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February 10, 2010
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Pneumothorax Glossary of Terms

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

Aspiration: Removal of a sample of fluid and cells through a needle. Aspiration also refers to the accidental sucking in of food particles or fluids into the lungs.

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 pressure: The blood pressure is the pressure of the blood within the arteries. It is produced primarily by the contraction of the heart muscle. It's measurement is recorded by two numbers. The first (systolic pressure) is measured after the heart contracts and is highest. The second (diastolic pressure) is measured before the heart contracts and lowest. A blood pressure cuff is used to measure the pressure. Elevation of blood pressure is called "hypertension".

Chest: The area of the body located between the neck and the abdomen . The chest contains the lungs , the heart and part of the aorta . The walls of the chest are supported by the dorsal vertebrae , the ribs , and the sternum .
See the entire definition of Chest

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.

Hemorrhage: Bleeding or the abnormal flow of blood.
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Hypotension: Any blood pressure that is below the normal expected for an individual in a given environment. Hypotension is the opposite of hypertension (abnormally high blood pressure).
See the entire definition of Hypotension

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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Insertion: Chromosome abnormality due to insertion of a segment from one chromosome into another chromosome.

Low blood pressure : Any blood pressure that is below the normal expected for an individual in a given environment. Low blood pressure is also referred to as hypotension.
See the entire definition of Low blood pressure

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.
See the entire definition of Pain

Pleural: Pertaining to the pleura, the thin covering that protects the lungs. The term "pleural" is pronounced like "plural" (but does not have plural meanings).

Pleural space: The tiny area between the two layers of the pleura (the thin covering that protects and cushions the lungs). The pleural space is normally filled with a small amount of fluid.
See the entire definition of Pleural space

Pneumothorax: Free air in the chest outside the lung.
See the entire definition of Pneumothorax

Rib: One of the 12 paired arches of bone which form the skeletal structure of the chest wall (the rib cage). The ribs attach to the building blocks of the spine (vertebrae) in the back. The 12 pairs of ribs consist of:

  • True ribs: The first seven ribs attach to the sternum (the breast bone) in the front and are known as true ribs (or sternal ribs).
  • False ribs: The lower five ribs do not directly connect to the sternum and are known as false ribs.

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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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Pneumothorax

What is bronchitis?

Bronchitis is a term that describes inflammation of the bronchial tubes (bronchi and the smaller branches termed bronchioles) that results in excessive secretions of mucus into the tubes, leading to tissue swelling that can narrow or close off bronchial tubes. Bronchial tubes extend from the trachea and terminate at the alveoli in the lungs; the bronchial system resembles an inverted tree and is sometimes termed the "bronchial tree." A few authors include the trachea and upper airway in the definition. There are two major types of bronchitis, acute and chronic.

What is acute bronchitis?

Acute bronchitis is usually bronchitis that is short-termed; the bronchitis lasts about two weeks and people recover with no permanent damage to the bronchial tree. Viruses such as influenza, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), and rhinoviruses cause the majority (about 90%) of cases of acute bronchitis, w...

Read the Chronic Bronchitis article »










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