Medical terms - Letter E (page 8) | MedicalVocabulary.org

Enucleation

The surgical removal of an eye. Enucleation is only done under drastic circumstances such as to remove a malignant tumor in the eye or to relieve intolerable pain in a blind eye. Following enucleation, an artificial eye…
Enuresis

Involuntary urination, which may be caused by a variety of factors. These include disorders of the kidneys, bladder, or ureter; and poor control of the muscles that control release of urine. Enuresis is also…
Environment

The sum of the total of the elements, factors and conditions in the surroundings which may have an impact on the development, action or survival of an organism or group of organisms. The environment is as opposed to…
Environmental medicine

The interactions between risk factors in the environment and human health. Environmental medicine focuses on the causes of disease in an environmental context. The environment creates exposures to many different…
Environmental Protection Agency

>All Americans are protected from significant risks to human health and the environment where they live, learn and work. >National efforts to reduce environmental risk are based on the best available scientific…
Environmental tobacco smoke

Abbreviated ETS. Secondhand smoke. See: ETS.
Environmental toxicology

The toxicity and toxicology of environmental pollutants in air, dust, sediment, soil and water, and natural toxins in the environment
Enzootic

Endemic in animals. An enzootic disease is constantly present in an animal population, but usually only affects a small number of animals at any one time. From the Greek en, in, + zon, animal
Enzyme

A protein (or protein-based molecule) that speeds up a chemical reaction in a living organism. An enzyme acts as catalyst for specific chemical reactions, converting a specific set of reactants (called substrates) into…
Enzyme defect

A disorder resulting from a deficiency (or functional abnormality) of an enzyme. In 1902 Archibald Garrod first attributed a disease to an enzyme defect: an inborn error of metabolism. Today, newborns are routinely…
Enzyme replacement

A strategy designed to replace missing enzyme activity in a patient. This strategy currently involves the administration of a purified protein (the enzyme) by intravenous infusion
Enzyme, lysosomal

An enzyme in an organelle (a little organ) called the lysosome within the cell. Lysosomal enzymes degrade (break down) macromolecules (large molecules) and other materials (such as bacteria) that have been taken up by…
Enzyme, restriction

An enzyme from bacteria that can recognize specific base sequences in DNA and cut the DNA at that site (the restriction site). A restriction enzyme acts as a biochemical scissors. Also called a restriction endonuclease…
Enzyme, Warburg's yellow

A key respiratory enzyme discovered by the German biochemist Otto Heinrich Warburg (1883-1970), a pioneer in research on the respiration of cells and the metabolism of tumors. Warburg's yellow enzyme is a flavoprotein…
Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA)

ELISA stands for 'enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.' This is a rapid immunochemical test that involves an enzyme (a protein that catalyzes a biochemical reaction). It also involves an antibody or antigen (immunologic…
Enzymes

Proteins that act as a catalysts in mediating and speeding a specific chemical reaction. In 1902 Archibald Garrod first attributed a disease to an enzyme defect: an inborn error of metabolism. Today, newborns are…
Enzymes, yellow

A group of respiratory enzymes that catalyze reactions in the body permitting cells to respire or breathe. These biochemical reactions are termed oxidation-reduction reactions. The first yellow enzyme was discovered by…
EOG

Electro-oculography. A type of electrophysiologic retinal testing
EOS

The gene for familial eosinophilia. EOS has been mapped to chromosome region 5q31-33 containing the cytokine gene cluster which includes the genes for interleukin-3 (IL-3), interleukin-5 (IL-5), and granulocyte…
Eosinophil

A type of leukocyte (white blood cell) with coarse round granules of uniform size within its cytoplasm and typically a bilobate (two-lobed) nucleus. Eosinophils are so named because their cytoplasmic granules stain red…
Eosinophilia

An abnormally high number of eosinophils in the blood. Normally, eosinophils constitute 1 to 3% of the peripheral blood leukocytes, at a count of 350 to 650 per cubic millimeter. Eosinophilia can be categorized as mild…
Eosinophilia, familial

See: Familial eosinophilia
Eosinophilic fasciitis (Shulman syndrome)

A disease which leads to inflammation and thickening of the skin and fascia. (The fascia is a lining tissue under the skin that covers a surface of underlying tissues. When the fascia is inflamed, the condition is…
Eosinophilic leukocyte

See: Eosinophil
Eosinophilic meningitis

Meningitis with a high percentage of eosinophils (a type of white blood cell) in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). The usual cause is the parasite Angiostrongylus cantonensis, also known as the rat lungworm. People become…
EPA

1. The Environmental Protection Agency, a US government agency.2. Eicosapentaenoic acid, one of the principal omega-3 fatty acids
Ependymoma

A type of brain tumor derived from the cells that line the cavities within the ventricles of the brain and the central canal of the spinal cord. Because cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) normally flows through the cerebral…
Ephedra

A medicinal herb, known scientifically as Ephedra sinica and Ephedra equisetina, also known as mahuang and herbal ecstasy. Ephedra comes from the dried rhizome and root of the plant. The main active ingredients in…
Ephelides

The plural of ephelis, a type of freckle. Ephelis and ephelides are among the many medical terms that are rarely, if ever, encountered outside of medicine
Ephelis

A form of freckle. A flat red or light-brown spot on the skin that typically appears during the sunny months and fades in the winter. They are most often found in people with light complexions and in some families, they…
Epi-

A fold of skin that comes down across the inner angle (canthus) of the eye. The epicanthal fold is more common in children with Down syndrome and other birth defects than normal children and so is of value in diagnosis…
Epicanthal fold

A fold of skin that comes down across the inner angle (canthus) of the eye. The epicanthal fold is more common in children with Down syndrome and other birth defects than normal children and so is of value in diagnosis…
Epicardium

The inner layer of the pericardium, a conical sac of fibrous tissue that surrounds the heart and the roots of the great blood vessels. The pericardium has outer and inner coats. The outer coat is tough and thickened…
Epicondylitis

Epicondylitis is an inflammation or damage to the area of an epicondyle of bone. An epicondyle is a projection of bone above a condyle (a rounded prominence at the end of a bone, usually where the bone connects to…
Epicondylitis, lateral

See: Tennis elbow
Epidemic

The occurrence of more cases of a disease than would be expected in a community or region during a given time period. A sudden severe outbreak of a disease such as SARS. From the Greek 'epi-', 'upon' + 'demos', 'people…
Epidemic hemorrhagic fever

A number of diseases characterized by an abrupt onset of high fever and chills, headache, cold and cough, and pain in the muscles, joints and abdomen with nausea and vomiting followed by bleeding into the kidney and…
Epidemic myalgia

Also known as Bornholm disease, this is a temporary illness that is a result of virus infection. The disease features fever and intense abdominal and chest pains with headache. The chest pain is typically worsened by…
Epidemic scorecard

A tally of epidemics. The scorecard, based on estimates from the World Health Organization in 2003, reads as follows: > >Tuberculosis: 8 million new cases and 2 million deaths a year. A third of the world population has…
Epidemic typhus

See: Typhus, epidemic
Epidemiologist

A person engaged in epidemiology (not confined to epidemics). Epidemiologists include people with an M.D., Ph.D., D.P.H. (Doctor of Public Health), M.P.H. (Master of Public Health), R.N., and a number of other degrees
Epidemiology, classical

The study of populations in order to determine the frequency and distribution of disease and measure risks.
Epidemiology, clinical

Epidemiology focused specifically upon patients. Epidemiology is the study of populations in order to determine the frequency and distribution of disease and measure risks.
Epidermal

Pertaining to the epidermis, the outermost layer of the skin
Epidermal growth factor

EGF
Epidermal growth factor receptor

EGFR
Epidermis

The upper or outer layer of the two main layers of cells that make up the skin. The epidermis is mostly made up of flat, scale-like cells called squamous cells. Under the squamous cells are round cells called basal…
Epidermoid carcinoma

A type of lung cancer in which the cells are flat and look like fish scales. Also called squamous cell carcinoma.
Epidermolysis bullosa

One in a group of blistering skin conditions. The skin is so fragile in people with epidermolysis bullosa that even minor rubbing may cause blistering. At times, the person may not be aware of rubbing or injuring the…
Epidermolysis bullosa acquisita

A rare autoimmune skin disease with blisters. In epidermolysis bullosa acquisita (EBA) the body attacks its own anchoring fibrils with antibodies. The anchoring filaments (thread-like fibers) are structures that anchor…