Glossary of Medical Terms

Glossary

• Acute Abdomen – an internal abdominal condition requiring immediate operation
• Amaurosis fugax – temporary loss of vision
• Amnesia – Loss of memory
• Aneurysm – abnormal dilatation of a blood vessel
• Anginal Chest pain (Angina) – a feeling of pressure or a squeezing chest pain that is usually felt on exertion
• Anticoagulants – Drugs that impair coagulation, usually given to heart patients
• Aphasia – loss or impairment of the power to use or comprehend words
• Apley’s scratch test – loss of range of motion : rotator cuff problem
• Apprehension test – anterior glenohumeral instability
• Apraxia – impairment of the ability to execute complex coordinated movements
• Ataxia – an inability to coordinate voluntary muscular movements
• Atypical Chest Pain – pain that is not caused by exercise or is otherwise different from anginal chest pain
• AVM – Arteriovenous Malformation, abnormal blood vessels connecting arteries and veins
• Bell’s Palsy – unilateral paralysis of facial muscles
• Bitemporal Hemianopia – blindness of the lateral visual fields of both eyes
• Bleb – a small air filled space in the lung, seen as a void on chest X-ray or CT
• Budd–Chiari syndrome – the clinical picture caused by occlusion of the hepatic veins. It presents with the classical triad of abdominal pain, ascites and hepatomegaly.
• Bulla – In lungs an airfilled space displacing normal alveoli and other structures

C reactive Protein – A nonspecific screen for infectious and inflammatory diseases,

correlates with ESR. In the first 24 h, however, ESR may be normal and CRP elevated. CRP returns to normal more quickly than ESR in response to therapy.

Increased:

• Bacterial infections, inflammatory conditions (acute rheumatic fever, acute RA, MI, unstable angina, transplant rejection, embolus, inflammatory bowel disease), last half of PRG, oral contraceptives, some malignant diseases.
• Leonard G. Gomella, Steven A. Haist; Clinician’s Pocket Reference, 11th Edition
• Carpal Tunnel Syndrome – Pain and sensory loss caused by compression of the median nerve in the wrist
• CEA – a tumor marker often used in asesessing response of colorectal cancers to therapy
• Cerebritis – Inflammation of the brain
• Chylopericardium – a milky pericardial effusion resulting from obstruction of the thoracic duct
• Chylothorax – accumulation of chyle, lymph, in the pleural space of the chest
• Claudication – cramping pains caused by poor circulation of the blood to the muscles during exercise. True claudication is relieved with rest from exercise
• Clunk sign – a sign of labral disorder in the shoulder
• Coagulopathy – Disorder of blood clotting, generally leading to increased bleeding
• Cognitive Dysfunction – A disorder of conscious intellectual activity (as thinking, reasoning, remembering)
• Compartment Syndrome – compromised perfusion caused by elevated tissue pressures in a confined space.

Conservative Management

• Requirements for Medical or Conservative Management
• 1. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs for at least four weeks
• 2. Activity modification or physical therapy if appropriate
• 3. Requirement is waived if NSAIDS are not tolerated or contraindicated, or if condition worsens while under treatment
• Contralateral -on the opposite side
• Crepitus – a grating sound or sensation produced by friction between bone and cartilage or the fractured parts of a bone
• Cyanosis – a bluish tent of the skin caused by lack of oxygenated blood
• Cystocele – a hernia of the bladder wall into the vagina, causing a soft anterior fullness
• Dementia – an acquired deterioration in cognitive abilities that impairs the successful performance of activities of daily living
• Demyelinating – a disease that alters the myelin outer coating of nerve fibers, e.g. Multiple sclerosis
• Diplopia – double vision
• DOE – dyspnea on exertion
• Drop-arm test – a pysical examination test for rotator cuff tears of the shoulder
• DVT – Deep Venous Thrombosis (aka thrombophlebitis.)
• Dysarthria – impaired ability to speak due to CNS disorder
• Dysphagia – difficult or painful swallowing
• Dyspnea – shortness of breath
• Dysrhythmias – abnormal heart rhythms
• Edema – swelling
• Ehlers-Danlos syndrome – a connective-tissue disorder characterized by hyperelasticity of skin, aortic dissection, and rarely aneurysms
• Emphysema – abnormal permanent enlargement of the airspaces distal to the terminal bronchioles
• Encephalitis – Inflammation of the brain
• Enophthalmos – the globe of they eye abnormally deep in the orbit
• Enterocele – a vaginal vault hernia containing small intestine, usually in the posterior vagina and resulting from a deepening of the pouch of Douglas
• Epistaxis – Bleeding from the nose or nasopharynx

####### ESR – Erithrocyte sedimentation rate, a marker for inflammation

• Increased in: Infections (osteomyelitis, pelvic inflammatory disease [75%]), inflammatory disease (temporal arteritis, polymyalgia rheumatica, rheumatic fever), malignant neoplasms, paraproteinemias, anemia, pregnancy, chronic renal failure, GI disease. The test is useful in determining if an abnormal process is present, but it is not specific for most conditions.
• Exophthalmos – protrusion of the globe of the eye from the orbit
• Head and neck – In this context, tumors of the brain and spinal cord are not considered head and neck tumors
• Hilar – pertaining to the root or hilum of the lungs, site where bronchi and blood vessels enter the lung, and the location for many lymph nodes
• Horner’s Syndrome – ptosis (drooping upper eyelid), upside-down ptosis (slight elevation of the lower lid), and miosis (constricted pupil.)
• Hydrocephalus – literally water on the brain, dilatation of the fluid filled ventricles within the structure of the brain.
• Hypercoagulable – a state of abnormally increased coagulability of the blood
• Immunocompromised – a state of decreased resistance to infections, e.g. AIDS, or patients taking medications to reduce rejection of transplanted organs
• Ipsilateral – On the same side
• Ischemia – Decreased blood flow to an organ or structure
• Labrum – in joints an edge or lip forming a hollow into which the surface of one of the bones
• Lhermitte’s Sign – An electric shock-like sensation that radiates from the neck downwards and lasts for a very short duration; usually less than a second. The sensations can repeat indefinitely so that it might feel almost continuous
• Loose body – a fragment of bone or cartilage within the joint space
• Lymphadenitis – inflammation of one or more lymphnodes
• Lymphadenopathy – an abnormality r disease of one or more lymph nodes, generally interchangeable with lynphadenitis
• Lymphangitis – inflammation of the lymphatic vessels and channels
• Marasmus – A wasting of flesh without fever or apparent disease
• March Fracture – a hairline undisplaced fracture often not visible on x-ray, often caused by repeated stress to a bone, in the lower extremity AKA Stress fracture
• Marcus-Gunn Pupil – a condition of the eye where the pupil doesn’t dilate appropriately to the level of light reaching it
• Marfan Syndrome – a connective tissue disorder with several vascular features including dilatation and dissection of the aorta
• Mediastinum – structures in the central part of the chest including the heart, airways, blood vessels and lymph nodes
• Meningocele – herniation of the meninges through a spina bifida without abnormality of the spinal cord or nerve roots. Neurologic function is usually preserved in these patients
• Metastases – secondary tumors arising in other body parts than the primary tumor, a characteristic of malignancy
• Miosis – excessive smallness or contraction of the pupil of the eye
• Mucocele – a chronic, expansile structure that is completely filled with mucoid secretions and lined by respiratory epithelium
• Myasthenia gravis – a condition characterized by profound muscular fatigability often associated with thymomas
• Myelomeningocele – protrusion of nerve roots or cord elements along with the meninges. It occurs at least ten times more often than simple meningocele and always causes some degree of neurologic deficit
• Myoma – A benign tumor of smooth muscle in the wall of the uterus. A myoma of the uterus is commonly called a fibroid
• Neer sign – a psysical examination sign of subacromial impingement in the shoulder
• Neurogenic Claudication – pain induced by walking, caused by damage to the spinal cord and nerves
• NSAIDs – NonSteroidal AntiInflammatory Drugs (ibuprofen etc.)
• Nystagmus – involuntary rapid side to side movement of the eyes
• Ophthalmoplegia – paralysis of the muscles of the eye
• Palpation – Physical examination with hands or fingers
• Pancoast tumor – a tumor in the superior sulcus of the lung (near the apex) that invades all or a portion of the brachial plexus
• Papilledema – Swelling of the optic disc, often indicating increased pressure in the brain
• Paraparesis – Partial paralysis, usually of a leg
• Paresthesia – a sensation of pricking, tingling, or creeping on the skin having no objective cause
• Perseveration – The tendency to continue or repeat an act or activity after the cessation of the original stimulus
• PET – Positron Emission Tomography, a technique used in nuclear imaging
• Phalen Test or Sign – Pain or parestesia in the hand or wrost after 1 minute of flexion of the wrist (for Carpal tunnel syndrome)
• Photophobia – painful sensitivity to strong light, literally fear of light
• Plexopathy – an abnormality of the complex of nerve roots exiting the spine and organizing into the nerves serving the arm, trunk or legs. Symptoms may include burning, tingling, or numbness in a circumferential or dermatomal distribution
• Post Partum – the period soon after having given birth
• Ptosis – drooping, especially of the eyelid
• Pulmonary stenosis – a narrowing of the pulmonic valve limiting flow into the pulmonary artery
• Purulent – composed of or containing pus
• Radiculopathy – A problem with spinal nerves characterized by pain which radiates from the spine outward to cause symptoms away from the source
• Raynaud’s phenomenon – intermittent ischemia of fingers and toes triggered by cold or emotion due to underlying pathology
• Relocation test – a physical examination test of anterior glenohumeral instability in the shoulder
• ROM – range of motion , the full extent of movement at a joint
• Romberg Test – A test used to evaluate ataxia. The subject, standing with feet together and eyes closed is observed for swaying or falling. A positive Romberg test suggests that the ataxia is sensory in nature, i.e. depending on loss of proprioception. A negative Romberg test suggests that ataxia is cerebellar in nature, i.e. depending on localized cerebellar dysfunction instead
• Saddle anesthesia. – Loss of sensation affecting the areas that would touch a saddle
• Scotoma – an region within the normal visual field of lost, distorted or depressed vision
• SPECT – Single Photon Computed Emission Tomography, and imaging technique used in Nuclear imaging that allows 3D reconstruction and viewing
• Spinal Stenosis – narrowing of the spinal canal causing compression of the spinal cord or spinal nerves
• Stress fracture – also called a March fracture. A hairline undisplaced fracture often not visible on x-ray, often caused by repeated stress to a bone, in the lower extremity
• Subarachnoid hemorrhage – bleeding into the space between the brain and the arachnoid membrane
• Subclavian steal – diversion of blood flow from the brain to the arm caused by an obstruction of the subclavian artery
• Subdural hematoma – a collection of blood between the dura and the arachnoid membrane
• Sulcus sign – a physical eaxmination sign of inferior glenohumeral instability
• Tarsal Coalition – a condition in which 2 or more bones in the midfoot or hindfoot are joined leading to a painful form of flat foot
• Tinel Sign – positive if tapping lightly over the palmar surface of the wrist causes radiating paresthesia in the digits innervated by the median nerve (for Carpal Tunnel Syndrome.)
• Tinnitus – sensation of a noise or sound in the head without external cause
• Transverse myelitis -inflammation of the spinal cord involving grey and white matter leading to various neurologic symptoms including paralysis

######## Tumor Marker – Any blood test used to assess the status of cancer under treatment

• Tumor markers: Colorectal cancer sometimes produces substances, such as carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and CA 19-9, that are released into the bloodstream. Blood tests for these “tumor markers” are used most often with other tests for follow-up of patients who already have been treated for colorectal cancer. They may provide an early warning of a cancer that has returned.
• These tumor markers are not used to find cancer in people who have never had a cancer and appear to be healthy because the tests are not always accurate. Tumor marker levels can be normal in a person who has cancer and can be abnormal for reasons other than cancer. For example, higher levels may also be present in the blood of some people with ulcerative colitis, non-cancerous tumors of the intestines, or some types of liver disease or chronic lung disease. Smoking can also raise CEA levels.
• Unilateral – On one side only
• Valsalva maneuver – the act of increasing pressure in the chest by bearing down against a closed glottis
• Vasculitis – Inflammation of blood vessels sometimes leading to decreased flow and ischemia