A
- ABDOMEN/ABDOMINAL
- Body cavity below diaphragm that contains stomach, intestines, liver and other organs
- ABSORB
- take up fluids, take in
- ACIDOSIS
- Condition when blood contains more acid than normal
- ACUITY
- Clearness, keenness, esp. of vision and airways
- ACUTE
- New, recent, sudden, urgent
- ADENOPATHY
- Swollen lymph nodes (glands)
- ADHD
- The abbreviation for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
- ADJUVANT
- Helpful, assisting, aiding, supportive
- ADJUVANT TREATMENT
- Added treatment (usually to a standard treatment)
- ADVERSE EFFECT
- Side effect, bad reaction, unwanted response
- ALLERGIC REACTION
- Rash, hives, swelling, trouble breathing
- AMBULATE/ AMBULATION/ AMBULATORY
- Walk, able to walk
- ANAPHYLAXIS
- Serious, potentially life-threatening allergic reaction
- ANEMIA
- Decreased red blood cells; low red cell blood count
- ANESTHETIC
- A drug or agent used to decrease the feeling of pain, or eliminate the feeling of pain by putting you to sleep
- ANEURYSMS
- Caused by dilation of a blood vessel, and can lead to rupture and death.
- ANGINA
- Pain resulting from not enough blood flowing to the heart
- ANGINA PECTORIS
- Pain resulting from not enough blood flowing to the heart
- ANGIOEDEMA
- The swelling of the deeper layers of the skin, caused by a build-up of fluid.
- ANOREXIA
- Disorder in which person will not eat; lack of appetite
- ANTECUBITAL
- Related to the inner side of the forearm
- ANTIBIOTIC
- Drug that kills bacteria and other germs
- ANTIBODY
- Protein made in the body in response to foreign substance
- ANTICONVULSANT
- Drug used to prevent seizures
- ANTILIPEMIC
- A drug that lowers fat levels in the blood
- ANTIMICROBIAL
- Drug that kills bacteria and other germs
- ANTIRETROVIRAL
- Drug that works against the growth of certain viruses
- ANTITUSSIVE
- A drug used to relieve coughing
- AORTA
- The largest artery in the body
- ARRHYTHMIA
- Abnormal heartbeat; any change from the normal heartbeat
- ASPIRATION
- Fluid entering the lungs, such as after vomiting
- ASSAY
- Lab test
- ASSESS
- To learn about, measure, evaluate, look at
- ASTHMA
- Lung disease associated with tightening of air passages, making breathing difficult
- ASYMPTOMATIC
- Without symptoms
- AUTOIMMUNE DISEASE
- A problem with the body’s immune system, when it starts to attack healthy cells, tissues and organs. Examples include lupus and rheumatoid arthritis
- AXILLA
- Armpit
B
- BARIATRIC SURGERY
- Surgery for weight loss, such as gastric bypass surgery or gastric band
- BENIGN
- Not malignant, without serious consequences
- BID
- Twice a day
- BINDING/BOUND
- Carried by, to make stick together, transported
- BIOAVAILABILITY
- The extent to which a drug or other substance becomes available to the body
- BIOPSY
- A sample of cells or tissue is removed from the body and tested to help exclude or establish a diagnosis such as cancer
- BLOOD PROFILE
- Series of blood tests
- BOLUS
- A large amount given all at once
- BONE MASS
- The amount of calcium and other minerals in a given amount of bone
- BRACHYTHERAPY
- A cancer treatment whereby radioactive material is inserted directly into the tumor
- BRADYARRHYTHMIAS
- Slow, irregular heartbeats
- BRADYCARDIA
- Slow heartbeat
- BRONCHOSCOPY
- Examination of the airways using a bronchoscope (a flexible or rigid tube with a small camera and light at the end)
- BRONCHOSPASM
- Breathing distress caused by narrowing of the airways
C
- CARDIAC ARREST
- A cessation of the normal regular muscular contractions of the heart, meaning blood cannot be pumped around the body
- CARDIOVERSION
- Return to normal heartbeat by electric shock
- CATHETER
- A tube for withdrawing or giving fluids
- CATHETER
- A tube placed near the spinal cord and used for anesthesia (indwelling epidural) during surgery
- CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM (CNS)
- Brain and spinal cord
- CEREBRAL TRAUMA
- Damage to the brain
- CESSATION
- Stopping
- CHD
- Stopping
- CHEMOTHERAPY
- Treatment of disease, usually cancer, by chemical agents
- CHRONIC
- Continuing for a long time, ongoing
- CLINICAL
- Pertaining to medical care
- CLINICAL TRIAL
- An experiment involving human subjects
- COMA
- Unconscious state
- COMPLETE RESPONSE
- Total disappearance of disease
- CONGENITAL
- Present before birth
- CONJUNCTIVITIS
- Redness and irritation of the thin membrane that covers the eye
- CONSOLIDATION PHASE
- Treatment phase intended to make a remission permanent (follows induction phase)
- CONTROLLED TRIAL
- Research study in which the experimental treatment or procedure is compared to a standard (control) treatment or procedure
- COOPERATIVE GROUP
- Association of multiple institutions to perform clinical trials
- CORONARY
- Related to the blood vessels that supply the heart, or to the heart itself
- CT SCAN (CAT)
- Computerized series of x-rays (computerized tomography)
- CULTURE
- Test for infection, or for organisms that could cause infection
- CUMULATIVE
- Added together from the beginning
- CUTANEOUS
- Relating to the skin
- CVA
- Stroke (cerebrovascular accident)
D
- DERMATOLOGIC
- Pertaining to the skin
- DIASTOLIC
- Lower number in a blood pressure reading
- DISTAL
- Toward the end, away from the center of the body
- DIURETIC
- “Water pill” or drug that causes increase in urination
- DOPPLER
- Device using sound waves to diagnose or test
- DOUBLE BLIND
- Study in which neither investigators nor subjects know what drug or treatment the subject is receiving
- DYSFUNCTION
- State of improper function
- DYSPLASIA
- Abnormal cells
E
- ECHOCARDIOGRAM
- Sound wave test of the heart
- EDEMA
- Excess fluid collecting in tissue
- EEG
- Electric brain wave tracing (electroencephalogram)
- EFFICACY
- Effectiveness
- ELECTROCARDIOGRAM
- Electrical tracing of the heartbeat (ECG or EKG)
- ELECTROLYTE IMBALANCE
- An imbalance of minerals in the blood
- EMESIS
- Vomiting
- EMPIRIC
- Based on experience
- ENDOSCOPIC EXAMINATION
- Examination of an internal part of the body with a lighted tube ENTERAL by way of the intestines
- EPIDURAL
- Outside the spinal cord
- ERADICATE
- Get rid of (such as disease)
- EVALUATED, ASSESSED
- Examined for a medical condition
- EXPEDITED REVIEW
- Rapid review of a protocol by the IRB Chair without full committee approval, permitted with certain low-risk research studies
- EXTERNAL
- Outside the body
- EXTRAVASATE
- To leak outside of a planned area, such as out of a blood vessel
F
- FDA
- U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the branch of federal government that approves new drugs
- FIBRILLATION
- Irregular beat of the heart or other muscle
- FIBROUS
- Having many fibers, such as scar tissue
G
- GENERAL ANESTHESIA
- Pain prevention by giving drugs to cause loss of consciousness, as during surgery
- GESTATIONAL
- Pertaining to pregnancy
H
- HEMATOCRIT
- Amount of red blood cells in the blood
- HEMATOMA
- A bruise, a black and blue mark
- HEMODYNAMIC MEASURING
- Measuring of blood flow
- HEMOLYSIS
- Breakdown in red blood cells
- HEPARIN LOCK
- Needle placed in the arm with blood thinner to keep the blood from clotting
- HEPATOMA
- Cancer or tumor of the liver
- HERITABLE DISEASE
- Disease that can be transmitted to one’s offspring, resulting in damage to future children
- HISTOPATHOLOGIC
- Pertaining to the disease status of body tissues or cells
- HOLTER MONITOR
- A portable machine for recording heart beats
- HYPERCALCEMIA
- High blood calcium level
- HYPERKALEMIA
- High blood potassium level
- HYPERNATREMIA
- High blood sodium level
- HYPERTENSION
- High blood pressure
- HYPOCALCEMIA
- Low blood calcium level
- HYPOKALEMIA
- Low blood potassium level
- HYPONATREMIA
- Low blood sodium level
- HYPOTENSION
- Low blood pressure
- HYPOXEMIA
- A decrease of oxygen in the blood
- HYPOXIA
- A decrease of oxygen reaching body tissues
- HYSTERECTOMY
- Surgical removal of the uterus, ovaries (female sex glands), or both uterus and ovaries
I
- IATROGENIC
- Caused by a physician or by treatment
- IDE
- Investigational device exemption, the license to test an unapproved new medical device
- IDIOPATHIC
- Of unknown cause
- IMMUNITY
- Defense against, protection from
- IMMUNOGLOBIN
- A protein that makes antibodies
- IMMUNOSUPPRESSIVE
- Drug which works against the body’s immune (protective) response, often used in transplantation and diseases caused by immune system malfunction
- IMMUNOTHERAPY
- Giving of drugs to help the body’s immune (protective) system; usually used to destroy cancer cells
- IMPAIRED FUNCTION
- Abnormal function
- IMPLANTED
- Placed in the body
- IND
- Investigational new drug, the license to test an unapproved new drug
- INDUCTION PHASE
- Beginning phase or stage of a treatment
- INDURATION
- Hardening
- INDWELLING
- Remaining in a given location, such as a catheter
- INFARCT
- Death of tissue due to lack of blood supply
- INFECTIOUS DISEASE
- Disease that is transmitted from one person to the next
- INFLAMMATION
- Swelling that is generally painful, red, and warm
- INFUSION
- Slow injection of a substance into the body, usually into the blood by means of a catheter
- INGESTION
- Eating; taking by mouth
- INTERFERON
- Drug which acts against viruses; antiviral agent
- INTERIOR
- Inside of the body
- INTERMITTENT
- Occurring (regularly or irregularly) between two time points; repeatedly stopping, then starting again
- INTERNAL
- Within the body
- INTRAMUSCULAR
- Into the muscle; within the muscle
- INTRAPERITONEAL
- Into the abdominal cavity
- INTRATHECAL
- Into the spinal fluid
- INTRAVENOUS (IV)
- Through the vein
- INTRAVESICAL
- In the bladder
- INTUBATE
- The placement of a tube into the airway
- INVASIVE PROCEDURE
- Puncturing, opening, or cutting the skin
- INVESTIGATIONAL METHOD
- A treatment method which has not been proven to be beneficial or has not been accepted as standard care
- INVESTIGATIONAL NEW DRUG (IND)
- A new drug that has not been approved by the FDA
- ISCHEMIA
- Decreased oxygen in a tissue (usually because of decreased blood flow)
L
- LAPAROTOMY
- Surgical procedure in which an incision is made in the abdominal wall to enable a doctor to look at the organs inside
- LESION
- Wound or injury; a diseased patch of skin
- LETHARGY
- Sleepiness, tiredness
- LEUKOPENIA
- Low white blood cell count
- LIPID
- Fat
- LIPID CONTENT
- Fat content in the blood
- LIPID PROFILE (PANEL)
- Fat and cholesterol levels in the blood
- LOCAL ANESTHESIA
- Creation of insensitivity to pain in a small, local area of the body, usually by injection of numbing drugs
- LOCALIZED
- Restricted to one area, limited to one area
- LUMEN
- The cavity of an organ or tube (e.g., blood vessel)
- LYMPHANGIOGRAPHY
- An x-ray of the lymph nodes or tissues after injecting dye into lymph vessels (e.g., in feet)
- LYMPHOCYTE
- A type of white blood cell important in immunity (protection) against infection
- LYMPHOMA
- A cancer of the lymph nodes (or tissues)
M
- MALAISE
- A vague feeling of bodily discomfort, feeling badly
- MALFUNCTION
- Condition in which something is not functioning properly
- MALIGNANCY
- Cancer or other progressively enlarging and spreading tumor, usually fatal if not successfully treated
- MEDULLABLASTOMA
- A type of brain tumor
- MEGALOBLASTOSIS
- Change in red blood cells
- METABOLIZE
- Process of breaking down substances in the cells to obtain energy
- METASTASIS
- Spread of cancer cells from one part of the body to another
- METRONIDAZOLE
- Drug used to treat infections caused by parasites (invading organisms that take up living in the body) or other causes of anaerobic infection (not requiring oxygen to survive)
- MINIMAL
- Slight
- MINIMIZE
- Reduce as much as possible
- MOBILITY
- Ease of movement
- MONITOR
- Check on; keep track of; watch carefully
- MORBIDITY
- Undesired result or complication
- MORTALITY
- Death
- MOTILITY
- The ability to move
- MRI
- Magnetic resonance imaging, diagnostic pictures of the inside of the body, created using magnetic rather than x-ray energy
- MUCOSA, MUCOUS MEMBRANE
- Moist lining of digestive, respiratory, reproductive, and urinary tracts
- MYALGIA
- Muscle aches
- MYOCARDIAL
- Pertaining to the heart muscle
- MYOCARDIAL INFARCTION
- Heart attack
N
- NASOGASTRIC TUBE
- Tube placed in the nose, reaching to the stomach
- NCI
- The National Cancer Institute
- NECROSIS
- Death of tissue
- NEOPLASIA/NEOPLASM
- Tumor, may be benign or malignant
- NEUROBLASTOMA
- A cancer of nerve tissue
- NEUROLOGICAL
- Pertaining to the nervous system
- NEUTROPENIA
- Decrease in the main part of the white blood cells
- NIH
- The National Institutes of Health
- NON-INVASIVE
- Not breaking, cutting, or entering the skin
- NOSOCOMIAL
- Acquired in the hospital
O
- OCCLUSION
- Closing; blockage; obstruction
- ONCOLOGY
- The study of tumors or cancer
- OPHTHALMIC
- Pertaining to the eye
- OPTIMAL
- Best, most favorable or desirable
- ORAL ADMINISTRATION
- By mouth
- ORTHOPEDIC
- Pertaining to the bones
- OSTEOPETROSIS
- Rare bone disorder characterized by dense bone
- OSTEOPOROSIS
- Softening of the bones
- OVARIES
- Female sex glands
P
- PARENTERAL
- Given by injection
- PATENCY
- Condition of being open
- PATHOGENESIS
- Development of a disease or unhealthy condition
- PER OS (PO)
- By mouth
- PER OS (PO)
- By mouth
- PERCUTANEOUS
- Through the skin
- PERIPHERAL
- Not central
- PHARMACOKINETICS
- The study of the way the body absorbs, distributes, and gets rid of a drug
- PHASE I
- First phase of study of a new drug in humans to determine action, safety, and proper dosing
- PHASE II
- Second phase of study of a new drug in humans, intended to gather information about safety and effectiveness of the drug for certain uses
- PHASE III
- Large-scale studies to confirm and expand information on safety and effectiveness of new drug for certain uses, and to study common side effects
- PHASE IV
- Studies done after the drug is approved by the FDA, especially to compare it to standard care or to try it for new uses
- PHLEBITIS
- Irritation or inflammation of the vein
- PLACEBO
- An inactive substance; a pill/liquid that contains no medicine
- PLACEBO EFFECT
- Improvement seen with giving subjects a placebo, though it contains no active drug/treatment
- PLATELETS
- Small particles in the blood that help with clotting
- POTENTIAL
- Possible
- POTENTIATE
- Increase or multiply the effect of a drug or toxin (poison) by giving another drug or toxin at the same time (sometimes an unintentional result)
- POTENTIATOR
- An agent that helps another agent work better
- PRENATAL
- Before birth
- PRN
- As needed
- PROGNOSIS
- Outlook, probable outcomes
- PRONE
- Lying on the stomach
- PROPHYLAXIS
- A drug given to prevent disease or infection
- PROSPECTIVE STUDY
- Study following patients forward in time
- PROSTHESIS
- Artificial part, most often limbs, such as arms or legs
- PROTOCOL
- Plan of study
- PROXIMAL
- Closer to the center of the body, away from the end
- PULMONARY
- Pertaining to the lungs
Q
- QD
- Every day, daily
- QID
- Four times a day