Analysis: A psychology term for processes used to gain understanding of complex emotional or behavioral issues.
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Anesthesia: Loss of feeling or awareness. A general anesthetic puts the person to sleep. A local anesthetic causes loss of feeling in a part of the body such as a tooth or an area of skin without affecting consciousness. Regional anesthesia numbs a larger part of the body such as a leg or arm, also without affecting consciousness. The term "conduction anesthesia" encompasses both local and regional anesthetic techniques. Many surgical procedures can be done with conduction anesthesia without significant pain. In many situations, such as a C-section, conduction anesthesia is safer and therefore preferable to general anesthesia. However, there are also many types of surgery in which general anesthesia is clearly appropriate.
Attention: The ability to focus selectively on a selected stimulus, sustaining that focus and shifting it at will. The ability to concentrate.
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Benign: Not cancer. Not malignant . A benign tumor does not invade surrounding tissue or spread to other parts of the body. A benign tumor may grow but it stays put (in the same place).
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Biopsy: The removal of a sample of tissue for purposes of diagnosis. (Many definitions of "biopsy" stipulate that the sample of tissue is removed for examination under a microscope. This may or may not be the case. The diagnosis may be achieved by other means such as by analysis of chromosomes or genes.)
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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).
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Chemotherapy : 1. In the original sense, a chemical that binds to and specifically kills microbes or tumor cells. The term chemotherapy was coined in this regard by Paul Ehrlich (1854-1915).
2. In oncology, drug therapy for cancer. Also called "chemo" for short.
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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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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.
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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Dermatologist: A doctor who specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of skin problems.
Dermatology: 1. The branch of medicine concerned with the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of diseases of the skin, hair, nails, oral cavity and genitals. 2. Sometimes also, cosmetic care and enhancement.
Dermatology is literally the study of the skin.
Dermatoscopy: A noninvasive diagnostic technique for the early diagnosis of melanoma and the evaluation of other pigmented and non-pigmented lesions on the skin that are not as well seen with the unaided eye. Also known as surface microscopy, dermoscopy, and epiluminescence microscopy.
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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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.
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."
Eye: The organ of sight. The eye has a number of components. These components include but are not limited to the cornea, iris, pupil, lens, retina, macula, optic nerve, choroid and vitreous.
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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.
Freckle: A flat circular spot on the skin about the size of the head of a nail that develops after repeated exposure to sunlight, particularly in someone of fair complexion. Freckles may be red, yellow, tan, light-brown, brown, or black. They are always darker than the skin around them since they are due to deposits of the dark melanin , a dark pigment .
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Freckles: See: Freckle.
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.
Immune: Protected against infection. The Latin immunis means free, exempt.
Immune response: Any reaction by the immune system.
Immunotherapy: Treatment to stimulate or restore the ability of the immune (defense) system to fight infection and disease. Biological therapy is thus any form of treatment that uses the body's natural abilities that constitute the immune system to fight infection and disease or to protect the body from some of the side effects of treatment.
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Interferon : A naturally occurring substance that interferes with the ability of viruses to reproduce. Interferon also boosts the immune system.
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Interleukins: Substances used in biological therapy. Interleukins stimulate the growth and activities of certain kinds of white blood cells.
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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Laser: A powerful beam of light that can produce intense heat when focused at close range. Lasers are used in medicine in microsurgery, cauterization, for diagnostic purposes, etc. For example, lasers are employed in microsurgery to cut tissue and remove tissue.
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Lentigo: A type of freckle that is a small tan, brown, or black spot which tends to be darker than the usual (ephelis-type) freckle and which do not fade in the winter. This kind of spot is referred to as lentigo simplex. Although lentigines may be part of a genetic disorder, for the most part they are just isolated and unimportant spots. (The genetic disorder in which lentigines occur is called the LEOPARD syndrome.)
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Lesion: Pronounced "lee-sion" with the emphasis on the "lee," a lesion can be almost any abnormality involving any tissue or organ due to any disease or any injury.
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Lymph: An almost colorless fluid that travels through vessels called lymphatics in the lymphatic system and carries cells that help fight infection and disease.
Melanoma : The most dangerous form of skin cancer, a malignancy of the melanocyte, the cell that produces pigment in the skin. Melanoma is most common in people with fair skin, but can occur in people with all skin colors. Most melanomas present as a dark, mole-like spot that spreads and, unlike a mole, has an irregular border. The tendency toward melanoma may be inherited, and the risk increases with overexposure to the sun and sunburn.
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Metastasize: The spread from one part of the body to another. When cancer cells metastasize and cause secondary tumors, the cells in the metastatic tumor are like those in the original cancer.
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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.
Microscopy: The examination of minute objects by means of a microscope, an instrument which provides an enlarged image of an object not visible with the naked eye.
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Mind: That which thinks, reasons, perceives, wills, and feels. The mind now appears in no way separate from the brain. In neuroscience, there is no duality between the mind and body. They are one.
Mole: 1. In dermatology, a pigmented spot on the skin, Also called a nevus. 2. In gynecology, a mass within the uterus formed of partly developed products of conception.
3. In biochemistry, the molecular weight of a substance. In more technical terms, a mole is the number of atoms in exactly 12 g of carbon-12. Mole in this sense is short for molecular weight.
Monoclonal: Pertaining to a single clone of cells, a single cell and the progeny of that cell. As opposed to polyclonal.
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Nevi: The plural of nevus.
Nevus: 1. Any birthmark.
2. A benign pigmented spot on the skin such as a mole (a cluster of melanocytes and supportive tissue that appears as a tan, brown, or flesh-colored spot on the skin).
3. A benign blood vessel tumor on the skin such as a vascular nevus, a local collection of capillaries of the skin (a strawberry birthmark, stork mark, or port wine stain).
From the Latin naevus meaning a body mole, especially a birthmark. The plural of nevus is nevi.
Nodular: Bumpy.
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Nodular melanoma: See: Melanoma, nodular.
Olive: In neuroanatomy, a rounded oval prominence on the surface of the medulla oblongata in the brain. There are two olives, corresponding to the two olivary bodies, one on each side of the medulla oblongata. Nerve fibers in the olivopontocerebellar pathway connect the olives to the pons and cerebellum .
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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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Pathologist: A doctor who identifies diseases by studying cells and tissues under a microscope.
Pigment: A substance that gives color to tissue. Pigments are responsible for the color of skin, eyes, and hair.
Precancerous: Pertaining to something that is not yet overtly cancerous, but appears to be on its way to becoming a cancer . Synonymous with premalignant.
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Prognosis: 1. The expected course of a disease .
2. The patient's chance of recovery.
The prognosis predicts the outcome of a disease and therefore the future for the patient . His prognosis is grim, for example, while hers is good.
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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."
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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.
Sense: In biology and medicine, the faculty of sensory reception. The ability to convey specific types of external or internal stimuli to the brain and perceive them. Sensory reception occurs through a process known as transduction in which stimuli are converted into nerve impulses which are relayed to the brain.
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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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Skin biopsy: Removal of a piece of skin for the purpose of further examination in the laboratory using a microscope.
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Sleep : The body's rest cycle.
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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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Sunburn: Sunburn is an inflammation of the skin that develops in response to exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the sun or from tanning beds and booths that emit UV radiation . Sunburn is manifested by reddened, painful skin that may develop blisters.
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Superficial: In anatomy, on the surface or shallow. As opposed to deep. The skin is superficial to the muscles. The cornea is on the superficial surface of the eye.
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Superficial spreading melanoma: See: Melanoma, superficial spreading.
Surgery: The word "surgery" has multiple meanings. It is the branch of medicine concerned with diseases and conditions which require or are amenable to operative procedures. Surgery is the work done by a surgeon. By analogy, the work of an editor wielding his pen as a scalpel is s form of surgery. A surgery in England (and some other countries) is a physician's or dentist's office.
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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.
Trauma: Any injury , whether physically or emotionally inflicted. "Trauma" has both a medical and a psychiatric definition. Medically, "trauma" refers to a serious or critical bodily injury, wound, or shock . This definition is often associated with trauma medicine practiced in emergency rooms and represents a popular view of the term. In psychiatry , "trauma" has assumed a different meaning and refers to an experience that is emotionally painful, distressful, or shocking, which often results in lasting mental and physical effects.
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Tumor: An abnormal mass of tissue. Tumors are a classic sign of inflammation, and can be benign or malignant (cancerous). There are dozens of different types of tumors. Their names usually reflect the kind of tissue they arise in, and may also tell you something about their shape or how they grow. For example, a medulloblastoma is a tumor that arises from embryonic cells (a blastoma) in the inner part of the brain (the medulla). Diagnosis depends on the type and location of the tumor. Tumor marker tests and imaging may be used; some tumors can be seen (for example, tumors on the exterior of the skin) or felt (palpated with the hands).
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Vaccines: Microbial preparations of killed or modified microorganisms that can stimulate an immune response in the body to prevent future infection with similar microorganisms. These preparations are usually delivered by injection.
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- interferon - Describes the medication interferon (Roferon-A, Intron-A, Rebetron, Alferon-N, Peg-Intron, Avonex, Betaseron, Infergen, Actimmune, Pegasys), a drug used in managing many diseases that involve the immune system.
- Chemotherapy - Get information on chemotherapy treatment for cancer, side effects of medications and how chemo works. Chemotherapy is a type of cancer treatment often given along with radiation therapy and surgery.
- Skin Cancer - Learn the types of skin cancer (basal cell carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma, and melanoma), their causes, symptoms, treatments, and prevention techniques. Get the facts about sun exposure and sunscreen.
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