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

Extrauterine

Outside the uterus (the womb). As opposed to intrauterine: inside the uterus. For example, normal pregnancies are intrauterine; extrauterine pregnancies can occur in the uterine tube or abdominal cavity and are…
Extrauterine pregnancy

A pregnancy that is not in the usual place and is located outside the inner lining of the uterus. A fertilized egg settles and grows in any location other than the inner lining of the uterus. The large majority (95%) of…
Extravasate

To exude from or pass through the walls of a vessel into the surrounding tissues. Blood, lymph, or urine can extravasate. From the Latin 'extra' (out of) + 'vas' (vessel) = out of a vessel.
Extremely low birth weight (ELBW) baby

Born very prematurely weighing between 401 and 1000 grams (about 14 to 35 ounces) at birth. Extremely low birth weight (ELBW) babies are at the lower limits of viability. If ELBW babies survive, they are at elevated…
Extremity

The extremities in medical language are not freezing cold or scorching heat but rather the uttermost parts of the body. The extremities are simply the hands and feet. The use of 'extremity' to mean a hand or foot is…
Extremophile

An organism that lives under extreme conditions. An example of an extremophile is Methanococcus jannaschii, a microbe that lives near hydrothermal vents deep beneath the sea. The term extremophile was coined late in the…
Extrinsic

1. Not an essential or inherent part of a something such as a structure.2. Coming from the outside. Extrinsic forces can mold the head before birth.From the Latin extrinsecus meaning from outside. The opposite of…
Extubate

To remove a tube from a hollow organ or passageway, often from the airway. The opposite of extubate is intubate.
Extubation

The process of removing a tube from a hollow organ or passageway, often from the airway. The opposite of extubation is intubation.
Exudate

A fluid rich in protein and cellular elements that oozes out of blood vessels due to inflammation and is deposited in nearby tissues. The altered permeability of blood vessels permits the passage of large molecules and…
Exudative angina

Angina: This has nothing whatsoever to do with the usual type of angina (angina pectoris) which is chest pain of cardiac origin. Angina trachealis is more commonly known as croup. This is an infection of the larynx…
EYCL1

A gene for green/blue eye color located on chromosome 19. See also: Eye color
EYCL2

A gene for brown eye color. See also: Eye color
EYCL3

A gene for brown/blue eye color located on chromosome 15. See also: Eye color
Eye

The organ of sight. The eye has a number of components. These components include but are not limited to the cornea, iris, pupil, lens, retina, macula, optic nerve, choroid and vitreous. The cornea is the clear front…
Eye bank

A place to store corneas (the clear 'front window' of the eye) for use in future keratoplasty (surgery to replace the cornea)
Eye bleed

Medically called a subconjunctival hemorrhage. A very common cause of a painless bloody eye usually first noticed by somebody else or by the person with it when they look in the mirror. The bleeding results from a break…
Eye cataract

A clouding of the lens of the eye. The normally clear aspirin-sized lens of the eye starts to become cloudy. The result is much like smearing grease over the lens of a camera. It impairs normal vision. NTER> There are…
Eye chart test

This test measures how well you see at various distances. The eye chart itself -- the usual one is called Snellen's chart -- is imprinted with block letters that line-by-line decrease in size, corresponding to the…
Eye chart, Snellen's

The familiar eye chart used to measure how well you see at various distances. Snellen's chart is imprinted with block letters that line-by-line decrease in size, corresponding to the distance at which that line of…
Eye color

The color of the iris. The genetics of eye color are complicated. Eye color is polygenic. It is determined by multiple genes. The eye color genes include EYCL1 (a green/blue eye color gene located on chromosome 19)…
Eye Institute, National

): One of the National Institutes of Health in the U.S., NEI's mission is to 'conduct and support research, training, health information dissemination, and other programs with respect to blinding eye diseases, visual…
Eye Institute, National (NEI)

One of the US National Institutes of Health, NEI's mission is to 'conduct and support research, training, health information dissemination, and other programs with respect to blinding eye diseases, visual disorders…
Eye melanoma

See: Intraocular melanoma
Eye pressure test

A standard eye test that determines the fluid pressure inside the eye. The test is called tonometry. Increased pressure within the eye is a possible sign of glaucoma, a common and potentially very serious eye problem if…
Eye retraction syndrome

See: Duane syndrome
Eye, absent

Also called anophthalmia, a congenital malformation (birth defect) of the globe. Anophthalmia refers, strictly speaking, to absence of the globe and ocular tissue from the orbit. However, in most cases of anophthalmia…
Eye, dry

See: Dry eye
Eye, lazy

See: Lazy eye
Eye, no

Also called anophthalmia, a congenital malformation (birth defect) of the globe. Anophthalmia refers, strictly speaking, to absence of the globe and ocular tissue from the orbit. However, in most cases of anophthalmia…
Eye, small

Also called microphthalmia, an abnormally small eye, a congenital malformation (birth defect) of the globe. The related term 'anophthalmia' means no eye and refers to absence of the globe and ocular tissue from the…
Eyedrop test

There are many types of eyedrops and many types of eyedrop tests. One of the most common eyedrop tests is pupil dilation. This examination enables your eye care professional to see more of your retina, the…
Eyelash

One of the familiar stiff hairs that project from the margin of the eyelid. Eyelashes tend to be noticed mainly when something goes wrong with them. An eyelash gets in your eye and irritates it; you have an ingrown…
Eyelid

The lid or cover of the eye, a movable fold of skin and muscle that can be closed over the eyeball or opened at will. Each eye has an upper and a lower lid. An eyelid is also called a palpebra
Eyelid granulation

See Blepharitis
Eyelid myokymia

Fine continuous contractions of the eyelid muscle, typically involving one of the lower eyelids, less often an upper eyelid. The condition occurs spontaneously, sometimes triggered by stress, fatigue, caffeine or…
Eyelids, adult ptosis of the

Drooping of the upper eyelids in adults, most commonly due to separation of the tendon of the lid-lifting (levator) muscle from the eyelid. This may occur with age, after cataract or other eye surgery, an injury, eye…
Eyelids, congenital ptosis of the

Drooping of the upper eyelids at birth. The lids may droop only slightly or they may cover the pupils and restrict or even block vision. Moderate or severe pstosis calls for treatment to permit normal vision…
Eyes, flashing lights in the

There are a number of causes of spontaneous flashing light sensations in the eye. A sensation of flashing lights can be caused when the vitreous (the clear, jelly-like substance that fills the middle of the eye) shrinks…
Eyes, glaucoma

Glaucoma: Disease (there is more than one type) characterized by increased pressure within the eye. Glaucoma can lead to blindness. Glaucoma is five times more likely to occur in Blacks than in Whites. Early detection…
Eyes, spots in front of the

Also known as 'floaters', blurry spots that drift in front of the eyes but do not block vision. The blur is the result of debris from the vitreous casting a shadow on the retina. The spot is the image formed by a…
Eyetooth

An upper canine tooth which is immediately lateral to the second incisor. So-named in the mistaken belief that this tooth was connected to a branch of the nerve that supplies the eye