Pilonidal Cyst Glossary of Terms
Abscess: A local accumulation of pus anywhere in the body. The following are some examples of abscesses: - A skin abscess is better known as a common boil;
- A peritonsillar abscess is a persistent collection of pus behind the tonsils; and
- A perianal abscess is a pool of pus that forms next to the anus, often causing considerable tenderness and swelling in that area and pain on sitting down and on defecating.
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.
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.
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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Carcinoma: Cancer that begins in the skin or in tissues that line or cover body organs. For example, carcinoma can arise in the breast , colon, liver, lung, prostate, and stomach.
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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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Cellulitis: An acute spreading bacterial infection below the surface of the skin characterized by redness (erythema), warmth, swelling, and pain. Cellulitis can also cause fever, chills, and "swollen glands" (enlarged lymph nodes). Cellulitis is a clinical diagnosis based on the spreading involvement of skin and subcutaneous tissues with erythema, swelling, and local tenderness, accompanied by fever and malaise.
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Coccyx: The small tail-like bone at the bottom of the spine very near to the anus. The coccyx is made up of 3-5 rudimentary vertebrae. It is the lowest part of the spinal column.
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Cyst: A cyst is an abnormal, closed sac-like structure within a tissue that contains a liquid, gaseous, or semisolid substance. A cyst can occur anywhere in the body and can vary in size. The outer, or capsular, portion of a cyst is termed the cyst wall.
Cysts: Cysts are abnormal, closed sac-like structures within a tissue that contain a liquid, gaseous, or semisolid substance. Cysts can occur anywhere in the body and can vary in size. The outer, or capsular, portion of a cyst is termed the cyst wall.
Drain: A device for removing fluid from a cavity or wound. A drain is typically a tube or wick. As a verb, to allow fluid to be released from a confined area.
Emergency department: The department of a hospital responsible for the provision of medical and surgical care to patients arriving at the hospital in need of immediate care. Emergency department personnel may also respond to certain situations within the hospital such cardiac arrests.
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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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Hygiene: The science of preventive medicine and the preservation of health. From the name of Hygeia, the daughter of Asklepios, the Greek god of medicine (whose staff with entwined snake is the symbol of medicine). Asklepios (known to the Romans as Aesculapius) had a number of children including not only Hygeia but also Panaceia, the patroness of clinical medicine. Hygeia also followed her father into medicine. As the patroness of health, Hygeia was charged with providing a healthy environment to prevent illness. In Greek, "hygieia" means health.
Incision: A cut. When making an incision, a surgeon is making a cut.
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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Nidus: The Latin word for "nest", nidus is used in medicine to refer to any structure that resembles a nest in appearance or function. Just as a nest is a repository for the eggs of birds, insects and other animals, a nidus is a breeding place where bacteria, parasites and other agents of a disease lodge and develop. This is a nidus of infection, a focus of infection.
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Obese: Well above ones normal weight. A person has traditionally been considered to be obese if they are more than 20 percent over their ideal weight. That ideal weight must take into account the person's height, age, sex, and build.
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Open wound: An injury that is exposed due to broken skin. An open wound is at high risk for infection.
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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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Pilonidal: Refers to an embedded (ingrown) hair or tuft of hair. Literally, a nest of hair. From the Latin pilus (meaning hair) and nidus (meaning nest).
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Pilonidal cyst: A special kind of abscess that occurs in the cleft between the buttocks. Forms frequently in adolescence after long trips that involve sitting. The word "pilonidal" is derived from the Latin words pilus (meaning hair) and nidus (meaning nest).
Predispose: To make more likely or render susceptible. Smoking predisposes to a number of diseases, including esophageal cancer.
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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Pus: A thick whitish-yellow fluid which results from the accumulation of white blood cells (WBCs), liquified tissue and cellular debris. Pus is commonly a site of infection or foreign material in the body.
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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Recurrent: Back again. A recurrent fever is a fever that has returned after an intermission: a recrudescent fever.
Sacrococcygeal: Pertaining to both the sacrum and coccyx (the tailbone). Teratomas are often in the sacrococcygeal region in children.
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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Spine: 1) The column of bone known as the vertebral column, which surrounds and protects the spinal cord. The spine can be categorized according to level of the body: i.e., cervical spine (neck), thoracic spine (upper and middle back), and lumbar spine (lower back). See also vertebral column. 2) Any short prominence of bone. The spines of the vertebrae protrude at the base of the back of the neck and in the middle of the back. These spines protect the spinal cord from injury from behind.
Squamous cell carcinoma: Cancer that begins in squamous cells -- thin, flat cells that look under the microscope like fish scales. Squamous cells are found in the tissue that forms the surface of the skin, the lining of hollow organs of the body, and the passages of the respiratory and digestive tracts. Squamous cell carcinomas may arise in any of these tissues.
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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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Systemic: Affecting the entire body. A systemic disease such as diabetes can affect the whole body. Systemic chemotherapy employs drugs that travel through the bloodstream and reach and affect cells all over the body.
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Tailbone Popular name for the coccyx, the small bone at the bottom of the spine made up of 3-5 rudimentary vertebrae.
Weight loss: Weight loss is a decrease in body weight resulting from either voluntary (diet, exercise) or involuntary (illness) circumstances. Most instances of weight loss arise due to the loss of body fat, but in cases of extreme or severe weight loss, protein and other substances in the body can also be depleted. Examples of involuntary weight loss include the weight loss associated with cancer, malabsorption (such as from chronic diarrheal illnesses ), and chronic inflammation (such as with rheumatoid arthritis).
- Fever - Get the facts on fever treatment (in children and adults). Learn ways to bring down a high fever and know the signs of other serious types of major illness.
- Cysts - Read about cyst types (kidney, liver, breast, ovarian, ganglion, chalazion, sebaceous), causes, symptoms and signs and treatment (removal, 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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