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November 8, 2009
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 Urea Breath Test Main Article |  Glossary |  Urea Breath Test Index 

Urea Breath Test Glossary of Terms

The following are health and medical definitions of terms that appear in the Urea Breath Test article.

Atrophy: Wasting away or diminution. Muscle atrophy is wasting of muscle, decrease in muscle mass.
See the entire definition of Atrophy

Bacterium: The singular of bacteria.

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.

Capsule: Capsule has many meanings in medicine including the following:

  1. In medicine, a membranous structure that envelops an organ, a joint, tumor, or any other part of the body. It is usually made up of dense collagen-containing connective tissue.
  2. In pharmacy, a solid dosage form in which the drug is enclosed in a hard or soft soluble container, usually of a form of gelatin.
  3. In microbiology, a coat around a microbe, such as a bacterium or fungus.

See the entire definition of Capsule

Carbon dioxide: A gas which is the byproduct of cellular metabolism and which collects in the tissues, is cleared from the tissues by the blood within the veins, is carried by the hemoglobin in the red blood cells, and removed from the body via the lungs in the exhaled air. Abbreviated CO2.

Helicobacter pylori : Bacteria that cause stomach inflammation (gastritis) and ulcers in the stomach. This bacteria is the most common cause of ulcers worldwide. It is often referred to as H. pylori.
See the entire definition of Helicobacter pylori

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 .
See the entire definition of Inflammation

Isotope: A form of a chemical element with the same atomic number as another element but having a different atomic mass. Isotopes are used in a number of medical tests.
See the entire definition of Isotope

Isotopic: Referring to an isotope, a form of a chemical element with the same atomic number as another element but having a different atomic mass. From the Greek "iso-", equal, the same + "topos", place.
See the entire definition of Isotopic

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.

Nitrogen: Element number 7, a colorless, odorless, tasteless gas that is biologically important. Nitrogen is a constituent of protein and nucleic acids and is present in all living cells. Nitrogen does not support respiration and is fatal if breathed alone, because of the lack of oxygen . Nitrogen is soluble in the blood and body fluids and, when released as bubbles of gas, can have serious or even fatal consequences.
See the entire definition of Nitrogen

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.
See the entire definition of Stomach

UBT: Urea breath test.

Urea: A nitrogen-containing substance normally cleared from the blood by the kidney into the urine . Diseases that compromise the function of the kidney often lead to increased blood levels of urea, as measured by the blood urea nitrogen ( BUN ) test.
See the entire definition of Urea

Urine: Liquid waste. The urine is a clear, transparent fluid. It normally has an amber color. The average amount of urine excreted in 24 hours is from 40 to 60 ounces (about 1,200 cubic centimeters). Chemically, the urine is mainly an aqueous (watery) solution of salt (sodium chloride) and substances called urea and uric acid. Normally, it contains about 960 parts of water to 40 parts of solid matter. Abnormally, it may contain sugar (in diabetes), albumen (a protein) (as in some forms of kidney disease), bile pigments (as in jaundice), or abnormal quantities of one or another of its normal components.

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Urea Breath Test

What is dyspepsia (indigestion)?

Dyspepsia is one of the most common ailments of the bowel (intestines), affecting an estimated 20% of persons in the United States. Perhaps only 10% of those affected actually seek medical attention for their dyspepsia. Dyspepsia is not a particularly good term for the ailment since it implies that there is "dyspepsia" or abnormal digestion of food, and this most probably is not the case. In fact, another common name for dyspepsia is indigestion, which, for the same reason, is no better than the term dyspepsia! Doctors frequently refer to the condition as non-ulcer dyspepsia.

Dyspepsia (indigestion) is best described as a functional disease. (Sometimes, it is called functional dyspepsia.) The concept of functional disease is particularly useful when discussing diseases of the gastrointestinal tract. The concept applies to the muscular organs of the gastrointestinal tract-esophagus, stomach, small intestine, gallbladder...

Read the Indigestion (Dyspepsia, Upset Stomach) article »










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