Acetaminophen: A pain reliever and fever reducer. Brand name: Tylenol. The exact mechanism of action of acetaminophen is not known. Acetaminophen relieves pain by elevating the pain threshold (that is, by requiring a greater amount of pain to develop before it is felt by a person). Acetaminophen reduces fever through its action on the heat-regulating center (the "thermostat") of the brain. Generic is available.
Aggressive: In oncology, quickly growing, tending to spread rapidly. As, for example, an aggressive tumor.
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Airway: The path air follows to get into and out of the lungs. The mouth and nose are the normal entry and exit ports. Entering air then passes through the back of the throat (pharynx), continues through the voice box (larynx), down the trachea, and finally out the branching tubes known as bronchi.
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Alcohol: An organic chemical in which one or more hydroxyl (OH) groups are attached to carbon (C) atoms in place of hydrogen (H) atoms. Common alcohols include ethyl alcohol or ethanol (found in alcoholic beverages), methyl alcohol or methanol (can cause blindness) and propyl alcohol or propanol (used as a solvent and antiseptic ). Rubbing alcohol is a mixture of acetone , methyl isobutyl ketone, and ethyl alcohol. In everyday talk, alcohol usually refers to ethanol as, for example, in wine, beer, and liquor. It can cause changes in behavior and be addictive.
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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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Anesthesiologist: A physician or, less often, a dentist who is specialized in the practice of anesthesiology, the branch of medicine involving the use of drugs or other agents that cause insensibility to pain.
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Anesthetic: A substance that causes lack of feeling or awareness. A local anesthetic causes loss of feeling in a part of the body. A general anesthetic puts the person to sleep.
Anti-: Prefix generally meaning "against, opposite or opposing, and contrary." In medicine, anti- often connotes "counteracting or effective against" as in antibacterial, anti-infective, and antiviral. Sometimes medical terms containing anti- take on new meanings as has occurred with antibiotic and antibody. As a prefix, anti- may be shortened to ant- as in antacid. "Anti" is the Greek word for "against."
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Aspirin: A good example of a tradename that entered into the language, Aspirin was once the Bayer trademark for acetylsalicylic acid .
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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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Autologous: In blood transfusion and transplantation, a situation in which the donor and recipient are the same person.
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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.
Blood transfusion : The transfer of blood or blood components from one person (the donor) into the bloodstream of another person (the recipient). This may be done as a lifesaving maneuver to replace blood cells or blood products lost through bleeding. Transfusion of your own blood (autologous) is the safest method but requires advance planning and not all patients are eligible. Directed donor blood allows the patient to receive blood from known donors. Volunteer donor blood is usually most readily available and, when properly tested has a low incidence of adverse events. Blood conserving techniques are an important aspect of limiting transfusion requirements.
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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.
Bridge: A set of one or more false teeth supported by a metal framework, used to replace one or more missing teeth.
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Bronchitis: Inflammation and swelling of the bronchi. Bronchitis can be acute or chronic.
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Cardiac: Having to do with the heart.
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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.
Chronic: This important term in medicine comes from the Greek chronos, time and means lasting a long time.
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Complication: In medicine, an additional problem that arises following a procedure, treatment or illness and is secondary to it. A complication complicates the situation.
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Cough: A rapid expulsion of air from the lungs typically in order to clear the lung airways of fluids, mucus, or material. Also called tussis.
Cream: A word with many meanings that, in medicine and pharmacy, refers to a water-soluble preparation applied to the skin. An ointment differs from a cream in that it has an oil base.
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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Donor: The giver of a tissue or organ, for example, of blood or a kidney.
Edema: The swelling of soft tissues as a result of excess water accumulation.
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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.
Fever : Although a fever technically is any body temperature above the normal of 98.6 degrees F. (37 degrees C.), in practice a person is usually not considered to have a significant fever until the temperature is above 100.4 degrees F (38 degrees C.).
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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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Heart: The muscle that pumps blood received from veins into arteries throughout the body. It is positioned in the chest behind the sternum (breastbone; in front of the trachea, esophagus, and aorta; and above the diaphragm muscle that separates the chest and abdominal cavities. The normal heart is about the size of a closed fist, and weighs about 10.5 ounces. It is cone-shaped, with the point of the cone pointing down to the left. Two-thirds of the heart lies in the left side of the chest with the balance in the right chest.
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Hospital: It may seem unnecessary to define a "hospital" since everyone knows the nature of a hospital. A hospital began as a charitable institution for the needy, aged, infirm, or young.
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Ibuprofen: A non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) commonly used to treat pain, swelling, and fever. Common brand names for Ibuprofen include Advil, Motrin, and Nuprin.
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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Inflammation: A basic way in which the body reacts to infection , irritation or other injury, the key feature being redness, warmth, swelling and pain . Inflammation is now recognized as a type of nonspecific immune response .
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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.
Irrigate: To wash out as, for example, a wound to clean it.
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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Laxative: Something that loosens the bowels. Used to combat constipation (and sometimes overused, producing diarrhea). The word "laxative" comes from the Latin "laxare" meaning "to open, widen, extend, release."
Lip: One of the two fleshy folds which surround the opening of the mouth.
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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.
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.")
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.
Naproxen : A non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) used for the management of mild to moderate pain, fever, and inflammation . Naproxen blocks the enzyme cyclooxygenase that makes prostaglandins, resulting in lower concentrations of prostaglandins. As a consequence, inflammation, pain and fever are reduced. Brand names for naproxen include Anaprox, Naprelan, Naprosyn, and Aleve.
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Narcotic: 1. A drug that causes insensibility or stupor. A narcotic induces narcosis, from the Greek "narke" for "numbness or torpor."
2. A drug such as marijuana which is subject to regulatory restrictions comparable to those for addictive narcotics.
Nasal: Having to do with the nose. Nasal drops are intended for the nose, not (for example) the eyes. The word "nasal" came from the Latin "nasus" meaning the nose or snout.
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. When nausea and/or vomiting are persistent, or when they are accompanied by other severe symptoms such as abdominal pain, jaundice, fever, or bleading, a physican should be consulted.
Neurologist: A doctor who specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of disorders of the nervous system.
Nose: The external midline projection from the face.
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Nurse: 1) A person trained, licensed, or skilled in nursing. 2) To feed an infant at the breast.
Obstruction: Blockage of a passageway. See, for example: Airway obstruction; Intestinal obstruction.
Operating room: A facility equipped for performing surgery. Abbreviated OR.
Operation: Although there are many meanings to the word "operation", in medicine it refers to a surgical procedure.
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Outpatient: A patient who is not an inpatient (not hospitalized) but instead is cared for elsewhere -- as in a doctor's office, clinic, or day surgery center. The term outpatient dates back at least to 1715. Outpatient care today is also called ambulatory care.
Oxygen: A colorless, odorless and tasteless gas that makes up about 20% of the air we breathe (and at least half the weight of the entire solid crust of the earth) and which combines with most of the other elements to form oxides. Oxygen is essential to human, animal and plant life.
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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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Palate: The roof of the mouth. The front portion is bony (hard palate), and the back portion is muscular (soft palate).
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Pharmacist: A professional who fills prescriptions, and in the case of a compounding pharmacist, makes them. Pharmacists are familiar with medication ingredients, interactions, cautions, and hints.
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Postoperative: After surgery. As opposed to preoperative, before surgery.
Postoperative care: Care given after surgery until the patient is discharged from the hospital or surgicenter and, in some cases, continuing on an ambulatory basis. Postoperative care is aimed at meeting the patient's physical and psychological needs directly after surgery.
Preoperative: Before surgery. As opposed to postoperative, after surgery.
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Pulse: The rhythmic contraction and expansion of an artery due to the surge of blood from the beat of the heart. The pulse is most often measured by feeling the arteries of the wrist. There is also a pulse, although far weaker, in veins.
Recurrence: The return of a sign, symptom or disease after a remission. The reappearance of cancer cells at the same site or in another location is, unfortunately, a familiar form of recurrence.
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Respiratory: Having to do with respiration, the exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide. From the Latin re- (again) + spirare (to breathe) = to breathe again.
Rest: 1. Repose. Relaxation.
2. A fragment of embryonic tissue that has been retained after the period of embryonic development. Also called an embryonic rest.
Saline: Relating to salt. As an adjective, "saline" means "salty, containing salt." As a noun "saline" is a salt solution, often adjusted to the normal salinity of the human body.
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Salt: In medicine, salt usually refers to sodium chloride, table salt, used for seasoning food, for the preservation of meat, etc. Salt is found in the earth and in sea water and is isolated by evaporation and crystallization from sea water and other water impregnated with particles of salt.
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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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Sense of smell: See Olfaction.
Septum: A word borrowed from the Latin "saeptum" meaning a "dividing wall or enclosure."
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Sinus: 1. An air-filled cavity in a dense portion of a skull bone. The sinuses decrease the weight of the skull. The sinuses are formed in four right-left pairs. The frontal sinuses are positioned behind the forehead, while the maxillary sinuses are behind the cheeks. The sphenoid and ethmoid sinuses are deeper in the skull behind the eyes and maxillary sinuses. The sinuses are lined by mucous-secreting cells. Air enters the sinuses through small opening in bone called ostia. If an ostium is blocked, air cannot pass into the sinus and likewise mucous cannot drain out. See also: Sinusitis .
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Sleep : The body's rest cycle.
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Sneeze: 1. As a verb, to suddenly expel air through the nose and mouth by an involuntary contraction of the muscles of expiration. 2. As a noun, the act of sneezing.
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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.
Surgeon: A physician who treats disease, injury, or deformity by operative or manual methods. A medical doctor specialized in the removal of organs, masses and tumors and in doing other procedures using a knife (scalpel). The definition of a "surgeon" has begun to blur in recent years as surgeons have begun to minimize the cutting, employ new technologies that are "minimally invasive," use scopes, etc.
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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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Surgicenter: A facility for minor surgery done on an outpatient basis; a facility designed to serve patients who need surgical treatment exceeding the capabilities of the usual physician's office yet not of such proportions as to require hospitalization.
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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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Tobacco: A South American herb, formally known as Nicotiana tabacum , whose leaves contain 2-8% nicotine and serve as the source of smoking and smokeless tobacco .
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Transfusion: The transfer of blood or blood products from one person (the donor) into another person (the recipient's) bloodstream. In most situations, this is done as a lifesaving maneuver to replace blood cells or blood products lost through severe bleeding. Transfusion of your own blood (autologous) is the safest method but requires planning ahead and not all patients are eligible. Directed donor blood allows the patient to receive blood from known donors. Volunteer donor blood is usually most readily available and, when properly tested has a low incidence of adverse events.
See the entire definition of Transfusion
Turbinate: A bone shaped like a top. The turbinate is a bone in the nose; it is an extension of the ethmoid bone, is situated along the side wall of the nose, and is covered by mucous membrane.
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Turbinectomy: Removal of a turbinate bone. The turbinate is a bone in the nose; it is an extension of the ethmoid bone, is situated along the side wall of the nose, and is covered by mucous membrane.
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Tylenol: See: Acetaminophen.
Upper respiratory infection: An infection of the upper part of the respiratory system which is above the lungs. An upper respiratory infection can be due to any number of viral or bacterial infections. These infections may affect the throat (pharyngitis), nasopharynx (nasopharyngitis), sinuses ( sinusitis ), larynx (laryngitis), trachea (tracheitis) or bronchi (bronchitis).
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Vomit: Matter from the stomach that has come up into and may be ejected beyond the mouth, due to the act of vomiting.
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From the Doctors at MedicineNet.com  |
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- Sinus Infection - Learn about sinus infections and inflammation of the sinuses (also known as sinusitis) with information written by doctors for patients. Includes causes, symptoms, diagnosis, and complications of sinus infection. Source:MedicineNet
- Sleep - Read about how to get a healthy nights sleep, how much sleep is enough, and why skimping on sleep can lead to poor performance, health, and moods. Source:Government
- CT Scan - CAT Scan / CT Scan (Computerized Axial Tomography) information. Learn what a CAT Scan is, why it is performed, risks, and how to prepare for a CAT scan Source:MedicineNet
- Read 11 more Nasal Airway Surgery related articles ...
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