignant) growth of cells in the prostate gland which is located at the base of the urinary bladder and is responsible for helping control urination as well as forming part of the semen. Prostate cancer is the second leading cause of death of males in the U.S.

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.

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).

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.

Testis: The testis (or testicle) is the male sex gland. A pair of testes are located behind the penis in a pouch of skin called the scrotum.
See the entire definition of Testis

Testosterone: A "male hormone" -- a sex hormone produced by the testes that encourages the development of male sexual characteristics, stimulates the activity of the male secondary sex characteristics, and prevents changes in them following castration. Chemically, testosterone is 17-beta-hydroxy-4-androstene-3-one.
See the entire definition of Testosterone

Therapy: The treatment of disease .
See the entire definition of Therapy back to top
 Male Menopause Main Article |  Glossary |  Male Menopause Index 






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