Question | Answer |
abortion | The termination of the pregnancy before the age of viability (20 weeks) |
Adexal | adjacent |
Amenorrhea | The absence or cessation of the menstrual period. Amenorrhea occurs normally before puberty, during pregnancy and after menopause. |
Atypical | deviation from the normal |
Braxton Hicks contractions | Intermittent and irregular painless uterine contractions that occur throughout pregnancy and are sometimes mistaked for true labor pains |
Cervix | The lower narrow end of the uterus that opens into the vagina |
Colposcopy | Examination of the cervix using a colposcope ( alighted instrument with a magnifying lens) |
Cytology | The science that deals with the study of cells, including their origin, structure, function, and pathology |
Dilation ( of the cervix) | The stretching of the external os form an opening a few millimeters wide to an opening large enough to allow the passage of an infant ( approximatelt 10 cm) |
Dysmenrrhea | Pain associated with the menstrual period |
Dyspareunia | Pain in the vagina or pelvis experienced by a women during sexual intercourse |
Dysplasia | The growth of abnormall cells. Dysplasia is a precancerous condition that may or may not develop into cancer |
Ectocervix | The part of the cervix that projects into the vagina and is lined with stratified squamous epithelium |
EDD | expected date of delivery, or due date |
Effacement | The thinning and shortening of the cervical canal from its normal length of 1 to 2 cm to a structure with paper thin edges in which there is no canal at all. Effacement occurs late in pregnancy, during labor, or both. The purpose of effacement along with |
Embryo | The child in utero from the time of conception to the beginning of the first trimester |
Endocervix | The mucous membrane lining the cervical canal |
Engagement | The entrance of the fetal head or the presenting part into the pelvic inlet |
Expected date of delivery | Projected birth date of the infant |
External os | The operating of the cervical canal of the uterus into the vagina |
Fetal heart rate | The number of times per minute the fetal heat beats |
Fetal heart tones | The sounds of the heartbeat of the fetus heard through the mother's abdominal wall |
Fetus | The child in utero from the third month after conception to birth; during the first two months of development, it is called an embryo |
Fundus | The dome-shaped upper portion of the uterus between the fallopian tubes |
Gestation | The period of intrauterine development from conception to birth; the period of pregnancy. The average pregnancy lasts about 280 days, or 40 weeks, from the date of conception to child birth |
Gestational age | The age of the fetus between conception and birth |
Gravidity | The total number of pregnancies a women has had regardless of duration, including a current pregnancy |
Gynecology | The branch of medicine that deals with the disease of reproductive organs of women |
Infant | A child from birth to 12 months of age |
Internal os | The internal opening of the cervical canal into the uterus |
Lochia | A discharge from the uterus after delivery that consists of blood, tissue, white blood cells, and some bacteria |
Menopause | The permanent cessation of menstruation which usually occurs between ages 45 and 55 |
Menorrhagia | Excessive bleeding during a menstrual period, in the number of days or the amount of blood or both. Also called dysfunctional uterine bleeding |
Metrorrhagia | Bleding between menstrual periods |
Multigravida | A women who has been pregnant more than once |
Multipara | A woman who has completed two or more pregnancies to the age of fetal viability regardless of weather they ended in live infants of stillbirths |
Nullipara | A woman who has not carried a pregnancy to the point of fetal viability ( 20 weeks of gestation) |
Obstetrics | The branch of medicine concerned with the care of the women during pregnancy, childbirth, and post partial period |
Parity | The condition of having borne offspring regardless of the outcome |
Perimenopause | Before the onset of menopause, the phase during which the woman with regular periods changes to irregular cycles and increased periods of amenorrhea |
perineum | The external region between the vagina orifice and the anus in a female and between the scrotum and anus in a male |
Position | The relation of the presenting part of the fetus to the maternal pelvis |
Postpartum | Occurring after birth |
Preeclampsia | A major complication of pregnancy, occurs between to 20th week of pregnancy and the end of the first week postpartum, may develop into elcampsia which could cause maternal convulsions and comas |
Prenatal | Before birth |
Presentation | Indication that part of the fetus that is closest to the cervix and is delivered first. |
Preterm birth | Delivery occuring between 20 and 37 weeks of gestation regardless of whether the child was born alive or stillborn |
Primigravida | A women who is pregnant for the first time |
Primipara | A woman who has carried a pregnaancy to fetal viability (20 weeks of gestation) for the first time, regardless of whether the infant was stillborn or alive at birth |
puerperium | The period of time, usually 4 to 6 weeks after delivery, in which the uterus and the body systems are returning to normal |
Quickening | The first movements of the fetus in utero as felt by the mother, which usually occurs between 12 and 20 weeks of gestation and is felt consistently there after |
Risk Factor | Anything that increases an individual's chance of developing a disease. Some risk factors (smoking) can be avoided but others cannot (age and family history) |
Term birth | delivery occuring after 37 weeks of gestation regardless of whether the infant was born alive or stillborn |
Toxemia | A condidtion that can occur in pregnant women that includes preeclampsia and eclampsia. If preclampsia goes undiagnosed or is not satisfactorily controlled, it could develop into eclampsia, characterized by convulsions and coma. |
Trimester | Three months, or one third, of the gestational period of pregnancy |
Vulva | The region of the external female genital organs |