Medical terms - Letter A (page 14) | MedicalVocabulary.org

Ambulance

Although you are undoubtedly familiar with the sound of the siren and the sight of the flashing lights of the ambulance, you may not necessarily know that the ambulance began as a walking hospital. The word 'ambulance'…
Ambulant

Means the same as 'ambulatory' (able to ambulate, walk about)
Ambulatory

Able to ambulate, to walk about, not bed-ridden or hospitalized
Ambulatory care

Medical care including diagnosis, observation, treatment and rehabilitation that is provided on an outpatient basis. Ambulatory care is given to persons who are able to ambulate or walk about. A well-baby visit is…
AMC (arthrogryposis multiplex congenita)

AMC stands for arthrogryposis multiplex congenita, a disorder that develops before birth (prenatal) is evident at birth (congenital) and involves limited mobility of many (multiple) joints. In AMC, the range of motion…
AMD

Age-related macular degeneration (which may also be abbreviated as ARMD)
Ameba

Also amoeba. A single-celled (protozoan) organism that constantly changes shape. The word 'ameba' is from the Greek 'amoibe' meaning 'change.' Ameba can infect the bowels to cause diarrhea and the liver to cause abscess…
Amebiasis

Infection of the intestines with amebae, especially with the ameba Entamoeba histolytica, characterized by frequent, loose stools flecked with blood and mucus
Amebic colitis

Amebic dysentery (inflammation of the intestine) with ulcers in the colon due to infection with an ameba (Entamoeba histolytica), a single-celled parasite transmitted to humans via contaminated water and food. 'Ameba'…
Amebic dysentery

Dysentery (inflammation of the intestine) with ulcers in the colon due to infection with an ameba (Entamoeba histolytica). This single-celled parasite is transmitted to humans via contaminated water and food. Amebic…
Amelanotic

Without melanin. A skin lesion that is amelanotic lacks the pigment melanin and therefore is essentially colorless. From the Greek roots a-, without + melas, black
Amelanotic melanoma

See: Melanoma, amelanotic
Amelioration

Not a word confined to medicine but a word used in medicine, amelioration is synonymous with improvement. If a patient's condition shows amelioration, the patient is clearly better -- there is some improvement in her or…
Amenia

Better known as amenorrhea, amenia is the absence or cessation of menstruation. Amenorrhea is conventionally divided into primary and secondary amenorrhea. With primary amenorrhea, menstruation never takes place. It…
Amenorrhea

Absence or cessation of menstruation. Amenorrhea is conventionally divided into primary and secondary amenorrhea. > >Primary amenorrhea -- menstruation never takes place. It fails to occur at puberty. >Secondary…
Amer College of Ob and Gyn (ACOG)

Gynecologists (ACOG): The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists is an organization concerned with the quality of ob/gyn practice in the U.S. It is called 'a cog.' The members of ACOG are 'Women's Health…
American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP)

>To provide responsible advocacy for and education of patients and the public in all health-related matters; >To preserve and promote quality cost-effective health care; >To promote the science and art of family…
American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons

The professional organization of American orthopaedists. Literally, the practice of child straightening, orthopaedics is the branch of surgery that is broadly concerned with the skeletal system (bones)
American Academy of Pediatrics

AAP. Its member pediatricians 'dedicate their efforts and resources to the health, safety and well-being of infants, children, adolescents and young adults.' According to the Academy, it had as of 1998 some 53,000…
American Association for Advancement of Science

Spoken of as the 'triple-AS', the American Association for the Advancement of Science is an organization concerned not only with the biomedical sciences but with all of the sciences. The AAAS publishes the weekly…
American Association of Dermatology

One of a multitude of professional societies in the health arena. The AMA (the American Medical Association) is a better known example in the U.S. Only a small selection of the many health-related organizations is given…
American Cancer Society (ACS)

A 'nationwide community-based voluntary health organization dedicated to eliminating cancer as a major health problem by preventing cancer, saving lives and diminishing suffering from cancer through research, education…
American College of Nurse-Midwives

See: Nurse-midwife
American College of Physicians

A medical society for internal medicine. The ACP motto is 'Doctors for Adults.' Its mission is 'to enhance the quality and effectiveness of health care by fostering excellence and professionalism in the practice of…
American College of Surgeons (ACS)

The American College of Surgeons (ACS) was formed in 1913 under the aegis of Dr. John Miller Turpin Finney 'to elevate the standard of surgery, to establish a standard of competency and of character for practitioners of…
American Dental Association (ADA)

The mission statement of the ADA reads as follows: 'The ADA is the professional association of dentists dedicated to serving both the public and the profession of dentistry. The ADA promotes the public's health through…
American Diabetes Association (ADA)

The American Diabetes Association (ADA) provides the following introduction: 'The American Diabetes Association is the nation's leading nonprofit health organization providing diabetes research, information and…
American dog tick

The tick most commonly responsible for transmitting R. rickettsii, the agent of Rocky Mountain spotted fever. This tick is widely distributed east of the Rocky Mountains and also occurs in limited areas on the Pacific…
American Journal of Public Health

A monthly journal that publishes original research articles that are peer-reviewed in both 'general and specialized areas of the science, art, and practice of public health. These areas include: environment, maternal…
American Medical Association

: The AMA. The AMA's mission statement proclaims: 'We are the Voice of the American Medical Profession. 'We are the partnership of physicians and their professional associations dedicated to promoting the art and…
American medical school, first

See: First American medical school
American Psychiatric Association

A medical specialty society with over 35,000 US and international member physicians who 'work together to ensure humane care and effective treatment for all persons with mental disorder, including mental retardation and…
American Sign Language

Abbreviated ASL. A complete, complex language that employs signs made with the hands and other movements, including facial expressions and postures of the body, used primarily by people in North America who are deaf
American trypanosomiasis

See: Chagas disease
American Type Culture Collection (ATCC)

>Algae & Protozoa >Bacteria & Bacteriophages >Cultured Cell Lines & Hybridomas >Fungi & Yeasts >Recombinant DNA Materials >Viruses & Virus Antisera >Plant Tissue Cultures >Culture Derived Products…
Americium

Symbol: Am. A man-made metallic element whose isotopes Am-237 through Am-246 are all radioactive. Americium must be handled with great care to avoid personal contamination. Trace quantities of americium are widely used…
Ames test

A test developed in 1974 by Bruce N. Ames for identifying possible carcinogens by studying their mutagenic effect on bacteria. The Ames test is widely used test to detect possible chemical carcinogens. It is based on…
Ames, Bruce N.

American biochemist and geneticist (1928-) who developed the Ames test for chemical mutagens. Ames attended Cornell University from 1946 to 1950, receiving his B.A. degree in chemistry/biochemistry. He then moved to the…
AMI

Acute myocardial infarction. A heart attack. The term 'myocardial infarction' focuses on the heart muscle (the myocardium) and the changes that occur in it due to sudden (acute) deprivation of circulating blood. The…
Amine

A chemical compound containing nitrogen. Amines are derived from ammonia. (The name 'amine' was derived from the word 'ammonia.'
Amini

Amini, Fariborz
Amini, Fariborz

Iranian-born American psychiatrist (1930-2004), at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), known for using science to study the phenomenon of love. In his work, Amini explained 'how lingering but forgotten…
Amino acid

One of the 20 building blocks of protein. The sequence of amino acids in a protein and, hence, the function of that protein are determined by the genetic code in the DNA. Amino acids are molecules that (in technical…
Amino acid symbols

Symbols that stand for the amino acids, the building blocks of protein. Each amino acid has both a three-letter symbol and a single-letter symbol. For example, the three-letter and single-letter symbols for alanine are…
Amino acid, branched-chain

One of the amino acids that has a branch chain, namely, Leucine, isoleucine, and valine
Amino acid, essential

An amino acid that cannot be made by humans and so is essential to the human diet. There are 9 essential amino acids: histidine, isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, threonine, tryptophan, and valine
Amino acid, nonessential

An amino acid that can be made by humans and so is not essential to the human diet. There are 11 nonessential amino acids: alanine, arginine, asparagine, aspartic acid, cysteine, glutamic acid, glutamine, glycine…
Amino acids

The building blocks of polypeptides and proteins
Aminotransferase

An enzyme that catalyzes the transfer of an amino group from a donor molecule to a recipient molecule. The donor molecule is usually an amino acid while the recipient (acceptor) molecule is usually an alpha-2 keto acid…
Amitriptyline

Padding=0 width='100%' border=0> ODYvAlign=top bgColor=#cccccc colSpan=2> vAlign=top width='100%' bgColor=#ffffff>Our Amitriptyline Main Article provides a comprehensive look at the who, what, when and how of…