Copy of `Dorland's Medical Dictionary`

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Dorland's Medical Dictionary Category: Health and Medicine > Medical Dictionary Date & country: 31/12/2010, USA Words: 39128

brachiofacial paralysis
paralysis affecting the face and an upper limb.

brachioradialis muscle
(bra″ke-o-ra″de-a´lis) brachioradial muscle: origin, lateral supracondylar ridge of humerus; insertion, lower end of radius; innervation, radial nerve; action, flexes forearm.

brachioradialis reflex
tapping on the lower end of the radius produces flexion of the forearm.

brachium
(bra´ke-әm) pl. bra´chia Latin word meaning arm;; it is a term used in anatomy and refers only to the part of the arm between the shoulder and the elbow.

Brachmann-de Lange syndrome
(brahk´mahn da-lahng´ә) de Lange syndrome.

Bracht-Wächter bodies
nonspecific inflammatory foci of lymphocytic and mononuclear cells in the myocardium, observed in bacterial endocarditis.

brachybasia
(brak″e-ba´zhә) a slow, shuffling, short-stepped gait.

brachycephalic
(brak″e-sә-fal´ik) having a short wide head.

brachycephaly
(brak″e-sef´ә-le) the state of being brachycephalic.

brachycheilia
(brak″e-ki´le-ә) shortness of the lip.

brachydactyly
(brak″e-dak´tә-le) abnormal shortness of the fingers and toes.

brachygnathia
(brak″ig-na´the-ә) abnormal shortness of the mandible.

brachymetacarpia
(brak″e-met″ә-kahr´pe-ә) abnormal shortness of the metacarpal bones.

brachymetatarsia
(brak″e-met″ә-tahr´se-ә) abnormal shortness of the metatarsal bones.

brachypellic pelvis
a short oval type of pelvis, in which the transverse diameter exceeds the anteroposterior diameter by 1 to 3 cm.

brachyphalangia
(brak″e-fә-lan´jә) abnormal shortness of a phalanx of a finger or toe.

brachytherapy
(brak″e-ther´ә-pe) internal radiation therapy using a radioactive source placed either within the body or a cavity, on the body surface, or a short distance from the surface.

bracket
(brak´әt) a support projecting from the main structure. a small metal attachment welded or soldered to an orthodontic band or attached directly to the teeth, for fastening the arch wire to the band or tooth. Called also orthodontic bracket.

Bradbury-Eggleston syndrome
(brad´bә-re eg´әl-stәn) a syndrome of postural hypotension without tachycardia but with visual disturbances, hypohidrosis, impotence, lowered basal metabolic rate, dizziness, syncope, presyncope, and slow unchanging pulse. It occurs predominantly in older males in the early morning hours during t...

Braden scale
an assessment tool for predicting the risk of pressure ulcers, based on the total of scores given in the categories sensory perception, moisture, activity, mobility, nutrition, and friction and shear.

Bradley disease
(brad´le) name given to a type of viral gastroenteritis that occurred in the British Isles in the 1940s.

bradyacusia
(brad″e-ә-ku´zhә) dullness of hearing.

bradyarrhythmia
(brad″e-ә-rith´me-ә) bradycardia associated with arrhythmia; the rate is 60 beats per minute or less. It is caused by conditions such as sinus bradycardia, sinoatrial block, and atrioventricular block.

bradycardia
(brad″e-kahr´de-ә) slowness of the heartbeat, so that the pulse rate is less than 60 per minute. This can occur in normal persons, particularly during sleep; trained athletes also usually have slow pulse and heart rates. adj., bradycar´diac., adj.

bradycardia-tachycardia syndrome
any cardiac dysrhythmia characterized by alternating slow and fast heart rates, often resulting in hemodynamic compromise. See also sick sinus syndrome.

bradydysrhythmia
(brad″e-dis-rith´me-ә) a very slow dysrhythmia in an adult; the term bradyarrhythmia is usually used instead.

bradyesthesia
(brad″e-es-the´zhә) slowness or dullness of perception.

bradykinesia
(brad″e-kĭ-ne´zhә) abnormal slowness of movement. adj., bradykinet´ic., adj.

bradykinin
(brad″e-ki´nin) a nonapeptide kinin formed from a plasma protein, high-molecular-weight (HMW) kininogen by the action of kallikrein; it is a very powerful vasodilator that increases capillary permeability and, in addition, constricts smooth muscle and stimulates pain receptors.

bradylalia
(brad″e-la´le-ә) abnormally slow utterance due to a central nervous system lesion.

bradylexia
(brad″e-lek´se-ә) abnormal slowness in reading, due neither to defect in intelligence or of vision, nor to ignorance of the alphabet.

bradylogia
(brad″e-lo´jә) bradylalia.

bradyphagia
(brad″ĭ-fa´jә) abnormal slowness of eating.

bradypnea
(brad″e-ne´ә) (brad-ip´ne-ә) breathing that is regular in rhythm but slower than normal in rate. This is normal during sleep; otherwise it is associated with disturbance in the brain's respiratory control center, as when the center is affected by opiate narcotics, alcohol, a tumo...

bradyspermatism
(brad″e-spur´mә-tiz-әm) abnormally slow ejaculation of semen.

bradysphygmia
(brad″e-sfig´me-ә) abnormal slowness of the pulse.

bradytachycardia
(brad″e-tak″ĭ-kahr´de-ә) alternating attacks of bradycardia and tachycardia.

bradyuria
(brad″e-u´re-ә) slow discharge of urine.

Bragard sign
with the knee stiff, the lower limb is flexed at the hip until the patient experiences pain; the foot is then dorsiflexed. Increase of pain points to disease of the nerve root.

braille
(brāl) an alphabet system for the blind, consisting of raised dots that can be felt with the fingertip.

brain
(brān) that part of the central nervous system contained within the skull; it is divided into the forebrain or prosencephalon, the midbrain or mesencephalon, and the hindbrain or rhombencephalon. The brain is a mass of soft, spongy, pinkish gray tissue that weighs about 1.2 kg in a human being; it is made up of billions ...

brain abscess
an abscess within the intracranial cavity; most cases are secondary to infections of the middle ear; other causes include compound fracture of the skull with contamination of brain tissue, sinusitis, and infections of the face, lung or heart. Symptoms include fever, malaise, irritability, severe headache, convulsions, vomiting,...

brain cooling system
thermoregulated equipment for sensing and controlling brain temperature in neurophysiological and neuropsychological applications.

brain death
the irreversible cessation of all brain activity for an appropriate observation period, at least 24 hours, so that cardiopulmonary functions must be artificially maintained. Criteria for such a diagnosis in the USA include cessation of all brain functions, including cerebral functions and brainstem reflexes; irreversibili...

brain edema
cerebral edema.

Brain reflex
extension of a hemiplegic flexed upper limb when a person is in a quadrupedal posture; called also quadrupedal extensor reflex.

brain scanning
a nuclear medicine procedure for detection of brain tumors, areas of stroke syndrome, abscesses, hematomas, and other brain lesions. A radiopharmaceutical, such as 99mtechnetium pertechnetate, is injected intravenously and is carried to the brain, where it localizes around any lesion that alters the blood-brain barrier. A scint...

brain vesicles
the five divisions of the closed neural tube in the developing embryo, including the telencephalon, diencephalon, mesencephalon, metencephalon, and myelencephalon.

brain waves
changes in electric potential of different areas of the brain, as recorded by electroencephalography. See also alpha, beta, delta, and theta waves.

brainstem
(brān´stem) the stemlike portion of the brain connecting the cerebral hemispheres with the spinal cord, and comprising the pons, medulla oblongata, and midbrain; considered by some to include the diencephalon. Also written brain stem.

brainstem auditory evoked potential
that portion of the auditory evoked potential that comes from the brainstem; abnormalities can be analyzed to evaluate comas, to support diagnosis of multiple sclerosis, and to detect early posterior fossa tumors.

brainstem reflexes
reflexes regulated at the level of the brainstem, such as pupillary, pharyngeal, and cough reflexes and the control of respiration. Their prolonged absence is one criterion of brain death.

brainwashing
(brān´wahsh″ing) any systematic effort aimed at instilling certain attitudes and beliefs against a person's will, usually beliefs in conflict with prior beliefs and knowledge. It initially referred to political indoctrination of prisoners of war and political prisoners.

brake phenomenon
the tendency of a muscle to maintain itself in its normal resting position; called also Rieger phenomenon.

branch
(branch) a division or offshoot from a main stem, especially of blood vessels, nerves, or lymphatics. Called also ramus. bundle branch a branch of the bundle of His.

branched chain
an open chain of atoms, usually carbon, with one or more side chains attached to it.

brancher enzyme
branching enzyme an enzyme involved in the conversion of long chains of linked glucose molecules into glycogen. It catalyzes the formation of branches in the chains, which creates the complex structure of glycogen. Deficiency of this enzyme causes glycogen storage disease, type IV.

branchial
(brang´ke-әl) pertaining to, or resembling, gills of a fish or derivatives of homologous parts in higher animals.

branchial arches
four pairs of arched columns in the neck region of some aquatic vertebrates that bear the gills. pharyngeal arches.

branchial cyst
branchiogenic cystbranchiogenous cyst a cyst formed deep within the neck from an incompletely closed pharyngeal groove (branchial cleft), usually between the second and third pharyngeal arches (branchial arches). These two arches grow together and enclose the cervical sinus in the neck, which is a common site of a branchial cyst. Call...

branchial ducts
the drawn-out branchial grooves which open into the temporary cervical sinus of the embryo.

branchial fissure
pharyngeal groove.

branchial fistula
a persistent pharyngeal groove (branchial cleft).

branchial pouch
pharyngeal pouch.

branchio-oto-renal syndrome
branchial arch anomalies (preauricular pits, branchial fistulas or pits) associated with Mondini deafness and renal dysplasia, inherited as an autosomal dominant trait with high penetrance and variable expression. Called also BOR syndrome and Melnick-Fraser syndrome.

Branham sign
(bran´hәm) bradycardia produced by digital closure of an artery proximal to an arteriovenous fistula.

Branhamella
(bran″hә-mel´ә) Moraxella (Branhamella).

branny
(bran´e) resembling bran; rough, scaly, dry.

brash
(brash) heartburn. water brash heartburn with regurgitation of sour fluid or almost tasteless saliva into the mouth.

brassfounder's fever
metal fume fever caused by fumes of any of several metals, most commonly zinc, copper, or magnesium.

Braunwald sign
occurrence of a weak pulse instead of a strong one immediately after a premature ventricular contraction.

Braxton Hicks contractions
(brak´stәn hiks´) light, usually painless, irregular uterine contractions that occur throughout pregnancy, gradually increasing in intensity and frequency and becoming more rhythmic during the third trimester; they are often mistaken for true labor and are sometimes referred to as “false labor.” They m...

Brazilian purpuric fever
an acute illness in children characterized by fever, abdominal pain, vomiting, petechiae, purpura, and a recent history of conjunctivitis.

Brazilian spotted fever
Rocky Mountain spotted fever.

break off phenomenon
a state of disconnectedness or unreality experienced by high-altitude pilots. Its symptomatic sensations are apparently indescribable in understandable physical terms, but the condition could be the result of a loss of all the physical sense perceptions.

breakbone fever
dengue.

breakdown
(brāk´doun) the act or process of ceasing to function, or the resulting condition. an often sudden collapse in health, physical or mental. loss of self-control.

breakthrough bleeding
a light type of dysfunctional uterine bleeding sometimes seen in women during the first few cycles of usage of an oral contraceptive.

breakthrough pain
a transient increase in pain intensity from a baseline pain level of no greater than moderate.

breast
(brest) the front of the chest, especially the modified cutaneous, glandular structure found there. In women the breasts are secondary sex organs with the function of producing milk after childbirth. The term breast is less commonly used to refer to this area of the chest of males; in males glandular tissue neither func...

breast bone
sternum.

breast cancer
malignancy of the breast; it is second only to lung cancer as a cause of cancer deaths in North American women. The incidence of breast cancer is rising each year and is currently well over 10 per cent, although the death rate has declined slightly in recent years. It is usually classified as either ductal or lobular carcinoma ...

breast milk jaundice
elevated unconjugated bilirubin in some breast-fed infants due to the presence of an abnormal pregnane that inhibits glucuronyl transferase conjugating activity.

breast pump
a pump for taking milk from the breast.

breastfeeding
(brest´ fēd´ing) the method of feeding a baby with milk directly from the mother's breast. Also written breast feeding and breast-feeding.

breath
(breth) the air taken in and expelled during ventilation.

breath hydrogen test
hydrogen breath test.

breath sounds
the sounds of air moving through the tracheobronchial tree, heard during auscultation of the chest. There are four main types: bronchial breath sounds are high-pitched ones heard normally over the manubrium sterni but indicative of consolidation or compression when heard elsewhere; bronchovesicular breath sounds are a com...

breath test
any of various tests in which a person's breath is analyzed for presence of something abnormal. Subgroups called the 13C breath tests and 14C breath tests involve administration of organic compounds labeled with carbon 13 (heavy carbon) or carbon 14 (radioactive carbon) and measuring the subsequent levels of labeled carbon dioxide in...

breathing
(brēth´ing) ventilation (def. 2).

breathing-related sleep disorder
any of several disorders characterized by sleep disruption due to some sleep-related breathing problem, resulting in excessive sleepiness or insomnia. The most common conditions are the sleep apneas.

breech
(brēch) buttocks.

breech delivery
delivery of a fetus in breech presentation; see also breech extraction.

breech extraction
extraction of an infant from the uterus in cases of breech presentation.

breech presentation
presentation of the fetal buttocks, knees, or feet in labor; the feet may be alongside the buttocks (complete breech presentation); the legs may be extended against the trunk and the feet lying against the face (frank breech presentation); or one or both feet or knees may be prolapsed into the maternal vagina (incomplete ...

bregma
(breg´mә) the point on the surface of the skull at the junction of the coronal and sagittal sutures. adj., bregmat´ic., adj. Bregma.

bregmatic bone
parietal bone.

bregmatic fontanelle
anterior fontanelle.

bregmocardiac reflex
pressure upon the bregmatic fontanelle slows the action of the heart.

Breisky disease
(bri´ske) lichen sclerosus in women.