Copy of `Dorland's Medical Dictionary`

The wordlist doesn't exist anymore, or, the website doesn't exist anymore. On this page you can find a copy of the original information. The information may have been taken offline because it is outdated.

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

adynamia
(a-di-na´me-ә) asthenia. adj., adynam´ic., adj.

adynamic ileus
that due to inhibition of motility.

AEC
Atomic Energy Commission.

AEC syndrome
Hay-Wells syndrome.

AED
automatic external defibrillator.

Aedes
(a-e´dēz) a genus of mosquitoes, including approximately 600 species. A. aegyp´ti transmits the causative organisms of yellow fever and dengue. A. triseria´tus transmits La Crosse encephalitis.

aeration
(ār-a´shәn) the exchange of carbon dioxide for oxygen by the blood in the lungs. the saturation of a liquid with air or gas.

aerial conduction
air conduction.

Aerobacter
(ār″o-bak´tәr) in former systems of classification, a genus of the family Enterobacteriaceae, consisting of gram-negative facultatively anaerobic motile rods; individual species have been assigned to the genus Enterobacter.

aerobe
(ār´ōb) a microorganism that lives and grows in the presence of free oxygen. facultative aerobe one that can live in the presence of oxygen, but does not require it. obligate aerobe one that cannot live without oxygen.

aerobic
pertaining to an aerobe. having molecular oxygen present. designed to increase oxygen consumption by the body.

aerobic exercise
a type of physical activity that increases the heart rate and promotes increased use of oxygen in order to improve the overall body condition.

aerobic fitness
cardiorespiratory fitness the capacity of the cardiovascular and respiratory systems of an individual to supply oxygen and energy during sustained physical activity.

aerobic respiration
oxidative transformation of certain substrates into high-energy chemical compounds; see also adenosine triphosphate.

AeroBid
(ār´o-bid″) trademark for preparations of flunisolide, an antiinflammatory agent administered by inhalation to treat asthma.

aerocele
(ār´o-sēl″) pneumatocele (def. 1).

aerodermectasia
(ār″o-dur″mek-ta´zhә) subcutaneous or surgical emphysema; an accumulation of air in the subcutaneous tissues.

aerodontalgia
(ār″o-don-tal´jә) toothache experienced at lowered atmospheric pressures, as in aircraft flight or in a decompression chamber, caused by the expansion of air in the maxillary sinuses.

aerodynamics
(ār″o-di-nam´iks) the science of air or gases in motion, and objects or forces that cause such motion.

aeroembolism
(ār″o-em´bo-liz-әm) obstruction of a blood vessel by air or gas.

aerogen
(ār´o-jen″) a gas-producing bacterium.

aerogenesis
(ār″o-jen´ә-sis) formation or production of gas.

Aeromonas
(ār″o-mo´nәs) a genus of gram-negative, facultatively anaerobic, rod-shaped bacteria. A. hydro´phila causes cellulitis, wound infections, diarrhea, septicemia, and urinary tract infections. A. ca´viae and A. so´bia are found in fresh water and sewage and on fish, and cause gastroenteritis and wound infections...

aeropathy
(ār-op´ә-the) bends (decompression sickness).

aerophagia
(ār″o-fa´jә) excessive swallowing of air, usually an unconscious process associated with anxiety, resulting in abdominal distention or belching; these are often interpreted by the patient as signs of a physical disorder.

aerophilic
(ār″o-fil´ik) requiring air for proper growth.

aerophilous
(ār-of´ĭ-lus) aerophilic.

aerosinusitis
(ār″o-si″nәs-i´tis) barosinusitis.

aerosol
(ār´o-sol) a colloid system in which solid or liquid particles are suspended in a gas, especially a suspension of a drug or other substance to be dispensed in a cloud or mist.

aerosol clearance
removal of particles that have been deposited in the respiratory tissues. Clearance may occur by ciliary transport, by phagocytosis, by encapsulation and immobilization in a deposit of fibrous tissue (in which case the particles remain in the body), and by dissolving in tissue fluid and subsequently diffusing into the gen...

aerosol deposition
the depositing of aerosol particles onto a nearby surface, especially deposition or retention of the particles within the respiratory system. Closely related to aerosol penetration and affected by the same factors.

aerosol penetration
the maximum distance that aerosol particles can be carried into the respiratory tract by inhaled air; the depth of penetration increases as particle size decreases.Other factors affecting where particles will be deposited and how deeply they can penetrate include gravity, kinetic activity of gas molecules, inertial impact...

aerosol therapy
use of an aerosol for respiratory care in treatment of bronchopulmonary disease, usually for delivery of medications, humidity, or both to the mucosa of the respiratory tract and pulmonary alveoli. Agents delivered by aerosol may act in a number of ways: (1) to relieve spasm of the bronchial muscles and reduce edema of th...

Aerosporin
(ār″o-spor´in) trademark for a preparation of polymyxin b sulfate, an antimicrobial.

aerotitis
(ār″o-ti´tis) barotitis.

aerotolerant
(ār″o-tol´әr-әnt) surviving and growing in small amounts of air; said of anaerobic microorganisms.

Aesculapius
(es″ku-la´pe-әs) the god of healing in Roman mythology. The staff of Aesculapius, a rod or staff with a snake entwined around it, is a symbol of medicine and is the official insignia of the American Medical Association.

AFCR
American Federation for Clinical Research.

afebrile
(a-feb´ril) without fever.

affect
(af´ekt) the external expression of emotion attached to ideas or mental representations of objects. See also mood.

affective
(ә-fek´tiv) pertaining to affect.

affective congruency
consistency between the self-concept of an individual and the related behaviors and responses of others.

affective disorders
mood disorders.

afferent
(af´әr-әnt) conveying toward a center; called also centripetal. See also efferent and corticipetal. something that so conducts, as an afferent fiber or nerve.

afferent fibers
nerve fibers that conduct sensory impulses from receptors in the periphery of the body to the brain. Called also sensory fibers.

afferent glomerular arteriole
a branch of an interlobular artery that goes to a renal glomerulus.

afferent loop syndrome
chronic partial obstruction of the proximal loop (duodenum and jejunum) after gastrojejunostomy, resulting in duodenal distention, pain, and nausea following ingestion of food.

afferent nerve
any nerve that transmits impulses from the periphery toward the central nervous system, such as a sensory nerve.

afferent nerve fibers
afferent fibers.

afferent neuron
a neuron that conducts a nerve impulse that originated at a receptor and is proceeding towards the center; see also sensory neuron and afferent fibers.

afferent veins
veins that carry blood to an organ.

affinity
(ә-fin´ĭ-te) attraction; a tendency to seek out or unite with another object or substance. in chemistry, the tendency of two substances to form strong or weak chemical bonds forming molecules or complexes. in immunology, the thermodynamic bond strength of an antigen-antibody complex.

affinity chromatography
chromatography based on a highly specific biologic interaction such as that between antigen and antibody, enzyme and substrate, or receptor and ligand. Any of these substances, covalently linked to an insoluble support or immobilized in a gel, may serve as the sorbent allowing the interacting substance to be isolated from...

afibrinogenemia
(a″fi-brin″o-jә-ne´me-ә) absence or deficiency of fibrinogen in the circulating blood. Congenital afibrinogenemia (complete absence of fibrinogen) is a rare anomaly that is inherited. Acquired afibrinogenemia is actually a deficiency of fibrinogen (hypofibrinogenemia) and can be a serious complication ...

AFP
alpha-fetoprotein.

African lymphoma
Burkitt lymphoma.

African sleeping sickness
African trypanosomiasis.

African tick fever
African tick-bite fever a type of spotted fever seen in southern Africa, caused by infection with Rickettsia africae and spread by the bites of ticks of species Amblyomma hebraeum and A. variegatum; symptoms are similar to those of boutonneuse fever. a type of relapsing fever caused by Borrelia duttonii. bo...

AFS
American Fertility Society.

after-cataract
any membrane of the pupillary area after extraction or absorption of the lens. See also secondary cataract.

after-potential
the period following termination of the spike potential.

afterbirth
(af´tәr-bәrth) the placenta and fetal membranes expelled from the uterus after childbirth. Called also secundines.

afterbrain
(af´tәr-brān) metencephalon.

afterdepolarization
(af″tәr-de-po″lәr-ĭ-za´shәn) an oscillation in membrane potential that is dependent upon a preceding action potential for its initiation, and which upon reaching threshold potential can induce arrhythmias that are said to be “triggered.” Early afterdepolarizations occur during ph...

afterimage
(af´tәr-im″әj) a visual impression persisting briefly after cessation of the stimuli causing the original image. In a positive afterimage the brights, darks, and colors remain unchanged; in a negative afterimage the brights and darks are reversed, and the colors are complementary.

afterload
(af´tәr-lōd″) the tension developed by the heart during contraction; it is an important determinant of myocardial energy consumption, as it represents the resistance against which the ventricle must pump and indicates how much effort the ventricles must put forth to force blood into the systemic c...

afterpains
(af´tәr-pānz) pains following expulsion of the placenta, due to contraction of the uterus, seen particularly in multiparas due to vigorous periodic contractions of the puerperal uterus. It is noticeable particularly when the infant nurses, and may be severe; the intensity usually decreases to become mil...

afterperception
(af″tәr-pәr-sep´shәn) perception of aftersensations.

afterpotential
(af″tәr-po-ten´shәl) an electrical event that follows and is caused by preceding action potentials. Also written after-potential.

aftersensation
(af″tәr-sen-sa´shәn) sensation persisting after cessation of the stimulus that caused it.

aftertaste
(af´tәr-tāst) sensation of taste continuing after the stimulus has ceased.

Ag
silver (L. argen´tum); antigen.

agalactia
(a″gә-lak´she-ә) absence or failure of secretion of milk.

aganglionic
(a-gang″gle-on´ik) lacking ganglion cells.

aganglionosis
(a-gang″gle-on-o´sis) congenital absence of parasympathetic ganglion cells, such as in congenital megacolon.

agar
(ag´ahr) a dried hydrophilic, colloidal substance extracted from various species of red algae. It is used in cultures for bacteria and other microorganisms, in making emulsions, and as a supporting medium in procedures such as immunodiffusion and electrophoresis. Because of its bulk it is also used in medicines to...

agastric
(a-gas´trik) having no stomach.

age spot
solar lentigo.

age-related cataract
senile cataract.

age-related macular degeneration
(ARMD) a type having its onset between the ages of 50 and 60, the leading cause of blindness in persons over the age of 65. The two main types are exudative and nonexudative age-related macular degeneration.

age-related osteoporosis
senile osteoporosis.

aged
(a´jed) of advanced age. persons of advanced age; see also aging. Called also elderly.

agency
(a´jen-se) an organization that performs actions for other people, particularly of a service nature. home health agency a public or private organization that is primarily engaged in providing skilled or paraprofessional home health care to individuals in nonhospital settings, such as priv...

agenesis
(a-jen´ә-sis) absence of an organ due to nonappearance of its primordium in the embryo.

agenetic fracture
spontaneous fracture due to imperfect osteogenesis.

agenitalism
(a-jen´ĭ-tәl-iz″әm) absence of the genitalia, or a condition due to lack of secretion of the testes or ovaries.

agenosomia
(a-jen″o-so´me-ә) a developmental anomaly consisting of imperfect development of reproductive organs, usually with protrusion of intestines through an imperfectly developed abdominal wall.

agent
(a´jәnt) a person or substance by which something is accomplished.

Agent Orange
a herbicide containing 2,4,5-T and 2,4-D and the contaminant dioxin; it is suspected of being carcinogenic and teratogenic.

ageusia
(ә-goo´zhә) absence or impairment of the sense of taste.

agger
(aj´er) pl. ag´geres Latin word meaning elevation. agger nasi ridge of nose: an elevation at the anterior free margin of the middle nasal concha. Agger nasi, an elevation anterior to the middle concha on the lateral nasal wall, above the a...

agger nasi cells
the cells of the anterior part of the ethmoid crest, constituting the pneumatized portion of the lacrimal bone.

agglutinable
(ә-gloo´tĭ-nә-bәl) capable of agglutination.

agglutinant
(ә-gloo´tĭ-nәnt) acting like glue. a substance that holds parts together during healing.

agglutination
(ә-gloo″tĭ-na´shәn) the action of an agglutinant substance. the clumping together in suspension of antigen-bearing cells, microorganisms, or particles in the presence of specific antibodies called agglutinins. the process of union of the surfaces of a wound. adj., agglu...

agglutination test
any test based on an agglutination reaction, such as serologic tests for specific antibodies.

agglutinin
(ә-gloo´tĭ-nin) any substance causing clumping together (agglutination) of cells, particularly a specific antibody formed in the blood in response to the presence of an invading agent. Agglutinins are proteins (immunoglobulins) and function as part of the immune mechanism of the body. When the invading agents that ...

agglutinogen
(ag″loo-tin´o-jen) a substance (antigen) that stimulates the animal body to form agglutinin (antibody).

aggravate
(ag´rә-vāt″) to cause a patient's condition to deteriorate.

aggregation
(ag″rә-ga´shәn) massing or clumping of materials or people together. a clumped mass of material. familial aggregation the occurrence of more cases of a given disorder in close relatives of a person with the disorder than in control families. ...