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Basic Medical Terms
Term | Definition |
---|---|
Abrasion | Scrape of the skin due to something abrasive |
Acute | New, usually of rapid onset and of concern. Opposite of chronic |
Ambulate | To walk from place to place |
Anterior | Located towards the front of the body |
Artery | Blood vessel carrying blood away from the heart |
Benign | Normal, of no danger to health |
Bradycardia | Slow heart-rate (HR less than 60 bpm) |
Cardiomegaly | Enlarged heart |
Cholecystitis | Inflammation of the cholecyst (gallbladder) |
Chronic | Long-standing, constant. Opposite of acute |
COPD | Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, Lung Dz commonly seen in smokers |
Coronary Artery | The artery that supplies heart tissue with blood |
Cerebrovascular Accident (CVA) | a.k.a. "Stroke". Lack of blood supply to the brain causing brain damage |
Diaphoresis | Sweating |
Distal | Farther from the trunk of the body |
Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT) | A blood clot in a deep vein, most often an extremity |
Dyspnea | Problems with breathing |
Dysuria | Painful urination |
Ecchymosis | A bruise |
Edema | Swelling |
Emesis | Vomiting |
Epistaxis | Nose Bleed |
Erythema/ Erythematous | Redness/Red |
Febrile | Elevated body temperature, fever, indicative of infection |
Grossly | Obviously; a lot; wholly |
Hematemesis | Very large amounts of blood in the vomit |
Hematuria | Very large amounts of blood in the urine |
Hemoptysis | Coughing up very large amounts of blood |
Hemorrhage | Excessive or profuse bleeding |
Hepatomegaly | Enlarged liver |
Hypertension | High blood pressure |
Hypotension | Low blood pressure |
Hypoxia | Low oxygen saturation of the body, not enough oxygen in the blood |
Infarct | Area of dead tissue after a lack of blood supply |
Inferior | Lower on the body, farther from the head |
Ischemia | Lack of blood supply |
Laceration | Splitting of the skin due to trauma ( a cut due to something sharp) |
Lateral | Farther from the midline (a line that can be traced from nose to belly-button) |
Medial | Nearer to the midline |
Melena | Black tarry stool |
Myocardial Infarction (MI) | Death of cardiac muscle due to ischemia |
Myalgia | Muscular pain, "muscle aches" |
Oriented x3 | Oriented to person, place, and time |
Pallor | Pale skin |
Posterior/Dorsal | Rear or backside of the body |
Proximal | Nearer to the trunk of the body |
Pruritic | Itchy |
Pulmonary Embolism (PE) | Blocking of the pulmonary artery due to a blood clot |
Purulent | Pus-like |
Rales | Crackles; wet crackling noise in lungs |
Rhinorrhea | Clear nasal discharge, "runny nose" |
Rhonchi | Rattling noise of mucous in the lungs |
Sepsis | Dangerous infection of the blood |
STEMI | ST elevation MI, real-time ongoing death of heart tissue due to ischemia |
Superior | Higher on the body, nearer to the head |
Supine | Body position lying face up |
Syncope | "Passing out", loss of consciousness or fainting |
Tachycardia | Fast heart rate (HR greater than 100 bpm) |
Tachypnea | Increased breathing rate |
Transient Ischemic Attack (TIA) | Minor stroke; where neurological functions is regained quickly with time |
Vein | Blood vessel carrying blood towards the heart |
Vertigo | Conditions of dizziness, "room spinning" |
Wheezing | High pitched sounds heard in the lungs with asthmatics or lung disease |