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 ).
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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.
Activated charcoal: Charcoal that has been heated to increase its absorptive capacity. Activated charcoal is sold as an over-the-counter (OTC) product to help relieve intestinal gas . It is also used to absorb poisons (as in gas mask filters), neutralize poisons that have been swallowed, and filter and purify liquids.
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Acute: Of abrupt onset, in reference to a disease. Acute often also connotes an illness that is of short duration, rapidly progressive, and in need of urgent care.
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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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Analgesic: A drug that relieves pain. With an effective analgesic, there is an inability to feel pain while still conscious. From the Greek an-, without + algesis, sense of pain.
Antidote: An agent that counteracts a poison and neutralizes its effects.
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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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AST: 1. Aspartate aminotransferase, an enzyme normally present in liver and heart cells. AST is released into blood when the liver or heart is damaged. The blood AST levels are thus elevated with liver damage (for example, from viral hepatitis) or with an insult to the heart (for example, from a heart attack). Some medications can also raise AST levels. AST is also known as serum glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase (SGOT). 2. Androgen suppression therapy. See: Androgen suppression.
Attention: The ability to focus selectively on a selected stimulus, sustaining that focus and shifting it at will. The ability to concentrate.
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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.
Chronic: This important term in medicine comes from the Greek chronos, time and means lasting a long time.
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Cirrhosis: An abnormal liver condition characterized by irreversible scarring of the liver. Alcohol and viral hepatitis B and C are among the many causes of cirrhosis. Cirrhosis can cause yellowing of the skin (jaundice), itching, and fatigue. Diagnosis of cirrhosis can be suggested by physical examination and blood tests, and can be confirmed by liver biopsy in some patients. Complications of cirrhosis include mental confusion, coma, fluid accumulation (ascites), internal bleeding, and kidney failure. Treatment of cirrhosis is designed to limit any further damage to the liver as well as complications. Liver transplantation is becoming an important option for patients with advanced cirrhosis.
Clinical: 1. Having to do with the examination and treatment of patients. 2. Applicable to patients. A laboratory test may be of clinical value (of use to patients).
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Coma: A state of deep unarousable unconsciousness.
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Detoxify: To reduce or eliminate the toxicity of a substance or poison. To promote the recovery of a person from an addictive drug such as alcohol or heroin.
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.
Generic: 1. The chemical name of a drug. 2. A term referring to the chemical makeup of a drug rather than to the advertised brand name under which the drug may be sold. 3.A term referring to any drug marketed under its chemical name without advertising.
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Hepatitis: Inflammation of the liver from any cause.
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Hepatitis C: Inflammation of the liver due to the hepatitis C virus (HCV), which is usually spread by blood transfusion, hemodialysis, and needle sticks. HCV causes most transfusion-associated hepatitis, and the damage it does to the liver can lead to cirrhosis and cancer. Transmission of the virus by sexual contact is rare. At least half of HCV patients develop chronic hepatitis C infection. Diagnosis is by blood test. Treatment is via anti-viral drugs. Chronic hepatitis C may be treated with interferon, sometimes in combination with anti-virals. There is no vaccine for hepatitis C. Previously known as non-A, non-B hepatitis.
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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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.
Interferon : A naturally occurring substance that interferes with the ability of viruses to reproduce. Interferon also boosts the immune system.
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Kidney: One of a pair of organs located in the right and left side of the abdomen which clear "poisons" from the blood, regulate acid concentration and maintain water balance in the body by excreting urine. The kidneys are part of the urinary tract. The urine then passes through connecting tubes called "ureters" into the bladder. The bladder stores the urine until it is released during urination.
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Latent: Hidden, dormant, inactive.
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Liver: An organ in the upper abdomen that aids in digestion and removes waste products and worn-out cells from the blood. The liver is the largest solid organ in the body. The liver weighs about three and a half pounds (1.6 kilograms). It measures about 8 inches (20 cm) horizontally (across) and 6.5 inches (17 cm) vertically (down) and is 4.5 inches (12 cm) thick.
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Liver disease: Liver disease refers to any disorder of the liver. The liver is a large organ in the upper right abdomen that aids in digestion and removes waste products from the blood.
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Liver transplant: Surgery to remove a diseased liver and replace it with a healthy liver (or part of one) from a donor . The most common reasons for liver transplantation in children is biliary atresia (a disease in which the ducts that carry bile out of the liver are missing or damaged) while in adults the most common reason for a liver transplant is cirrhosis (a disease in which healthy liver cells are killed and replaced with scar tissue ).
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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.")
Metabolism: The whole range of biochemical processes that occur within us (or any living organism). Metabolism consists both of anabolism and catabolism (the buildup and breakdown of substances, respectively). The term is commonly used to refer specifically to the breakdown of food and its transformation into energy.
Mind: That which thinks, reasons, perceives, wills, and feels. The mind now appears in no way separate from the brain. In neuroscience, there is no duality between the mind and body. They are one.
Molecule: The smallest unit of a substance that can exist alone and retain the character of that substance.
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.
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.
Nutrition : 1) The science or practice of taking in and utilizing foods. 2) A nourishing substance, such as nutritional solutions delivered to hospitalized patients via an IV or IG tube.
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Onset: In medicine, the first appearance of the signs or symptoms of an illness as, for example, the onset of rheumatoid arthritis . There is always an onset to a disease but never to the return to good health. The default setting is good health.
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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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Pill: In pharmacy, a medicinal substance in a small round or oval mass meant to be swallowed. Pills often contain a filler and a plastic substance such as lactose that permits the pill to be rolled by hand or machine into the desired form. The pill may then be coated with a varnishlike substance.
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Prescription: A physician's order for the preparation and administration of a drug or device for a patient. A prescription has several parts. They include the superscription or heading with the symbol "R" or "Rx", which stands for the word recipe (meaning, in Latin, to take); the inscription, which contains the names and quantities of the ingredients; the subscription or directions for compounding the drug; and the signature which is often preceded by the sign "s" standing for signa (Latin for mark), giving the directions to be marked on the container.
Primary: First or foremost in time or development. The primary teeth (the baby teeth) are those that come first. Primary may also refer to symptoms or a disease to which others are secondary.
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Probability: The likelihood that something will happen. For example, a probability of less than .05 indicates that the probability of something occurring by chance alone is less than 5 in 100, or 5 percent. This level of probability is usually taken as the level of biologic significance, so a higher incidence may be considered meaningful. The abbreviation for probability is P.
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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Remedy: Something that consistently helps treat or cure a disease . From the Latin "remedium" meaning that which heals again (and again).
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Residual: Something left behind. With residual disease, the disease has not been eradicated.
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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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Suicidal: Pertaining to suicide. the taking of ones own life. As in a suicidal gesture, suicidal thought, or suicidal act. An "online lifeline for suicidal undergrads" may help prevent college students from committing suicide.
Suicide : The act of causing ones own death. Suicide may be positive or negative and it may be direct or indirect. Suicide is a positive act when one takes ones own life.
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Syndrome: A set of signs and symptoms that tend to occur together and which reflect the presence of a particular disease or an increased chance of developing a particular disease.
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Tablespoon: An old-fashioned but convenient household measure of capacity. A tablespoon holds about 3 teaspoons, each containing about 5 cc, so a tablespoon = about 15 cc of fluid.
Toxicity: The degree to which a substance can harm humans or animals.
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Transplant: The grafting of a tissue from one place to another, just as in botany a bud from one plant might be grafted onto the stem of another. The transplanting of tissue can be from one part of the patient to another (autologous transplantation), as in the case of a skin graft using the patient's own skin; or from one patient to another (allogenic transplantation), as in the case of transplanting a donor kidney into a recipient.
Tylenol: See: Acetaminophen.
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From the Doctors at MedicineNet.com  |
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- Liver Blood Tests - Learn about liver blood tests used to detect liver damage. This includes measuring the aminotransferases enzymes (AST and ALT levels) Source:MedicineNet
- Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism - Learn alcohol abuse and alcoholism causes, symptoms, treatment and medication facts. What are warning signs of a drinking problem? Is this a hereditary disease? Source:Government
- Coma - Learn about coma caused by trauma, hypoglycemia, brain bleed, edema, or poisoning, including alcohol poisoning. Depth of coma is measured by the Glasgow Coma Scale. Source:MedicineNet
- Read 20 more Tylenol Liver Damage related articles ...
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