|
|
Whether you're new to FM and CFS/ME, or an experienced patient, there are always new
terms and terminologies coming up. In order to find the medical information you're
looking for, you'll come across medical terminology and medical information you might
not understand.
This page contains over 200 definitions listed below, with many new words added monthly.
The words are listed in alphabetical order. You can either select a letter from the
box below, or scroll down the page to reveal the word you're looking for.
Contact us if you cannot locate a specific definition.
|
|
Abnormalities
An abnormal condition, state, or quality; irregularity; deviation.
|
|
Ace Inhibitors
ACE inhibitors, or inhibitors of Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme, are a group
of pharmaceuticals that are used primarily in treatment of hypertension and
congestive heart failure, in most cases as the drugs of first choice.
Sulfhydryl-containing ACE inhibitors:
- Captopril (Capoten®), the first ACE inhibitor
Dicarboxylate-containing ACE inhibitors. This is the largest group, including:
- Enalapril (Vasotec®/Renitec®)
- Ramipril (Altace®/Tritace®/Ramace®/Ramiwin®)
- Quinapril (Accupril®)
- Perindopril (Coversyl®)
- Lisinopril (Lisodur®/Lopril®/Novatec®/Prinivil®/Zestril®)
- Benazepril (Lotensin®)
Phosphonate-containing ACE inhibitors
- Fosinopril (Monopril®), the only member
|
|
Acidosis
Acidosis is an increased acidity (i.e. hydrogen ion concentration) of blood plasma.
Generally acidosis is said to occur when arterial pH falls below 7.35, while its
counterpart (alkalosis) occurs at a pH over 7.45. Arterial blood gas analysis and other
tests are required to separate the main causes.
|
|
Acute
Characterized by sharpness or severity (acute pain) Having a sudden onset, sharp rise,
and short course (acute disease)
|
|
Acupressure
Acupressure is a traditional Chinese medicine technique based on the same ideas
as acupuncture. Acupressure involves placing physical pressure by hand, elbow, or
with the aid of various devices on different acupuncture points on the surface of the body.
|
|
Acupuncture
Acupuncture is a technique of inserting and manipulating filiform needles into
"acupuncture points" on the body. According to acupuncture teachings this will
restore health and well-being, and is particularly good at treating pain.
Acupuncture is thought to have originated in China and is most commonly associated
with Traditional Chinese medicine. Different types of acupuncture (Japanese, Korean,
and classical Chinese acupuncture) are practiced and taught throughout the world.
|
|
|
|
Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome
Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), also known as respiratory distress
syndrome or adult respiratory distress syndrome is a serious reaction to various
forms of injuries to the lung. This is the most important disorder resulting in
increased permeability pulmonary edema.
ARDS is a severe lung disease caused by a variety of direct and indirect insults. It
is characterized by inflammation of the lung parenchyma leading to impaired gas exchange
with concomitant systemic release of inflammatory mediators causing inflammation,
hypoxemia and
frequently resulting in multiple organ failure. This condition is life threatening and
often lethal, usually requiring mechanical ventilation and admission to an intensive
care unit. A less severe form is called acute lung injury.
|
|
|
|
Adipose Tissue
In anatomy, adipose tissue or fat is loose connective tissue composed of
adipocytes. Its main
role is to store energy in the form of fat, although it also cushions and insulates the body.
|
|
Adipocytes
Adipocytes are the cells that primarily compose adipose tissue, specialized in storing
energy as fat.
|
|
Adrenocorticotropic Hormone
The adrenocorticotropic hormone is a peptide hormone produced and secreted by the
pituitary gland. It is an important player in the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis.
|
|
Agnosia
Agnosia (or loss of knowledge) is a loss of ability to recognize objects, persons,
sounds, shapes, or smells while the specific sense is not defective nor is there
any significant memory loss. It is usually associated with brain injury or
neurological illness, particularly after damage to the temporal lobe.
|
|
Allergy
An abnormally high sensitivity to certain substances, such as pollens, foods,
or microorganisms. Common indications of allergy may include sneezing, itching,
and skin rashes.
|
|
Alpha EEG Anomaly
Alpha EEG anomaly occurs when sudden bursts of brain activity occur during a time when
the brain should be in deep sleep. These periods of intense activity are measured as
alpha waves on an EEG monitor. People with alpha EEG anomaly do not have difficulty
falling asleep, but once they reach deep sleep, their brains begin to act like they
are awake. This leaves sufferers feeling tired and drained. An alarming percentage
of FM sufferers have Alpha EEG Anomaly.
|
|
|
|
Alzheimer's Disease
Alzheimer's disease (AD), also known simply as Alzheimer's, is a neurodegenerative
disease characterized by progressive cognitive deterioration together with
declining activities of daily living and neuropsychiatric symptoms or behavioral
changes. It is the most common type of dementia.
The most striking early symptom is loss of short-term memory (amnesia), which
usually manifests as minor forgetfulness that becomes steadily more pronounced
with illness progression, with relative preservation of older memories.
As the disorder progresses, cognitive (intellectual) impairment extends to the domains
of language (aphasia), skilled movements (apraxia), recognition (agnosia), and
those functions (such as decision-making and planning) closely related to the
frontal and temporal lobes of the brain as they become disconnected from the limbic
system, reflecting extension of the underlying pathological process.
|
|
|
|
Anemia
The condition of having less than the normal number of red blood cells or less than
the normal quantity of hemoglobin in the blood. The oxygen-carrying capacity of the
blood is, therefore, decreased.
|
|
Ankylosing Spondylitis
Ankylosing spondylitis is a chronic, painful, progressive inflammatory arthritis
primarily affecting spine and sacroiliac joints, causing eventual fusion of the spine.
It is a member of the group of the autoimmune spondyloarthropathies with a probable
genetic predisposition. Complete fusion results in a complete rigidity of the spine,
a condition known as bamboo spine.
|
|
|
|
Antidepressant
An antidepressant, in the most common usage, is a medication taken to alleviate
clinical depression or dysthymia ('milder' depression). Several groups of drugs
are particularly associated with:
MAOI's
Tricyclic's
SSRI's
These medications are now amongst the most commonly prescribed by psychiatrists and
general practitioners, and their effectiveness and adverse effects are the subject of
many studies and competing claims. A number of other antidepressant drugs, notably St
John's Wort, are also widely studied and used.
Antidepressants are generally, if not in pharmacology, considered separately from
stimulants. They are usually taken as a course over several weeks, months or years,
and have a delayed onset of therapeutic action. Drugs used for an immediate euphoric
effect only are not generally considered antidepressants.
Despite the name, antidepressants are often used in the treatment of other
conditions, including:
- anxiety disorders
- bipolar disorder
- eating disorders
- chronic pain conditions such as FM and CFS/ME
Some have also become known as lifestyle drugs, sometimes referred to as
"mood brighteners". Conversely other medications not known as antidepressants,
including anti-psychotics in low doses and
benzodiazepines are
also widely used to manage depression. In fact the antidepressant term is sometimes
applied to any therapy (e.g. psychotherapy, electro-convulsive therapy, acupuncture)
or process (e.g. sleep disruption, increased light levels, regular exercise) found to
improve clinically depressed mood. It is also the case that placebos tend to have
a significant antidepressant effect, so that establishing something as an antidepressant
in a clinical trial involves demonstrating a significant additional effect.
|
|
|
|
Anti-Anxiety Medications
Anti-anxiety medications include the
benzodiazepines, which
can relieve symptoms within a short time. They have relatively few side effects:
- drowsiness and loss of coordination are most common
- fatigue and mental slowing or confusion can also occur
These effects make it dangerous for people taking benzodiazepines to drive or operate
some machinery. Other side effects are rare.
Types of Anti-Anxiety Medications:
|
|
|
|
Antibiotics
An antibiotic is a drug that kills or prevents the growth of
bacteria. They have no effect against viruses or fungal infections. Antibiotics are
one class of antimicrobials, a larger group which also includes anti-viral, anti-fungal,
and anti-parasitic drugs. They are relatively harmless to the host, and therefore can be
used to treat infections.
The term, coined by Selman Waksman, originally described only those formulations derived
from living organisms, in contrast to "chemotherapeutic agents", which are purely
synthetic. Nowadays the term "antibiotic" is also applied to synthetic antimicrobials,
such as the sulfa drugs. Antibiotics are generally small molecules with a molecular
weight less than 2000 Da. They are not enzymes. Some antibiotics have been derived from
mold, for example the penicillin class.
|
|
|
|
Anxiety
A feeling of apprehension and fear characterized by physical symptoms such as:
- palpitations
- sweating
- feelings of stress
Anxiety disorders are serious medical illnesses that affect approximately 19 million
American adults. These disorders fill people's lives with overwhelming anxiety and
fear. Unlike the relatively mild, brief anxiety caused by a stressful event such as
a business presentation or a first date, anxiety disorders are chronic, relentless,
and can grow progressively worse if not treated.
|
|
|
|
Aphasia
Aphasia is a loss or impairment of the ability to produce
and/or comprehend language, due to brain damage.
Depending on the area and extent of the damage, someone suffering from aphasia may be
able to speak but not write, or vice versa, or display any of a wide variety of
other deficiencies in reading, writing, and comprehension.
Aphasia may co-occur with speech disorders such as
dysarthria or
apraxia of speech,
which also result from brain damage.
Usually, aphasias are a result of damage to the language centers of the brain (like
Broca's area). These
areas are almost always located in the left hemisphere, and in most people this is where
the ability to produce and comprehend language is found. However, in a very small number
of people language ability is found in the right hemisphere.
In either case, damage to these language areas can be caused by a stroke, traumatic
brain injury, or other head injury. Aphasia may also develop slowly, as in the case
of a brain tumor or progressive
neurological disease.
|
|
|
|
Apraxia
Apraxia is a neurological disorder characterized by loss of the
ability to execute or carry out learned purposeful movements, despite having the desire
and the physical ability to perform the movements.
It is a disorder of motor planning which may be acquired or developmental, but may not
be caused by in coordination, sensory loss, or failure to comprehend simple commands
(which can be tested by asking the person tested to recognize the correct movement from
a series).
|
|
Asymptomatic
In medicine, a disease is asymptomatic while the patient does not experience
symptoms. Asymptomatic diseases may not be discovered until the patient undergoes
medical tests (X-rays or other investigations).
Some diseases remain asymptomatic for a remarkably long time, including some forms of
cancer.
A patient's individual genetic makeup may delay or prevent the onset of symptoms.
|
|
Atheroma
A deposit or degenerative accumulation of lipid-containing plaques
on the innermost layer of the wall of an artery.
|
|
|
|
Autoimmune Diseases
Autoimmune diseases arise from an overactive immune response of the body against
substances and tissues normally present in the body. In other words, the body attacks
its own cells. Today there are more than 40 human diseases classified as either definite
or probable autoimmune diseases, and they affect 5% to 7% of the population. Almost
all autoimmune diseases appear without warning or apparent cause, and most patients
suffer from fatigue.
The causes of autoimmune diseases are still obscure: Some are thought to be either
examples of or precipitated by diseases of affluence. For example, arthritis and obesity
are acknowledged to be related, and the World Health Organization states that arthritis
is most common in developed countries. Most autoimmune diseases are probably the result
of multiple circumstances, for example, a genetic predisposition triggered by an infection.
|
|
|
|
Autonomic Nervous System
The autonomic nervous system is the part of the peripheral nervous system that controls
homeostasis, that is
the constancy of the content of tissues in gasses, ions and nutrients.
|
|
Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia
Benign prostatic hyperplasia known as Benign prostatic hypertrophy or Benign enlargement
of the prostate refers to the increase in size of the prostate in middle-aged and
elderly men.
|
|
|
|
Benzodiazepines
The benzodiazepines (pronounced ben-zoe-dye-AZE-eh-peens, or "benzos" for short) are a
class of psychoactive drugs considered as minor tranquilizers with varying
- hypnotic
- sedative
- anxiolytic
- anticonvulsant
- muscle relaxant
- amnestic
properties which is brought upon by this class of drug slowing down
the central nervous system. This makes benzodiazepines useful in treating:
- anxiety
- insomnia
- agitation
- seizures
- muscle spasms
- alcohol withdrawal
They can also be used before certain medical procedures such as:
- endoscopies
- dental work
- medical procedures where tension and anxiety are present
- and prior to some unpleasant medical procedures to induce amnesia for the procedure
Another use is to counteract anxiety-related symptoms upon initial use of
SSRI's and
other antidepressants, or as an adjunctive treatment.
All benzodiazepines have an addictive potential. Use of benzodiazepines should only
commence after medical consultation and prescribed the smallest dosage possible to provide
an acceptable level of symptom relief. Dependence varies for the benzodiazepines used,
with some reporting Alprazolam dependence in as little as three days.
Types of Benzodiazepines:
|
|
|
|
Berylliosis
Berylliosis or chronic beryllium disorder (CBD) is an occupational lung disease. It
is a chronic allergic-type lung response and chronic lung disease caused by exposure
to beryllium and its compounds. The condition is incurable but symptoms can be treated.
|
|
|
|
Biofeedback
Biofeedback is a form of complementary and alternative medicine
which involves measuring a subject's bodily processes such as blood pressure, heart
rate, skin temperature, galvanic skin response (sweating), and muscle tension and
conveying such information to him or her in real-time in order to raise his or her
awareness and conscious control of the related physiological activities.
By providing access to physiological information about which the user is generally
unaware, biofeedback allows users to gain control over physical processes
previously considered automatic. Interest in biofeedback has waxed and waned since
its inception in the 1960s; at the beginning of the 21st century it is undergoing
something of a renaissance, which some ascribe to the general upswing of interest
in complementary and alternative medicine modalities.
|
|
|
|
Broca's Area
Broca's area is the section of the human brain (in the opercular
and triangular sections of the inferior frontal gyrus of the frontal lobe of the cortex)
that is involved in language processing, speech production and comprehension.
Broca's and Wernicke's areas are found unilaterally in the brain. Broca's area is named
after the 19th century physician Paul Broca.
|
|
Cardiomyopathy
Cardiomyopathy, which literally means "heart muscle disease", is the deterioration of
the function of the myocardium (i.e., the actual heart muscle) for any reason. People
with cardiomyopathy are often at risk of arrhythmia and/or sudden cardiac death.
|
|
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is a medical condition in which the median nerve is
compressed at the wrist, leading to pain, paresthesias, and muscle weakness in the
forearm and hand. A form of compressive neuropathy, CTS is more common in women than
it is in men, and, though it can occur at any age, has a peak incidence around age 42.
The lifetime risk for CTS is around 10% of the adult population.
CTS became widely known to the general public in the 1990s as a result of the
significant increase in chronic wrist pain due to the rapid expansion of office jobs.
Other conditions may also be misdiagnosed as carpal tunnel syndrome.
|
|
Catecholamine
Any of a group of chemically related neurotransmitters, as epinephrine and dopamine,
that have similar effects on the sympathetic nervous system.
|
|
Celiac Disease
Celiac Disease is an autoimmune disorder of the small bowel that occurs in
genetically predisposed individuals in all age groups after early infancy. Symptoms
may include diarrhea, failure to thrive (in children) and fatigue, but these may be
absent and associated symptoms in all other organ systems have been described.
|
|
Central Nervous System
The central nervous system represents the largest part of the nervous system, including
the brain and the spinal cord. Together with the peripheral nervous system, it has
a fundamental role in the control of behavior. The central nervous system is contained
within the dorsal cavity, with the brain within the cranial sub cavity, and the spinal
cord in the spinal cavity.
|
|
Cerebral Palsy
Cerebral palsy (CP) is an umbrella term encompassing a group of
non-progressive, non-contagious neurological disorders that cause physical
disability in human development, specifically the human movement and posture.
|
|
Cerebrospinal Fluid
Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) is a clear bodily fluid that occupies the subarachnoid space
and the ventricular system around and inside the brain.
More specifically the CSF occupies the space between the arachnoid mater (the internal
layer of the brain cover, meninges) and the pia mater (the most superficial layer of
the brain). Moreover it constitutes the content of all intra-cerebral (inside the
brain, cerebrum) ventricles, cisterns and sulci (singular sulcus), as well as the
central canal of the spinal cord.
It is an approximately isotonic solution and acts as a "cushion" or buffer for the
cortex, providing also a basic mechanical and immunological protection to the brain
inside the skull.
|
|
|
|
Channelopathies
Channelopathies are diseases caused by a mutation or mutations in genes coding for
ion channel subunits or proteins that regulate them.
There are a large number of distinct dysfunctions known to be caused by ion
channel mutations. The genes for the construction of ion channels are highly
conserved amongst mammals and one condition, hyperkalemic periodic paralysis,
was first identified in the descendants of Impressive, a pedigree race horse.
The channelopathies of human skeletal muscle include hyper-, hypo- and normokalemic
(high, low and normal potassium blood concentrations) periodic paralysis, myotonia
congenita and paramyotonia congenita.
|
|
Chronic
A chronic illness is one that persists for a long time, usually more than three months.
By analogy, this adjective has come to describe problems which cannot be solved in a
short time, or which will recur regardless of action.
|
|
|
|
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/Myalgic Encephalopathy (CFS/ME) ia a poorly understood, highly
debilitating disorder of uncertain cause/causes, which is thought to affect
approximately 4 per 1,000 adults in the United States and other countries, and
a smaller fraction of children.
This disorder is marked by chronic mental and physical exhaustion, often severe, and
by other specific symptoms, arising in previously healthy and active persons.
Despite promising avenues of research, there remains no objective pathological finding
which is widely accepted to be diagnostic of CFS/ME. It remains largely a diagnosis
of exclusion, made on the basis of patient history and symptomatic criteria, although
a number of tests exist which can help aid diagnosis.
More about CFS/ME
can be found here.
|
|
Clinical
Having to do with the examination and treatment of patients. A
laboratory test may be of clinical value (of use to patients).
|
|
Coagulopathy
Coagulopathy is a medical term for a defect in the body's mechanism for blood clotting.
While there are several possible causes they generally result in excessive bleeding and
a lack of clotting.
|
|
Cognitive
Pertaining to cognition, the process of knowing and, more precisely, the process of
being aware, knowing, thinking, learning and judging.
The study of cognition touches on the fields of psychology, linguistics, computer
science, neuroscience, mathematics, ethology and philosophy.
|
|
|
|
Cognitive Therapy
Cognitive Therapy (CT) is a type of psychotherapy developed
by psychiatrist Aaron T. Beck in the 1960s. Becoming disillusioned with
long-term psychodynamics approaches based on gaining insight into unconscious emotions
and drives, Beck came to the conclusion that the way in which his clients perceived
and interpreted and attributed meaning - a process known scientifically as
cognition - in their daily lives was a key to therapy.
Albert Ellis was working on similar ideas from a different perspective, in developing
his Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT). Beck initially focused on depression
and developed a list of "errors" in thinking that he proposed could cause or
maintain depression, including arbitrary inference, selective abstraction, over-generalization, and magnification (of negatives) and minimization
(of positives). Cognitive therapy seeks to identify and change "distorted" or
"unrealistic" ways of thinking, and therefore to influence emotion and behavior.
|
|
|
|
Colostomy
A surgical procedure that involves connecting a part of the colon onto the anterior
abdominal wall, leaving the patient with an opening on the abdomen called a stoma.
This opening is formed from the end of the large intestine drawn out through the incision
and sutured to the skin. After a colostomy, feces leave the patient's body through the
stoma, and collect in a pouch attached to the patient's abdomen which is changed
when necessary.
|
|
Condition
An unhealthy state, such as in "this is a progressive condition."
|
|
Connotes
To suggest or imply in addition to literal meaning.
|
|
Cortisol
Cortisol is a Corticosteroids hormone produced by the adrenal cortex that is involved in
the response to stress. It increases blood pressure, blood sugar levels, may
cause infertility in women, and suppresses the immune system.
In pharmacology, cortisol is referred to as hydrocortisone, and is used to treat
allergies and inflammation. When first introduced as a treatment for rheumatoid arthritis,
it was referred to as Compound E.
|
|
|
|
Costochondritis
Tietze's Syndrome, also known as Costochondritis, is a benign inflammation of one or
more of the costal cartilages.
Tietze's Syndrome and Costochondritis were initially described as separate conditions,
the sole difference being that in Tietze's Syndrome there is swelling of the
costal cartilages. It is now recognized that the presence or absence of swelling is only
an indicator of the severity of the condition. It was at one time thought to be
associated with, or caused by, a viral infection acquired during surgery, but this is
now known not to be the case. Most sufferers have not had recent surgery.
While the true causes of Tietze's Syndrome are not well understood, it often results from
a physical strain or minor injury, such as repeated vomiting or impacts to the chest. It
has even been known to occur after hearty bouts of laughter.
Although patients will often mistake the pain of Tietze's Syndrome for a
myocardial infarction (heart attack), the syndrome does not progress to cause
harm to any organs.
Doctors often reassure patients that their symptoms are not associated with a heart
attack, although they may need to treat the pain, which in some cases can be severe
enough to cause significant but temporary disability to the patient.
|
|
|
|
Costochondral Junction
Junction of the rib into cartilage in the anterior chest.
|
|
Crohn's Disease
Crohn's disease is a chronic, episodic, inflammatory condition of the gastrointestinal
tract characterized by transmural inflammation (affecting the entire wall of the
involved bowel) and skip lesions (areas of inflammation with areas of normal lining
in between).
Crohn's disease is a type of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and may sometimes affect
any part of the gastrointestinal tract from mouth to anus; as a result, the symptoms
of Crohn's disease can vary between affected individuals.
The main gastrointestinal symptoms are abdominal pain, diarrhea (which may be bloody),
and weight loss. Crohn's disease can also cause complications outside of the
gastrointestinal tract such as skin rashes, arthritis, and inflammation of the eye.
|
|
|
|
Curettage
Curettage, in surgery, is the use of a curette to remove tissue by scraping or scooping.
It may be used to obtain a biopsy of a mass to determine if it is a
granuloma,
neoplasm, or some
other tumor.
It is often employed prior to definitive excisional surgery to more precisely delineate
the extent of a tumor. In selected cases, curettage may be employed to treat certain
'low risk' skin cancers.
|
|
Cyanosis
Cyanosis refers to the bluish coloration of the skin due to the presence of
deoxygenated hemoglobin in blood vessels near the skin surface.
|
|
Cytokines
Cytokines are a group of proteins and peptides that are used in organisms as
signaling compounds. These chemical signals are similar to hormones and neurotransmitters
and are used to allow one cell to communicate with another.
|
|
Cytomegalovirus
Cytomegalovirus (CMV), is a genus of Herpes viruses. In humans the species is known as
Human herpes virus 5 (HHV-5). The name means "very big cell virus".
|
|
Debilitating
Causing a loss of strength or energy.
|
|
Deamination
It is the process by which amino acids are broken down. The amino group is removed from
the amino acid and converted to ammonia. The rest of the amino acid is made up of
mostly carbon and hydrogen, and is recycled or oxidized for energy.
|
|
Diabetes Mellitus
Diabetes mellitus is a metabolic disorder characterized by hyperglycemia (high blood
sugar) and othe | |
- It's FREE!
