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Medical_Term_Cardio5
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| cardiac tamponade | A dangerous compression of the heart by accumulated fluid (pericardial effusion) or blood in the pericardium surrounding the heart. |
| cardiopulmonary resuscitation | An emergency procedure for life support consisting of manual, external heart massage and artificial respiration. |
| cardiotoxin | An agent that has damaging effect on the heart. |
| cardiovascular disease | A pathological condition involving the cardiovascular system including the heart, the blood vessels or the pericardium. |
| carotid bruit | A murmur auscultated over the carotid artery on the neck. It can indicate arterial narrowing and an increased risk of stroke. |
| carotid stenosis | Narrowing of any part of the carotid arteries, most often due to atherosclerotic plaque formation. |
| cavogram | An angiogram of the vena cava, inferior or superior. |
| celiac artery | The arterial trunk that arises from the abdominal aorta and after a short course divides into the left gastric, common hepatic and splenic arteries. |
| central line | IV line inserted for continuous access to a central vein. |
| cerebrovascular disorders | One of several pathological conditions of impaired blood flow in the brain. |
| circle of willis | A vascular network at the base of the brain. |
| circulation | The circuit of blood through the network of arteries and veins. |
| clot | A soft, insoluble mass formed by blood or lymph. |
| coagulate | To change a liquid into a gel or solid. |
| dicrotic | A heartbeat with two separate peaks. |
| ebstein anomaly | A congenital heart defect characterized by third and fourth heart sounds and a systolic murmur best heard at the tricuspid position. The tricuspid valve is displaced downward and the right atrium is usually enlarged. |
| echocardiography | A noninvasive diagnostic procedure that uses ultrasound to study to structure and motions of the heart and blood flow. |
| ejection click | A sharp clicking sound heard during cardiac auscultation. |
| ejection fraction | The portion of the total ventricular filling volume that is ejected during a heart beat. |
| elliptocytosis | Condition of having an abnormal number of elliptical red cells in the blood. |
| embolectomy | An emergency surgical removal of an obstructing clot or foreign material. |
| endarteritis | Inflammation of the inner endothelial lining of an artery. |
| endocardial | Situated or occurring within the heart. |
| endothelium | A layer of epithelium that lines the heart, blood vessels, lymph vessels and the serous cavities of the body. |
| endovascular procedures | Within a blood vessel. |
| erythroblast | A nucleated immature red blood cell found in bone marrow. |
| erythroid | Reddish color. |
| erythromelalgia | A rare peripheral arterial disorder occurring in middle aged patients characterized by severe burning pain, reddening, hyperalgesia and sweating of the extremities. |
| fibrin | An insoluble protein end product of blood coagulation, formed from fibrinogen by the action of thrombin. |
| gallop | A third heart sound that resembles the sound of a galloping horse. |
| heart arrest | Cessation of heart beat. |
| hematocrit | The percentage by volume of red blood cells in a given sample. |
| hemodynamics | The forces involved in the movement of the blood through the cardiovascular system. |
| heparin | An endogenous, short-acting anticoagulant. |
| hydremia | An excess of water in the blood. |
| hypernatremia | An excess of sodium in the blood. |
| hyperphosphatemia | Abnormally high level of phosphates in the blood. |
| hypertriglyceridemia | A condition of elevated levels of triglycerides in the blood. |
| hypocalcemia | Abnormally low levels of calcium in the blood. |
| hypokalemia | Abnormally low potassium concentration in the blood. |
| hypovolemia | An abnormally low volume of circulating blood. |
| iliac artery | Either of two large arteries originating from the abdominal aorta; they supply blood to the pelvis, abdominal wall and legs. |
| intracranial embolism | Blocking of a blood vessel in the skull by an embolus which can be a thrombus or other undissolved material in the blood stream. |
| leukocyte | A white blood cell. |
| leukocytosis | An abnormally large increase in the number of leukocytes in the blood. |
| microvessels | The finer blood vessels of the vasculature that are generally less than 100 microns in internal diameter. |
| neovascularization | Formation of new blood vessels. |
| neutropenia | Abnormally decrease in the numbers of neutrophils in circulating blood. |
| normotensive | Having normal blood pressure. |
| pericardiocentesis | Puncture and aspiration of fluid from the pericardium. |
| periphlebitis | Inflammation of the tissues around a vein |
| phonocardiogram | A waveform of heart sound amplitude over time, usually a few heartbeats. |
| pleocytosis | A presence of an abnormally high number of cells in the cerebrospinal fluid. |
| profunda | Blood vessels situated deep in the body tissues they supply. |
| pulse | The rhythmical expansion and contraction of an artery, caused by blood pumping from the heart. |
| pylethrombosis | Thrombosis of the portal vein. |
| reperfusion | Restoration of blood supply to tissue which was ischemic. |
| semilunar valve | Either the aortic valve or the pulmonary valve, each consisting of crescent-shaped cusps. |
| septal defect | A hole in the septum of the heart, usually congenital. |
| simvastatin | A statin used to treat high blood cholesterol levels. |
| spherocytes | Small, abnormal spherical red blood cells with more than the normal amount of hemoglobin. |
| spherocytosis | A blood disorder characterized by the presence of small, sphere like red blood cells. |
| splenic artery | The largest branch of the celiac trunk with distribution to the spleen, pancreas, stomach and greater omentum. |
| stasis | A cessation or diminution of flow of blood or other fluids. |
| stress test | A test to evaluate heart function by monitoring heart rate, breathing, blood pressure and EKG while the patient exercises with a treadmill or exercise bike. |
| stroke volume | The amount of blood pumped out of one ventricle of the heart in one beat. |
| temporal arteries | Arteries arising from the external carotid or the maxillary artery and distributing to the temporal region. |
| tetralogy of fallot | Tetralogy of Fallot is a rare congenital heart defect. It is a combination of four defects which result in oxygen-poor blood flow. |
| thrombectomy | Surgical removal of an obstructing clot or foreign material from a blood vessel at the point of its formation. |
| thrombolysis | The dissolution of a thrombus. |
| thrombolytic | Dissolving or breaking up a thrombus. |
| thrombophilia | A disorder of hemostasis in which there is a tendency for the occurrence of thrombosis. |
| torsades de pointes | A form of polymorphic ventricular tachycardia that is characterized by heart rate between 200 and 250 beats per minute, and QRS complexes with changing amplitude and twisting of the points. |
| tourniquet | A band for the compression of a blood vessel, used to stop bleeding or prevent spread of snake venom. |
| toxemia | The presence of bacterial toxins in the blood. Also called blood poisoning. |
| transfusion | The transfer of blood from one person to another. |
| tricuspid valve stenosis | The narrowing of the tricuspid valve opening. Tricuspid valve stenosis is almost always due to rheumatic fever. |
| trigeminy | A heart condition where an EKG can be grouped into three beat patterns. |
| vasoconstriction | Narrowing of blood vessels. |
| vasodilation | Widening of blood vessels. |
| venous thrombosis | The formation or presence of a blood clot within a vein. |