Glossary of Medical Terms

Acute Abdomen – an internal abdominal condition requiring immediate operation

Amaurosis fugax – temporary loss of vision

Amnesia – Loss of memory

Aneurysm – abnormal dilatation of a blood vessel

Anginal Chest pain (Angina) – a feeling of pressure or a squeezing chest pain that is usually felt on exertion

Anticoagulants – Drugs that impair coagulation, usually given to heart patients

Aphasia – loss or impairment of the power to use or comprehend words

Apley’s scratch test – loss of range of motion : rotator cuff problem

Apprehension test – anterior glenohumeral instability

Apraxia – impairment of the ability to execute complex coordinated movements

Ataxia – an inability to coordinate voluntary muscular movements

Atypical Chest Pain – pain that is not caused by exercise or is otherwise different from anginal chest pain

AVM – Arteriovenous Malformation, abnormal blood vessels connecting arteries and veins

Bell’s Palsy – unilateral paralysis of facial muscles

Bitemporal Hemianopia – blindness of the lateral visual fields of both eyes

Bleb – a small air filled space in the lung, seen as a void on chest X-ray or CT

Budd–Chiari syndrome – the clinical picture caused by occlusion of the hepatic veins. It presents with the classical triad of abdominal pain, ascites and hepatomegaly.

Bulla – In lungs an airfilled space displacing normal alveoli and other structures

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome – Pain and sensory loss caused by compression of the median nerve in the wrist

CEA – a tumor marker often used in asesessing response of colorectal cancers to therapy

Cerebritis – Inflammation of the brain

Chylopericardium – a milky pericardial effusion resulting from obstruction of the thoracic duct

Chylothorax – accumulation of chyle, lymph, in the pleural space of the chest

Claudication – cramping pains caused by poor circulation of the blood to the muscles during exercise. True claudication is relieved with rest from exercise

Clunk sign – a sign of labral disorder in the shoulder

Coagulopathy – Disorder of blood clotting, generally leading to increased bleeding

Cognitive Dysfunction – A disorder of conscious intellectual activity (as thinking, reasoning, remembering)

Compartment Syndrome – compromised perfusion caused by elevated tissue pressures in a confined space.

Contralateral -on the opposite side

Crepitus – a grating sound or sensation produced by friction between bone and cartilage or the fractured parts of a bone

Cyanosis – a bluish tent of the skin caused by lack of oxygenated blood

Cystocele – a hernia of the bladder wall into the vagina, causing a soft anterior fullness

Dementia – an acquired deterioration in cognitive abilities that impairs the successful performance of activities of daily living

Demyelinating – a disease that alters the myelin outer coating of nerve fibers, e.g. Multiple sclerosis

Diplopia – double vision

DOE – dyspnea on exertion

Drop-arm test – a pysical examination test for rotator cuff tears of the shoulder

DVT – Deep Venous Thrombosis (aka thrombophlebitis.)

Dysarthria – impaired ability to speak due to CNS disorder

Dysphagia – difficult or painful swallowing

Dyspnea – shortness of breath

Dysrhythmias – abnormal heart rhythms

Edema – swelling

Ehlers-Danlos syndrome – a connective-tissue disorder characterized by hyperelasticity of skin, aortic dissection, and rarely aneurysms

Emphysema – abnormal permanent enlargement of the airspaces distal to the terminal bronchioles

Encephalitis – Inflammation of the brain

Enophthalmos – the globe of they eye abnormally deep in the orbit

Enterocele – a vaginal vault hernia containing small intestine, usually in the posterior vagina and resulting from a deepening of the pouch of Douglas

Epistaxis – Bleeding from the nose or nasopharynx

Exophthalmos – protrusion of the globe of the eye from the orbit

Head and neck – In this context, tumors of the brain and spinal cord are not considered head and neck tumors

Hilar – pertaining to the root or hilum of the lungs, site where bronchi and blood vessels enter the lung, and the location for many lymph nodes

Horner’s Syndrome – ptosis (drooping upper eyelid), upside-down ptosis (slight elevation of the lower lid), and miosis (constricted pupil.)

Hydrocephalus – literally water on the brain, dilatation of the fluid filled ventricles within the structure of the brain.

Hypercoagulable – a state of abnormally increased coagulability of the blood

Immunocompromised – a state of decreased resistance to infections, e.g. AIDS, or patients taking medications to reduce rejection of transplanted organs

Ipsilateral – On the same side

Ischemia – Decreased blood flow to an organ or structure

Labrum – in joints an edge or lip forming a hollow into which the surface of one of the bones

Lhermitte’s Sign – An electric shock-like sensation that radiates from the neck downwards and lasts for a very short duration; usually less than a second. The sensations can repeat indefinitely so that it might feel almost continuous

Loose body – a fragment of bone or cartilage within the joint space

Lymphadenitis – inflammation of one or more lymphnodes

Lymphadenopathy – an abnormality r disease of one or more lymph nodes, generally interchangeable with lynphadenitis

Lymphangitis – inflammation of the lymphatic vessels and channels

Marasmus – A wasting of flesh without fever or apparent disease

March Fracture – a hairline undisplaced fracture often not visible on x-ray, often caused by repeated stress to a bone, in the lower extremity AKA Stress fracture

Marcus-Gunn Pupil – a condition of the eye where the pupil doesn’t dilate appropriately to the level of light reaching it

Marfan Syndrome – a connective tissue disorder with several vascular features including dilatation and dissection of the aorta

Mediastinum – structures in the central part of the chest including the heart, airways, blood vessels and lymph nodes

Meningocele – herniation of the meninges through a spina bifida without abnormality of the spinal cord or nerve roots. Neurologic function is usually preserved in these patients

Metastases – secondary tumors arising in other body parts than the primary tumor, a characteristic of malignancy

Miosis – excessive smallness or contraction of the pupil of the eye

Mucocele – a chronic, expansile structure that is completely filled with mucoid secretions and lined by respiratory epithelium

Myasthenia gravis – a condition characterized by profound muscular fatigability often associated with thymomas

Myelomeningocele – protrusion of nerve roots or cord elements along with the meninges. It occurs at least ten times more often than simple meningocele and always causes some degree of neurologic deficit

Myoma – A benign tumor of smooth muscle in the wall of the uterus. A myoma of the uterus is commonly called a fibroid

Neer sign – a psysical examination sign of subacromial impingement in the shoulder

Neurogenic Claudication – pain induced by walking, caused by damage to the spinal cord and nerves

NSAIDs – NonSteroidal AntiInflammatory Drugs (ibuprofen etc.)

Nystagmus – involuntary rapid side to side movement of the eyes

Ophthalmoplegia – paralysis of the muscles of the eye

Palpation – Physical examination with hands or fingers

Pancoast tumor – a tumor in the superior sulcus of the lung (near the apex) that invades all or a portion of the brachial plexus

Papilledema – Swelling of the optic disc, often indicating increased pressure in the brain

Paraparesis – Partial paralysis, usually of a leg

Paresthesia – a sensation of pricking, tingling, or creeping on the skin having no objective cause

Perseveration – The tendency to continue or repeat an act or activity after the cessation of the original stimulus

PET – Positron Emission Tomography, a technique used in nuclear imaging

Phalen Test or Sign – Pain or parestesia in the hand or wrost after 1 minute of flexion of the wrist (for Carpal tunnel syndrome)

Photophobia – painful sensitivity to strong light, literally fear of light

Plexopathy – an abnormality of the complex of nerve roots exiting the spine and organizing into the nerves serving the arm, trunk or legs. Symptoms may include burning, tingling, or numbness in a circumferential or dermatomal distribution

Post Partum – the period soon after having given birth

Ptosis – drooping, especially of the eyelid

Pulmonary stenosis – a narrowing of the pulmonic valve limiting flow into the pulmonary artery

Purulent – composed of or containing pus

Radiculopathy – A problem with spinal nerves characterized by pain which radiates from the spine outward to cause symptoms away from the source

Raynaud’s phenomenon – intermittent ischemia of fingers and toes triggered by cold or emotion due to underlying pathology

Relocation test – a physical examination test of anterior glenohumeral instability in the shoulder

ROM – range of motion , the full extent of movement at a joint

Romberg Test – A test used to evaluate ataxia. The subject, standing with feet together and eyes closed is observed for swaying or falling. A positive Romberg test suggests that the ataxia is sensory in nature, i.e. depending on loss of proprioception. A negative Romberg test suggests that ataxia is cerebellar in nature, i.e. depending on localized cerebellar dysfunction instead

Saddle anesthesia. – Loss of sensation affecting the areas that would touch a saddle

Scotoma – an region within the normal visual field of lost, distorted or depressed vision

SPECT – Single Photon Computed Emission Tomography, and imaging technique used in Nuclear imaging that allows 3D reconstruction and viewing

Spinal Stenosis – narrowing of the spinal canal causing compression of the spinal cord or spinal nerves

Stress fracture – also called a March fracture. A hairline undisplaced fracture often not visible on x-ray, often caused by repeated stress to a bone, in the lower extremity

Subarachnoid hemorrhage – bleeding into the space between the brain and the arachnoid membrane

Subclavian steal – diversion of blood flow from the brain to the arm caused by an obstruction of the subclavian artery

Subdural hematoma – a collection of blood between the dura and the arachnoid membrane

Sulcus sign – a physical eaxmination sign of inferior glenohumeral instability

Tarsal Coalition – a condition in which 2 or more bones in the midfoot or hindfoot are joined leading to a painful form of flat foot

Tinel Sign – positive if tapping lightly over the palmar surface of the wrist causes radiating paresthesia in the digits innervated by the median nerve (for Carpal Tunnel Syndrome.)

Tinnitus – sensation of a noise or sound in the head without external cause

Transverse myelitis -inflammation of the spinal cord involving grey and white matter leading to various neurologic symptoms including paralysis

Unilateral – On one side only

Valsalva maneuver – the act of increasing pressure in the chest by bearing down against a closed glottis

Vasculitis – Inflammation of blood vessels sometimes leading to decreased flow and ischemia