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
Bacterial infections, inflammatory conditions (acute rheumatic fever, acute RA, MI, unstable angina, transplant rejection, embolus, inflammatory bowel disease), last half of PRG, oral contraceptives, some malignant diseases.
Leonard G. Gomella, Steven A. Haist; Clinician’s Pocket Reference, 11th Edition
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.
Requirements for Medical or Conservative Management
1. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs for at least three weeks
2. Activity modification or physical therapy if approriate
3. Requirement is waived if NSAIDS are not tolerated or contraindicated, or if condition worsenes while under treatment
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
Increased in: Infections (osteomyelitis, pelvic inflammatory disease [75%]), inflammatory disease (temporal arteritis, polymyalgia rheumatica, rheumatic fever), malignant neoplasms, paraproteinemias, anemia, pregnancy, chronic renal failure, GI disease. The test is useful in determining if an abnormal process is present, but it is not specific for most conditions.
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
Tumor markers: Colorectal cancer sometimes produces substances, such as carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and CA 19-9, that are released into the bloodstream. Blood tests for these “tumor markers” are used most often with other tests for follow-up of patients who already have been treated for colorectal cancer. They may provide an early warning of a cancer that has returned.
These tumor markers are not used to find cancer in people who have never had a cancer and appear to be healthy because the tests are not always accurate. Tumor marker levels can be normal in a person who has cancer and can be abnormal for reasons other than cancer. For example, higher levels may also be present in the blood of some people with ulcerative colitis, non-cancerous tumors of the intestines, or some types of liver disease or chronic lung disease. Smoking can also raise CEA levels. http://www.cancer.org/docroot/CRI/content/CRI_2_4_3X_How_is_colon_and_rectum_cancer_diagnosed.asp accessed 2/17/09
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