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

Broken hip

Fractured bone in the hip, a key health problem among the elderly, usually due to a fall or other kind of trauma involving direct impact to the hip bone which has been weakened by osteoporosis. The part of the hip most…
Bromine

A brownish-red element that is a liquid at room temperature, dissolves in water, and has a bleach-like suffocating odor. Bromine occurs naturally in the earth's crust and seawater. Bromine is found as an alternative to…
Bromism

A disease caused by chronic exposure to bromine or one of its compounds. Bromism is characterized by mental dullness, memory loss, slurred speech, tremors, ataxia and muscular weakness, a transitory state resembling…
Bromobenzylcyanide

A riot control agent or 'tear gas.' See: Riot control agent poisoning
Bromoderma

A skin eruption brought on by chronic exposure to bromine. Essentially an allergic reaction to bromine. There are diverse sources of bromine exposure including brominated vegetable oil, a commonly used emulsifier and…
Bronchi

The large air tubes leading from the trachea to the lungs that convey air to and from the lungs. The bronchi have cartilage as part of their supporting wall structure. The trachea divides to form the right and left main…
Bronchiectasis

Permanent dilatation (widening) of the bronchi (the large air tubes which begin at the bottom of the trachea and branch into the lungs). Bronchiectasis can result in very serious illness including recurrent respiratory…
Bronchiole

A tiny tube in the air conduit system within the lungs that is a continuation of the bronchi and connects to the alveoli (the air sacs) where oxygen exchange occurs. Bronchiole is the diminutive of bronchus, from the…
Bronchiolitis

Inflammation of the bronchioles, the airways that extend beyond the bronchi and terminate in the alveoli. Bronchiolitis is due to viral infections such as parainfluenza, influenza, adenovirus and, especially…
Bronchitis

Bronchitis: Inflammation and swelling of the bronchi. Bronchitis can be acute or chronic. Chronic bronchitis usually is defined clinically as a daily cough with production of sputum for 3 months, two years in a row. In…
Bronchitis, chronic

Defined clinically as a daily cough with production of sputum for 3 months, two years in a row. In chronic bronchitis, there is inflammation and swelling of the lining of the airways that lead to narrowing and…
Bronchopulmonary

Pertaining to both the air passages (bronchi) leading to the lungs and the lungs (pulmonary) themselves
Bronchopulmonary dysplasia

A chronic lung disease of babies, which most commonly develops in the first 4 weeks after birth and most often affects babies born at least 4 weeks before term. The lungs do not work properly in bronchopulmonary…
Bronchopulmonary segments

A subdivision of one lobe of a lung based on the connection to the segmental bronchus. For example, the right upper lobe has apical, anterior, and posterior segments
Bronchoscope

A thin, flexible instrument used to view the air passages of the lung
Bronchoscopy

L ODYvAlign=top bgColor=#cccccc colSpan=2> vAlign=top width='100%' bgColor=#ffffff>Our Bronchoscopy Main Article provides a comprehensive look at the who, what, when and how of Bronchoscopy Bronchoscopy: A procedure…
Bronchospasm, exercise-induced

Also called exercise-induced asthma, this is asthma that is triggered by vigorous physical activity. Exercise-induced asthma tends particularly to affect children and young adults (because of their high level of…
Bronchus

One of the large air tubes leading from the trachea to the lungs that convey air to and from the lungs. The bronchi (the plural) have cartilage as part of their supporting wall structure. The trachea divides to form the…
Brontophobia

An abnormal and persistent fear of thunder that causes undue anxiety even though sufferers realize that thunder itself poses no threat to them. When outdoors during a thunderstorm, they may suffer excessive anxiety…
Bross

See: Bross, Irwin DJ
Bross, Irwin DJ

(1921-2004) American public-health advocate and biostatistician who initiated and designed methods for analysing vehicle crash injury cause and effect, and conducted clinical studies of the relation between low-level…
Brown fat

Brown adipose tissue, a rapid source of energy for infants in whom it forms about 5% of their body weight. It is brown because the cells in it are packed full of small cellular organs called mitochondria, which are…
Brown syndrome

An ophthalmology (eye) problem. Brown syndrome is an abnormality that is present at birth (congenitally) and is characterized by an inability to elevate the eyeball when trying to move the eyeball to the outside. Brown…
Brown, Louise

The world's first test-tube baby, conceived by in vitro fertilization and born on July 25, 1978
Brown, Michael Stuart

American physician, biochemist and molecular geneticist (1941-) who shared the Nobel Prize for research on cholesterol. Brown earned his B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania in 1962, and received his M.D. in 1966…
Bruce N. Ames

See: Ames, Bruce N.
Bruce protocol

A standardized multistage treadmill test for assessing cardiovascular health, The test was developed and described in 1963 by the American cardiologist Robert A. Bruce (1916-2004). According to the original Bruce…
Brucellosis

An infectious disease due to the bacteria Brucella that causes rising and falling (undulant) fevers, sweats, malaise, weakness, anorexia, headache, myalgia (muscle pain) and back pain. Brucellosis is named after its…
Bruise

A bruise or 'contusion' is an traumatic injury of the soft tissues which results in breakage of the local capillaries and leakage of red blood cells. In the skin it can be seen as a reddish-purple discoloration that…
Bruit

A sound, especially an abnormal one. A bruit may be heard over an artery or vascular channel, reflecting turbulence of flow. Listening for a bruit in the neck is a simple, safe, and inexpensive way to screen for…
Brunhilde virus

Type 1 poliovirus. Named after a female chimpanzee from which it was first isolated. There are two other strains of poliovirus: Type 2 (known as the Lansing virus) and Type 3 (known as the Leon virus). Immunity to one…
Brushfield's spots

Speckled iris. Little white spots that slightly elevated on the surface of the iris arranged in a ring concentric with the pupil. These spots occur in normal children but are far more frequent in Down's syndrome…
Bruton agammaglobulinemia tyrosine kinase

A genetic type of immunodeficiency characterized by failure to produce mature B lymphocytes and gamma globulin, due to mutation (change) in the agammaglobulinemia tyrosine kinase gene situated on the X chromosome (in…
Bruxism

Grinding and gnashing the teeth. Bruxism is due to clenching of the teeth other than in chewing and is associated with forceful lateral or protrusive jaw movements. This results in grinding or rubbing the teeth…
BSA

In medicine, not the Boy Scouts of America but the body surface area
BSL

1. Biosafety level, as in a BSL-4 laboratory. 2.Biohazard safety level. 3.Blood sugar level. 4.British Sign Language
BSL-1

Biosafety level 1. The lowest level of biosafety, a level that applies to agents that do not ordinarily cause human disease
BSL-2

Biosafety level 2. A level of biosafety considered appropriate for agents that can cause human disease, but whose potential for transmission is limited
BSL-3

Biosafety level 3. A level of biosafety considered appropriate for agents that may be transmitted by the respiratory route which can cause serious infection
BSL-4

Biosafety level 4. The highest level of biosafety. This level is used for the diagnosis of exotic agents such as the Ebola virus that pose a high risk of life-threatening disease, which may be transmitted by the aerosol…
BTE

Behind-the-ear. See also: Behind-the-ear hearing aid
Bubble boy disease

Severe combined immunodeficiency disease
Bubo

An enlarged lymph node ('swollen gland') that is tender and painful, particularly in the groin and armpit (the axilla). A feature of a number of infectious diseases including gonorrhea, syphilis, tuberculosis, and the…
Buboes

The plural of 'bubo'
Bubonic plague

The most common form of the plague, named for the characteristic buboes -- buboes are enlarged lymph nodes ('swollen glands') -- in the groin which are usually very tender and painful. Lymph nodes may be similarly…
Buccal mucosa

The inner lining of the cheeks and lips.
Buffalo chest

A single chest cavity with no anatomic separation of the two hemithoraxes due, for example, to tension pneumothorax (air under pressure collapsing a lung). It is called buffalo chest because this anatomical peculiarity…
Bug, kissing

See: Kissing bug
Bug, reduviid

See: Reduviid bug
Bulbar

Pertaining to a bulb, in medicine any rounded mass of tissue (that is shaped somewhat like a crocus or tulip bulb). For example, the bulbar conjunctiva is that part of the conjunctiva, a clear membrane of the eye, which…