Abnormal: Not normal. Deviating from the usual structure, position, condition, or behavior. In referring to a growth, abnormal may mean that it is cancerous or premalignant (likely to become cancer).
Angioid streaks: Tiny breaks in the elastin-filled tissue in the back of the eye (retinae). These abnormalities are visible to the doctor during an examination using a viewing instrument called an ophthalmoscope. Angioid streaks are seen in patients with pseudoxanthoma elasticum (abbreviated PXE), a rare disorder of degeneration of the elastic fibers with tiny areas of calcification in the skin, back of the eyes (retinae), and blood vessels. Angioid streaks can be associated with blindness.
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
Autosomal: Pertaining to a chromosome that is not a sex chromosome; relating to any one of the chromosomes save the sex chromosomes. See the entire definition of Autosomal
Autosomal dominant: A pattern of inheritance in which an affected individual has one copy of a mutant gene and one normal gene on a pair of autosomal chromosomes. (In contrast, autosomal recessive diseases require that the individual have two copies of the mutant gene.) Individuals with autosomal dominant diseases have a 50-50 chance of passing the mutant gene and therefore the disorder onto each of their children. Examples of autosomal dominant diseases include Huntington disease, neurofibromatosis, and polycystic kidney disease.
Blindness: Loss of useful sight. Blindness can be temporary or permanent. Damage to any portion of the eye, the optic nerve, or the area of the brain responsible for vision can lead to blindness. There are numerous (actually, innumerable) causes of blindness. The current politically correct terms for blindness include visually handicapped and visually challenged.
Bowel: Another name for the intestine. The small bowel and the large bowel are the small intestine and large intestine, respectively. See the entire definition of Bowel
Calcification: The process of building bone by suffusing tissues with calcium salts. Also called ossification.
Circulation: The movement of fluid in a regular or circuitous course. Although the noun "circulation" does not necessarily refer to the circulation of the blood, for all practical purposes today it does. Heart failure is an example of a problem with the circulation.
Claudication: Limping. The word "claudication" comes from the Latin "claudicare" meaning to limp. The Roman emperor Claudius (who ruled from A.D. 41-54) was so named because he limped, probably because of a birth defect. See the entire definition of Claudication
Collagen: Collagen is the principal protein of the skin, tendons, cartilage, bone and connective tissue.
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. See the entire definition of Cure
Elastin: A protein that coil and recoils like a spring within the elastic fibers of connective tissue and accounts for the elasticity of structures such the skin, blood vessels, heart, lungs, intestines, tendons, and ligaments. Elastin functions in connective tissue together with collagen. Whereas elastin provides elasticity, collagen provides rigidity to connective tissue. Elastin is normally no longer made after puberty and aging begins. Also called elasticin.
Gene: The basic biological unit of heredity. A segment of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) needed to contribute to a function. See the entire definition of Gene
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. See the entire definition of Heart
Inheritance: Not something that is contained in a will, but rather a gene, chromosome or genome that is transmitted from parent to child. See the entire definition of Inheritance
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.
Mitral valve: A valve in the heart situated between the left atrium and the left ventricle that permits blood to flow from the left atrium into the left ventricle but not in the reverse direction. See the entire definition of Mitral valve
Mitral valve prolapse: Drooping down or abnormal bulging of the mitral valve's cusps backward into the atrium during the contraction of the heart. Mitral valve prolapse is often an asymptomatic condition but it may be marked by mitral regurgitation with symptoms (as chest pain, fatigue, dizziness, dyspnea, or palpitations) with a tendency in some cases to endocarditis or ventricular tachycardia. See the entire definition of Mitral valve prolapse
Neck: The part of the body joining the head to the shoulders. Also, any narrow or constricted part of a bone or organ that joins its parts as, for example, the neck of the femur bone.
Organ: A relatively independent part of the body that carries out one or more special functions. The organs of the human body include the eye, ear, heart, lungs, and liver.
Protein: A large molecule composed of one or more chains of amino acids in a specific order determined by the base sequence of nucleotides in the DNA coding for the protein. See the entire definition of Protein
Pseudoxanthoma elasticum: (Abbreviated PXE). A genetic disorder characterized by degeneration of elastic fibers and tiny areas of calcification in the skin, back of the eyes (retinae), and blood vessels. PXE can be inherited as an autosomal dominant or recessive trait and can occur sporadically in the absence of a family history of the disease. Small yellow-white raised areas appear in the skin folds in the second or third decades of life on the neck, armpits, and other areas that bend a great deal (flexure areas). The doctor may see abnormalities in the back of the eye called angioid streaks, tiny breaks in the elastin-filled tissue that can lead to blindness. The heart can be affected by atherosclerosis and mitral valve prolapse. Small blood vessels are abnormally fragile because the blood-vessel walls contain elastin. This can lead to abnormal bleeding in the bowel and, very rarely, the uterus. Impairment of circulation to the legs can lead to pains in the legs while walking (claudication). The dominant and recessive forms of PXE as well as the sporadic cases of PXE are all caused by mutations in the ABCC6 gene located on chromosome 16p13.1.
Recessive: A condition that appears only in individuals who have received two copies of a mutant gene, one copy from each parent. The individuals with a double dose of the mutated gene are called homozygotes. Their parents, each with a single dose of the mutated gene, appear normal and are called heterozygotes, or gene carriers. See the entire definition of Recessive
Trait: In genetics, a trait refers to any genetically determined characteristic. In technical terms, a genetic trait is amenable to segregation analysis rather than quantitative analysis. See the entire definition of Trait
Uterus: The uterus (womb) is a hollow, pear-shaped organ located in a woman's lower abdomen between the bladder and the rectum. The narrow, lower portion of the uterus is the cervix; the broader, upper part is the corpus. The corpus is made up of two layers of tissue.
Peripheral vascular disease (PVD) refers to diseases of the blood vessels (arteries and veins) located outside the heart and brain. While there are many causes of peripheral vascular disease, doctors commonly use the term peripheral vascular disease to refer to peripheral artery disease (peripheral arterial disease, PAD), a condition that develops when the arteries that supply blood to the internal organs, arms, and legs become completely or partially blocked as a result of atherosclerosis. Peripheral artery disease symptoms include: intermittent claudication, rest pain, numbness in the extremities, and more. Treatment for peripheral artery disease include: lifestyle measures, medication, angioplasty, and surgery.
Peripheral vascular disease (PVD) refers to diseases of
the blood vessels (arteries and veins) located outside the heart and brain.
While there are many causes of peripheral vascular disease, doctors commonly use
the term peripheral vascular disease to refer to peripheral artery disease (peripheral
arterial disease, PAD), a condition that
develops when the arteries that supply blood to the internal organs, arms, and legs become
completely or partially blocked as a result of atherosclerosis.
What is atherosclerosis?
Atherosclerosis is a gradual process whereby hard
cholesterol substances
(plaques) are deposited in the walls of the arteries.
Cholesterol plaques cause
hardening of the artery walls and narrowing of the inner channel (lumen) of the artery.
The atherosclerosis process begins early in life (as early as teens in some
people). When atherosclerosis is mild an...
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