Chapter 1 Medical Terminology
Acute
A condition that has a rapid onset, a severe course, and a relatively short duration.
Eponym
A disease, structure, operation, or procedure named for the person who discovered or described it first.
Fissure
A groove or crack like sore of the skin (Also describes normal folds in the contours of the brain).
Inflammation
A localized response to an injury or destruction of tissue
Prostate
A male gland that lies under the urinary bladder and surronds the urethra.
Erythrocyte
A mature red blood cell
Lesion
A pathologic change of the tissue due to disease or injury.
Dermatologist
A physician who specializes in diagnosing and treating disorders of the skin.
Palpitation
A pounding or racing heart.
Prognosis
A prediction of the probable course and outcome of a disorder.
Syndrome
A set of signs and symptoms that occur together as part of a specific disease process.
Laceration
A torn or jagged wound or an accidental cut wound.
Polimyelitis
A viral infection of the gray matter of the spinal cord.
Acronym
A word formed from the initial letter of the major parts of a compound term
Trauma
A wound or injury generally from a gunshot or a car accident.
Supracostal
Above or outside the ribs
Fistula
An abnormal passage, usually between two internal organs, or leading from an organ to the surface of the body.
Palpation
An examination technique in which the examiners hands are used to feel the texture, size, consistency, and location of certain body parts.
Gastritis
An inflamation of the stomach
Tonsillitis
An inflammation of the tonsils
Interstital
Between but not within the parts of a tissue.
Cyanosis
Blue discoloration of the skin caused by a look of adequate oxygen in the blood.
Edema
Describes swelling caused by excess fluid in the body.
Pyrosis
Discomfort due to the regurgitation of stomach acid upward into the esophogus ( Heartburn).
Hypertension
Higher than normal blood pressure.
Hypotension
Lower than normal blood pressure.
Viral
Pertainin to a virus.
Natal
Pertaining to birth.
Endarterial
Pertaining to the interior or lining of an artery.
Triage
The medical screening of patients to determine their relative priority of need and the proper place of treatment.
Intramuscular
Within the muscle
Mycosis
Any abnormal condition or disease caused by a fungus.
Pyoderma
Any acute, inflammatory pus forming bacterial skin infection such as impetigo.
Myopathy
Any pathologic change or disease of muscle tissue.
Myelopathy
Any pathological change or disease in the spinal cord.
Gastrosis
Means dry disease of the stomach
Sign
Objective evidence of disease such as a fever.
Arthralgia
Pain in a joint or joints.
Gastralgia
Pain in the stomach ( A stomachache).
Otorhinolaryngology
Study of the ears, nose, and throat.
Symptom
Subjective evidence of a disease, such as pain or a headache.
Hepatomegaly
The abnormal enlargment of the liver.
Arteriosclerosis
The abnormal hardening of the walls on an artery or arteries.
Supination
The act of rotating the arm so that the palm of the hand is foward or upward.
Phalanges
The bones of the fingers and toes.
Suppuration
The formation or discharge of pus.
Diarrhea
The frequent flow of loose or watery stool.
Diagnosis
The identification of a disease.
Neuritis
The inflammation of a nerve or nerves.
Infection
The invasion of the body by a pathogenic organism.
Hemorrhage
The loss of a large amount of blood in a short time.
Angiography
The process of producing a radiographic study of the blood vessel after the injection of a contrast medium to make blood vessels visible
Myorrhexis
The rupture of a muscle.
Pathology
The study of all aspects of diseases
Neonatology
The study of disorders of newborns.
Colostomy
The surgical creation of an artifical excretory opening between the colon and the body surface.
Abdominocentesis
The surgical puncture of the abdominal cavity to remove fluid
Appendectomy
The surgical removal of the appendix.
Remission
The temporary, partial, or complete disapperance of the symptoms of a disease without having achieved a cure.
