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
- CARCINOGENIC
- Cancer-causing
- CARCINOMA
- Type of cancer
- CARDIAC
- Related to the heart
- 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
- Coronary heart disease
- 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
M
- MALAISE
- A vague feeling of bodily discomfort, feeling badly
N
- NASOGASTRIC TUBE
- Tube placed in the nose, reaching to the stomach
O
- OCCLUSION
- Closing; blockage; obstruction
P
- PARENTERAL
- Given by injection
Q
- QD
- Every day; daily
- QID
- Four times a day
R
- RADIATION THERAPY
- X-ray or cobalt treatment
S
- SARCOMA
- A type of cancer
- SARCOMA
- A type of cancer
- SEDATIVE
- A drug to calm or make less anxious
- SEMINOMA
- A type of testicular cancer (found in the male sex glands)
- SEQUENTIALLY
- In a row, in order
- SOMNOLENCE
- Sleepiness
- SPIROMETER
- An instrument to measure the amount of air taken into and exhaled from the lungs
- STAGING
- An evaluation of the extent of the disease
- STANDARD OF CARE
- A treatment plan that the majority of the medical community would accept as appropriate
- STENOSIS
- Narrowing of a duct, tube, or one of the blood vessels in the heart
- STOMATITIS
- Mouth sores, inflammation of the mouth
- STRATIFY
- Arrange in groups for analysis of results (e.g., stratify by age, sex, etc.)
- STUPOR
- Stunned state in which it is difficult to get a response or the attention of the subject
- SUBCLAVIAN
- Under the collarbone
- SUBCUTANEOUS
- Under the skin
- SUPINE
- Lying on the back
- SUPPORTIVE CARE
- General medical care aimed at symptoms, not intended to improve or cure underlying disease
- SYMPTOMATIC
- Having symptoms
- SYNDROME
- A condition characterized by a set of symptoms
- SYSTOLIC
- Top number in blood pressure; pressure during active contraction of the heart
T
- T-LYMPHOCYTES
- Type of white blood cells
- TERATOGENIC
- Capable of causing malformations in a fetus (developing baby still inside the mother’s body)
- TESTES/TESTICLES
- Male sex glands
- THROMBOSIS
- Clotting
- THROMBUS
- Blood clot
- TID
- Three times a day
- TITRATION
- A method for deciding on the strength of a drug or solution; gradually increasing the dose
- TOPICAL
- On the surface
- TOPICAL ANESTHETIC
- Applied to a certain area of the skin and reducing pain only in the area to which applied
- TOXICITY
- Side effects or undesirable effects of a drug or treatment
- TRANSDERMAL
- Through the skin
- TRANSIENTLY
- Temporarily
- TRAUMA
- Injury; wound
- TREADMILL
- Walking machine used to test heart function
- test
- test
U
- UPTAKE
- Absorbing and taking in of a substance by living tissue
V
- VALVULOPLASTY
- Plastic repair of a valve, especially a heart valve
- VARICES
- Enlarged veins
- VASOSPASM
- Narrowing of the blood vessels
- VECTOR
- A carrier that can transmit disease-causing microorganisms (germs and viruses)
- VENIPUNCTURE
- Needle stick, blood draw, entering the skin with a needle
- VERTICAL TRANSMISSION
- Spread of disease
W
- WBC
- White blood cell