Medical terms - Letter A (page 6) | MedicalVocabulary.org

Acute HIV infection

The body's initial reaction to infection by the HIV virus. Acute HIV infection is a flu-like syndrome that occurs immediately after a person contracts HIV (the human immunodeficiency virus 1, the agent that causes…
Acute idiopathic polyneuritis

Also known as the Guillain-Barre syndrome, a disorder characterized by progressive symmetrical paralysis and loss of reflexes, usually beginning in the leg, with in most cases nearly complete or complete recovery. The…
Acute illness

A disease with an abrupt onset and usually a short course
Acute kidney failure

See: Acute renal failure
Acute leukemia

Leukemia: Cancer of the white blood cells (leukemia) that characteristically comes on abruptly and, if not treated, progresses rapidly. The two major types of acute leukemia are acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and…
Acute lymphoblastic leukemia

An acute (sudden onset), rapidly progressing form of leukemia that is characterized by the presence in the blood and bone marrow of large numbers of unusually immature white blood cells destined to become lymphocytes…
Acute lymphocytic leukemia

See: Acute lymphoblastic leukemia
Acute membranous gingivitis

This is trench mouth, a progressive painful infection with ulceration, swelling and sloughing off of dead tissue from the mouth and throat due to the spread of infection from the gums. Certain germs (including fusiform…
Acute mountain sickness (AMS)

Acute mountain sickness (AMS) is the effect on the body of being in a high altitude environment. AMS is common at high altitudes, that is above 8,000 feet (2,440 meters). Three-quarters of people have mild symptoms of…
Acute myelogenous leukemia

Acute myelogenous leukemia: Abbreviated AML. Also called acute myeloid leukemia or acute nonlymphocytic leukemia (ANLL). A quickly progressive malignant disease in which there are too many immature blood-forming cells…
Acute myeloid leukemia

Acute myeloid leukemia: A quickly progressive malignant disease in which there are too many immature blood-forming cells in the blood and bone marrow, the cells being specifically those destined to give rise to the…
Acute myocardial infarction

A heart attack. The term 'myocardial infarction' focuses on the heart muscle, which is called the myocardium,and the changes that occur in it due to the sudden deprivation of circulating blood. This is usually caused by…
Acute necrotizing ulcerative gingivitis (ANUG)

This is trench mouth, a progressive painful infection with ulceration, swelling and sloughing off of dead tissue from the mouth and throat due to the spread of infection from the gums. Certain germs (including fusiform…
Acute nonlymphocytic leukemia

Acute nonlymphocytic leukemia: Abbreviated ANLL. More commonly called acute myeloid leukemia (AML). A quickly progressive malignant disease in which there are too many immature blood-forming cells in the blood and bone…
Acute otitis media

Otitis media: Inflammation of the middle ear in which there is fluid in the middle ear accompanied by signs or symptoms of ear infection: a bulging eardrum usually accompanied by pain; or a perforated eardrum, often…
Acute pain

Pain that comes on quickly, can be severe, but lasts a relatively short time. As opposed to chronic pain
Acute pancreatitis

Sudden inflammation of the pancreas. The pancreas abruptly becomes inflamed and then gets better. Some people have more than one attack but recover fully after each one. The cause of acute pancreatitis is most often…
Acute phase protein

See: Acute-phase protein
Acute phase reactant

See: Acute-phase protein
Acute promyelocytic leukemia

Acute promyelocytic leukemia: Commonly called APL, a malignancy of the bone marrow in which there is a deficiency of mature blood cells in the myeloid line of cells and an excess of immature cells called promyelocytes…
Acute radiation syndrome

An acute illness caused by a dose greater than 50 rads of penetrating radiation to most or all of the body in a short time, usually a matter of minutes. Examples of persons who suffered from acute radiation syndrome…
Acute renal failure

Sudden and often temporary loss of kidney function. Also called acute kidney failure. As opposed to chronic renal failure
Acute respiratory disease

A sudden condition in which breathing is difficult and the oxygen levels in the blood abruptly drop lower than normal
Acute respiratory distress syndrome

Better known as ARDS. See: ARDS
Acute stress disorder

The anxiety and behavioral disturbances that develop within a month of exposure to extreme trauma. The symptoms of an acute stress disorder usually begin during or shortly following the trauma. Such extreme traumatic…
Acute thrombocytopenic purpura

The sudden onset of low blood platelet levels with bleeding into the skin and elsewhere. Acute thrombocytopenic purpura (ATP) can be due to many causes. It may, for example, constitute a potentially serious complication…
Acute tubular necrosis

A severe form of acute renal failure that develops in people with severe illnesses (such as sepsis) or with very low blood pressure. Patients may need dialysis. Kidney function often improves if the underlying disease…
Acute-phase protein

Any protein whose plasma concentration increases (or decreases) by 25% or more during certain inflammatory disorders. The acute-phase proteins include C-reactive protein (CRP), serum amyloid A (SAA), fibrinogen, and…
Acute-phase proteins

See: Acute-phase protein
Acute-phase reactant

See: Acute-phase protein
Acyclovir

Acyclovir: (Brand name: Zovirax) One of a group of antiviral drugs that acts against the herpes viruses, including: > >Herpes simplex 1 which causes cold sores >Herpes simplex 2 which causes genital herpes…
Ad lib

Abbreviation for the Latin 'ad libitum' meaning 'at pleasure' and 'at one's pleasure, as much as one desires, to the full extent of one's wishes.' Sometimes seen on a prescription or doctor's order. For example, during…
Ad-

Latin prefix meaning 'toward' and 'in the direction of,' as in adduction (movement of a limb toward the midline of the body), adhesion, and adrenal (toward the kidney)
ADA (American Dental Association)

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…
ADA (American Diabetes Association)

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…
ADA deficiency

Lack of normal adenosine deaminase (ADA) activity, a genetic (inherited) condition causing one form of severe combined immunodeficiency ((SCID) disease. It is said to be 'combined' in that there is dysfunction of both B…
Adam

A street name for 3-4 methylenedioxymethamphetamine. See: Ecstasy
Adam's apple

A familiar anatomic feature in the front of the neck that is due to the forward protrusion of the thyroid cartilage, the largest and most prominent cartilage of the larynx. The thyroid cartilage tends to enlarge at…
Adamantine

In dentistry, relating to the enamel of the teeth. Adamantine comes from the Greek and Latin word adamas which applied to substances having the hardness or luster of a diamond. Adamantine figuratively means unyielding…
Adams-Stokes disease

Sudden collapse into unconsciousness due to a disorder of heart rhythm in which there is a slow or absent pulse resulting in syncope (fainting) with or without convulsions. In this condition, the normal heartbeat…
ADAMTS2

A gene that encodes a metalloproteinase enzyme. This enzyme is responsible for processing type I, type II, and type V procollagen proteins. Procollagens are the precursors of collagens, the proteins that add strength…
Adapter protein

A protein acts as a connecting molecule. An adapter protein is critical to intermolecular interactions and plays a role in the regulation of signal transduction initiated by engagement of surface receptors on all cell…
ADCC (antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotox.)

An immune response in which antibodies, by coating target cells, makes them vulnerable to attack by immune cells. Antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity is commonly (and blissfully) abbreviated ADCC
ADD (attention deficit disorder)

Attention deficit disorder: An inability to control behavior due to difficulty in processing neural stimuli. In November, 1998 the National Institutes of Health (NIH) issued a consensus report developed by a panel of…
Addiction

A chronic relapsing condition characterized by compulsive drug-seeking and abuse and by long-lasting chemical changes in the brain. Addiction is the same irrespective of whether the drug is alcohol, amphetamines…
Addiction, computer

See: Computer addiction
Addison anemia

Anemia: A blood disorder caused by a lack of vitamin B12. Patients who have this disorder do not produce the substance in the stomach that allows the body to absorb vitamin B12. This substance is called intrinsic factor…
Addison disease

Addison disease: Long-term underfunction of the outer portion of the adrenal gland. In medical terms, chronic insufficiency of the adrenal cortex. This may be due to a number of different insults to the adrenal…
Addisonian anemia

Anemia: A blood disorder caused by a lack of vitamin B12. Patients who have this disorder do not produce the substance in the stomach that allows the body to absorb vitamin B12. This substance is called intrinsic factor…
Additive genetic effects

A mechanism of quantitative inheritance such that the combined effects of genetic alleles at two or more gene loci are equal to the sum of their individual effects