Question | Answer |
aggregating | crowding or clustering together |
ambulating | walking |
arthropathy | any joint disease |
blunted | to make less sharp: dull |
cesarean | referring to cesarean section, and incision through the abdominal and uterine walls for delivery of a fetus |
chiropractor | a practitioner of chripractic, a conservative science of applied neurophysiology; e.g., chiropractic theory is that irritation of the nervous system is the cause of disease |
Cloward saddle | surgical equipment in which a patient is placed for back fusion, trade name |
contrast medium | a substance that is introdued into or around a structure and, because of the difference in absorption of x-rays by both the contrast medium and the surrounding tissues, allows radigraphic visualization of the structure. |
contused | bruised |
convex | having a surface that is rounded and somwhat elevated |
curette | spoon-shaped surgical instrument for removing tissue from a cavity wall or other bodily surface |
Darvocet | trade name for drug used to treat mild to moderate pain |
denies x3 | this phrase, as used in the Social History, refers to the fact that the patient denies alcohol, tabacco, and illicit drug use |
discrete | made up of separate and distinct parts or defined by lesions that do not become unified |
diskectomy | excision of an intervertebral disk (is sometimes spelled dicectomy) |
epinephrine | generic drug used as a vasoconstrictor, cardiac stimulant, and bronchodilator; also called adrenaline |
exacerbate | to increase in severity |
facet | a small, smooth surface on a bone or other hard anatomic body |
Flexeril | trade name for drug used to treat muscle spasm |
focal degeneration | main area or center of deterioration |
formalin | a powerful disifectant gas, used in water as a fluid to preserve tissue removed at surgery for pathologic evaluation; same as formdehyde |
Gelfoam sponge | trade name of absorbable gelatin sponge; sterile, they are used in surgery to stop the flow of blood |
gutter | low area, trough, or groove |
herniated | protuding like a hernia; enclosed in a herna |
i.e. | id est (that is) |
intermittent | periodically stopping and starting again at separated intervals |
intervertebral | located between two adjoining vertebrae |
Kantrex | trade name of an antibiotic |
2+ knee and ankle jerks | this phrase refers to the sudden reflex or involuntary movements made when the doctor uses a rubber hammer to tap the knees and ankles; part of the neurologic exam; in this case they are grade as 2+, which means average or normal |
L1-2 | lumbar spine, between first and second vertebrae (the disk space) |
L2-3 | lumbar spine, between second and third vertebrae (disck space) |
L3-4 | lumbar spine, between third and fourth vertebae (the disck space) |
L4-5 | lumbar spine, between fourth and fifth verebrae (the disck space) |
l5-S1 | lumbar spine, Fifth vetebra, and sacral spine, first vertebra (where the lumbar and sacral spine join) |
lamina | a thin, flat plate or supportive layer, part of the structure of a vertebra |
laminectomy | excision of the posterior arch of a vertebra |
lateral recess syndrome | a small hollow or indentation on the side of the fourth ventricle; by way of this recess, part of the fourth ventivle protrudes into the subarachnoid space |
ligamentum flavum | band of yellow elastic tissue that assits in maintaining or regaining the erect position between tow adjoining vertebrae |
light touch | when the doctor lightly storkes a part of the body, such as the extremities, to determine the patient's ability to feel; used in evaluation of the central nervous system |
lumosacral | pertaining to the lumbar region of the spine (between the throax and the pelvis) and the sacrum |
Marcaine | trade name for the local, injectable anesthetic agent bupivacaine |
myelogram | an x-ray of the spinal cord obtained after injection of dye into the spinal canal |
Norflex | trade name for a drug to treat muscle spasm |
PAR | abbreviation for posteanesthesia recover, where patients are sent immediately after surgery (recovery room) |
pinprick | when the doctor actually pricks a patient's skin with a sharp point to determine the level of feeling; part of the evaluation of the central nervous system |
pleura | a serous membrane lining the thoracic or pleural cavity |
prone | lying face downward |
radicular | of or pertaining to a radical, which would be the cause or root of a morbid process, such as radical surgery |
retraction | to draw back; the condition of being drawn back, suc as tissue during a surgical procedure |
rongeur | a surgical instrument used for cutting tough tissue, such as bone |
S1 root | sacral spine, first vertebra, at the lowest part |
sacroiliac | the sacral and iliac spines--where they join and their associated ligaments |
scaphoid | literally shaped like a boat, a scaphoid bone |
scoliosis | a sideways deviation in the normally straight vertical line of the spine (S-shapeed spine) |
spurring | projecting bodies (outgrowths) from a bone or muscle |
straight-leg raising | the doctor observes the patient's ability to raise the legs; part of th evaluation of the central nervous system |
subarachnoid space | space under the arachnoid membrane, between it and the pia matter |