Medical terms - Letter A (page 26) | MedicalVocabulary.org

Arrhythmias, ventricular

Abnormal rapid heart rhythms (arrhythmias) that originate in the lower chambers of the heart (the ventricles). Ventricular arrhythmias include ventricular tachycardia and ventricular fibrillation. Both are life…
ARS

Acute radiation syndrome
Arsenic

>Breathing workplace air with sawdust or burning smoke from wood containing arsenic >Ingesting contaminated water, soil, or air at waste sites >Ingesting contaminated water, soil, or air near areas naturally high in…
Arsine

A colorless highly toxic gas. Arsine has a garlic-like or fishy odor. Because arsine is nonirritating and produces no immediate symptoms, persons exposed to hazardous levels of it may be unaware of its presence. Arsine…
ART (antiretroviral therapy)

Treatment that suppresses or stops a retrovirus. One of the retrovirus is the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) that causes AIDS. Retroviruses are so named because they carry their genetic information in the form of…
Artemidorus

Artemidorus of Daldis. Greek physician who wrote Oneirocritica, a work dedicated to the interpretation of dreams, in the middle of the second century C.E. Artemidorus gathered evidence during interviews with thousands…
Artemisinin

An antimalarial agent extracted from the dry leaves of the Chinese herb Artemsisia annua (qinghaosu or sweet wormwood). This plant is grown each year starting from seed and only yields artemesinin under specific…
Artemsisia annua

A Chinese herb (qinghaosu or sweet wormwood) from which is extracted the antimalarial agent artemisinin
Arteria femoralis

See: Femoral artery
Arterial aneurysm

An outpouching (aneurysm) of an artery. As opposed to a venous or cardiac aneurysm. An aneurysm is a localized widening (dilatation) of an artery, vein, or the heart. At the area of an aneurysm, there is typically a…
Arterial blood gas (ABG)

The sampling of the blood levels of oxygen and carbon dioxide within the arteries, as opposed to the levels of oxygen and carbon dioxide in venous blood. Typically the acidity, or pH, of the blood is measured…
Arterial tension

The pressure of the blood within an artery, the arterial pressure. Also called the intra-arterial pressure
Arteries, coronary

The vessels that supply the heart muscle with blood rich in oxygen. They are called the coronary arteries because they encircle the heart in the manner of a crown. The word 'coronary' comes from the Latin 'corona' and…
Arteriogram

An x-ray of blood vessels, which becomes visible after an injection of contrast solution into the circulation that appears on the x-ray film.
Arteriohepatic dysplasia

Also known as Alagille syndrome, this ia a genetic disorder characterized by jaundice in the newborn period, liver disease with cholestasis, peripheral pulmonic stenosis and unusual face. Children with Alagille syndrome…
Arteriole

A small branch of an artery (a vessel that carries blood high in oxygen away from the heart to the body) leading to a capillary. The oxygenated hemoglobin (oxyhemoglobin) makes the blood in arteries and arterioles look…
Arteriosclerosis

Hardening and thickening of the walls of the arteries. Arteriosclerosis can occur because of fatty deposits on the inner lining of arteries (atherosclerosis), calcification of the wall of the arteries, or thickening of…
Arteriosclerotic aneurysm

A localized widening (aneurysm) of a vessel that occurs because the vessel wall is weakened by arteriosclerosis. An aneurysm is a localized widening (dilatation) of an artery, vein, or the heart. At the area of an…
Arteriosclerotic retinopathy

Retinal disease caused by arteriosclerosis. In this condition, the arterioles (small arteries) in the retina become partially blocked because of thickening of their walls. Using an ophthalmoscope, a doctor can see the…
Arteriovenous malformation

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

A serious disease characterized by inflammation of the walls of the blood vessels (vasculitis). The vessels affected are the arteries (hence the name "arteritis"). The age of affected patients is usually over 50 years…
Arteritis, cranial

A serious disease characterized by inflammation of the walls of the blood vessels (vasculitis). The vessels affected are the arteries (hence the name 'arteritis'). The age of affected patients is usually over 50 years…
Arteritis, giant cell

A chronic vascular disease, most often involving the carotid artery system, that can lead to blindness and/or stroke, Giant cell arteritis (also called temporal arteritis) is detected by a biopsy of an artery, and is…
Arteritis, Takayasu

Also called giant cell arteritis or cranial arteritis, this is a serious disease characterized by inflammation of the walls of the blood vessels (vasculitis). The vessels affected by inflammation are the arteries (hence…
Arteritis, temporal

Also called giant cell arteritis or cranial arteritis, this is a serious disease characterized by inflammation of the walls of the blood vessels (vasculitis). The vessels affected by inflammation are the arteries (hence…
Artery

A vessel that carries blood high in oxygen content away from the heart to the farthest reaches of the body. Since blood in arteries is usually full of oxygen, the hemoglobin in the red blood cells is oxygenated. The…
Artery disease, coronary

See: Coronary artery disease
Artery spasm, coronary

See: Coronary artery spasm
Artery, brachial

See: Brachial artery
Artery, carotid

See: Carotid artery
Artery, central retinal

The blood vessel that carries blood into the eye and supplies nutrition to the retina. The counterpart to the central retinal artery is the central retinal vein, the vessel that carries blood away from the retina.
Artery, femoral

See: Femoral artery
Artery, hepatic

An artery that distributes blood to the liver, pancreas and gallbladder as well as to the stomach and duodenal portion of the small intestine
Artery, mesenteric

One of the arteries that arises from the abdominal portion of the aorta and distributes blood to most of the intestines
Artery, ophthalmic

The ophthalmic artery supplies blood to the eye and adjacent structures of face. It arises from the internal carotid artery that courses up deep within the front of the neck
Artery, pulmonary

See: Pulmonary artery
Artery, splenic

A large artery within the abdomen that arises from an arterial vessel called the celiac trunk, which emerges from the aorta. The splenic artery supplies blood not only to the spleen, but also to the esophagus, stomach…
Artery, vertebral

A key artery located in the back of the neck that carries blood from the heart to the brain
Arth. and Musculoskeletal and Skin Dis, Nat'l Inst

S and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases, National Institute of (NIAMS): One of the National Institutes of Health in the U.S. As its somewhat cumbersome name indicates, NIAMS's mission is a wide and important one, namely…
Arthr-

See: Arthro-
Arthralgia

Pain in the joints. There are many possible causes of pain in a joint. The Greek 'algos' means 'pain.
Arthritis

Arthritis: Inflammation of a joint. When joints are inflamed they can develop stiffness, warmth, swelling, redness and pain. There are over 100 types of arthritis. (see osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing…
Arthritis in children

Arthritis in children, usually in the form in the form of juvenile arthritis (also called pediatric arthritis) or rheumatoid arthritis
Arthritis mutilans

Arthritis mutilans: An extremely severe form of chronic rheumatoid arthritis characterized by resorption of bones and the consequent collapse of soft tissue. When this affects the hands, it can cause a phenomenon…
Arthritis, degenerative

A type of arthritis caused by inflammation, breakdown, and eventual loss of the cartilage of the joints. Also called osteoarthritis.
Arthritis, gout

Joint inflammation caused by uric acid crystal deposits in the joint space. An attack is usually extremely painful. The uric acid crystals are deposited in the joint fluid (synovial fluid) and joint lining (synovial…
Arthritis, Lyme

Inflammation of the joints associated with Lyme disease, a bacterial disease spread by ticks
Arthritis, psoriatic

Joint inflammation associated with psoriasis
Arthritis, quackery

Like many people with chronic ailments, sufferers from arthritis are potentially vulnerable to proponents of 'cure-all' treatments which are promoted as having great benefits, but in reality have no right to such claims
Arthritis, reactive

Arthritis, reactive: Reiter's syndrome is also called 'reactive arthritis' since it is thought to involve the immune system which is 'reacting' to the presence of bacterial infections in the genital, urinary, or…