The following are health and medical definitions of terms that appear in the Tracheostomy article.
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.
Airway obstruction: Partial or complete blockage of the breathing tubes to the lungs. Obstruction of the airway can be due to different causes including foreign bodies, allergic reactions, infections, anatomical abnormalities and trauma. See the entire definition of Airway obstruction
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.
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 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. See the entire definition of Blood transfusion
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.
Bypass: An operation in which a surgeon creates a new tubular pathway for the movement of fluids and/or other substances in the body.
Cardiac: Having to do with the heart.
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
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.
Complication: In medicine, an additional problem that arises following a procedure, treatment or illness and is secondary to it. A complication complicates the situation.
Erosion: An erosion is an eating away of a surface. ("Erodere" in Latin means to eat out.) See the entire definition of Erosion
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. See the entire definition of Infection
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.
Intubation: The process of putting a tube into a hollow organ or passageway, often into the airway. The opposite of intubation is extubation.
Larynx: The larynx is the portion of the breathing, or respiratory, tract containing the vocal cords which produce vocal sound. It is located between the pharynx and the trachea. The larynx, also called the voice box, is a 2-inch-long, tube-shaped organ in the neck.
Lungs: The lungs are a pair of breathing organs located with the chest which remove carbon dioxide from and bring oxygen to the blood. There is a right and left lung.
Mechanical ventilation: Use of a machine called a ventilator or respirator to improve the exchange of air between the lungs and the atmosphere.
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.
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.
Nursing: 1) Profession concerned with the provision of services essential to the maintenance and restoration of health by attending the needs of sick persons. 2) Feeding a infant at the breast.
Operating room: A facility equipped for performing surgery. Abbreviated OR.
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. See the entire definition of Oxygen
Percutaneous: Through the skin, as in a percutaneous biopsy.
Piercing: Using a sharp instrument, usually a needle, to make a temporary or permanent hole through an earlobe or other body part. Humans have practiced piercing for body decoration since prehistoric times. Unless it is performed using a sterile needle (preferably disposable), piercing can carry a risk of infection. A piercing should be kept clean; antibiotic cream may be applied if the area becomes inflamed. See the entire definition of Piercing
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.
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. See the entire definition of Surgeon
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. See the entire definition of Surgery
Trachea: A tube-like portion of the breathing or "respiratory" tract that connects the "voice box" (larynx) with the bronchial parts of the lungs.
Tracheostomy: A surgical operation to create an opening (stoma) into the windpipe (the trachea). The opening itself can also be called a tracheostomy. See the entire definition of Tracheostomy
Tracheostomy tube: A 2- to 3-inch metal or plastic tube that keeps the stoma and trachea open. Also called a trach ("trake") tube.
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
Ventilation: The exchange of air between the lungs and the atmosphere so that oxygen can be exchanged for carbon dioxide in the alveoli (the tiny air sacs in the lungs). See the entire definition of Ventilation
Ventilator: A ventilator is a machine which mechanically assists patients in the exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide (sometimes referred to as artificial respiration).
Voice box: The voice box, or larynx, is the portion of the respiratory (breathing) tract containing the vocal cords which produce sound. It is located between the pharynx and the trachea. The larynx, also called the voice box, is a 2-inch-long, tube-shaped organ in the neck.
A chest X-ray is a radiology test that involves exposing the chest briefly to
radiation to produce an image of the chest and the internal organs of the chest.
An X-ray film is positioned against the body opposite the camera, which sends
out a very small dose of a radiation beam. As the radiation penetrates the body,
it is absorbed in varying amounts by different body tissues depending on the tissue's composition of air, water, blood, bone, or muscle. Bones, for
example, absorb much of the X-ray radiation while lung tissue (which is filled with
mostly air) absorbs very little, allowing most of the X-ray beam to pass through
the lung.
What is a shadow on a chest X-ray?
Due to the differences in their composition (and, therefore, varying degrees
of penetration of the X-ray beam), the lungs, heart, aorta, and bones of the
chest each can be distinctly visualized on the chest X-ray. The X-ray film
reco...
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