Basic Medical Terms To Describe Disease Conditions

disease

a condition in which one or more body parts are not functioning normally.

eponym

a disease structure ,operation,or procedure named for the person who discovered or described it first.

syndrome

a set of the signs and symptoms that occur together as part of a specific disease process

acronym

a word formed from the initial letter of major parts of a compound term.

differential diagnosis

also known as rule out ; an attempt to determine which one of several diseases can be producing the signs and symptoms that are present.

acute

condition has a rapid onset, a severe course, and a relatively short duration.

chronic

condition is long duration. Although such diseases can be controlled, they are rarely cured.

prognosis

is a prediction of the probable course and outcome of a disorder.

sign

objective evidence of disease such as fever

symptom

subjective evidence of a disease such as pain or headache

Diagnosis

the identification of a disease

remission

the temporary , partial , or complete disappearance of the symptoms of a disease without having achieved a cure.