Medical terms - Letter F | MedicalVocabulary.org

F (coefficient of inbreeding)

F is the symbol for the coefficient of inbreeding, a way of gauging how close two people are genetically to one another. The coefficient of inbreeding, F, is the probability that a person with two identical genes…
F (symbol)

A much used symbol, F stands for fractional concentration; free energy; Fahrenheit; visual field; fluorine; force; filial generation, followed by subscript numerals indicating specified matings such as F1); the amino…
Fabricated illness by proxy

See: Munchhausen syndrome by proxy
Fabry disease

A genetic disease due to deficiency of the enzyme alpha-galactosidase A. This enzyme is essential to the metabolism of molecules known as glycosphingolipids. Without the enzyme, glycosphingolipids accumulate in the…
Face, masklike

A surgical procedure designed to make the face appear younger by pulling loose facial skin taut. With age or excessive sun exposure, wrinkled creased skin can develop on the face, neck or forehead along with fat…
Facelift

Although infrequent, the risks and complications of facelift surgery include: bleeding, hematoma, bruising; infection; neurological dysfunction (loss of muscle function or sensation), which is usually temporary; widened…
Facelift surgery risks

Facelift surgery risks: Although infrequent, the risks and complications of facelift surgery include: bleeding, hematoma, bruising; infection; neurological dysfunction (loss of muscle function or sensation), which is…
Facial canal introitus

In anatomy, an introitus is an entrance, one that goes into a canal or hollow organ. The introitus of the facial canal is the entrance to the facial canal, a passage in the temporal bone of the skull through which the…
Facial muscle

One of the 43 muscles in the human face. The facial muscles convey basic human emotions such as anger, sadness, fear, surprise, disgust, contempt and happiness by very clear facial signals
Facial nerve

The facial nerve is the seventh cranial nerve. It is a mixed nerve that has fibers both going out and coming in (both efferent and afferent fibers). It supplies the muscles of facial expression. Paralysis of the facial…
Facial nerve paralysis

Loss of voluntary movement of the muscles on one side of the face due to abnormal function of the facial nerve (also known as the 7th cranial nerve) which supplies those muscles. Facial nerve paralysis is also called…
Facies

A direct borrowing from the Latin, facies means face.
Facio-auriculo-vertebral spectrum

See: Goldenhar syndrome
Facioauriculovertebral sequence

See: Goldenhar syndrome
Faciodigitogenital dysplasia

See: Aarskog-Scott syndrome
Faciogenital dysplasia

See: Aarskog-Scott syndrome
Facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy

A form of muscular dystrophy that typically begins before age 20 with slowly progressive weakness of the muscles of the face, shoulders, and feet. The severity of the disease is quite variable. Although most people with…
Factitious disease by proxy

See: Munchhausen syndrome by proxy
Factitious disorder by proxy

See: Munchhausen syndrome by proxy
Factor V

A coagulation factor needed for the normal clotting of blood. Also known as proaccelerin
Factor V Leiden

A genetic disorder of blood coagulation (clotting) that carries an increased risk of venous thromboembolism -- the formation of clots in veins that may break loose and travel through the bloodstream to the lungs or…
Factor VIII

Factor eight, a key factor in the process of blood coagulation (clotting). Lack of normal factor VIII causes hemophilia (hemophilia A). The gene for classic hemophilia was long known to be on the X chromosome. Females…
Factor X

A laboratory-made agent similar to a normally existing substance in the body that stimulates the production of blood cells. The colony-stimulating factors (CSFs) include granulocyte colony-stimulating factors (G-CSF)…
Factor, colony-stimulating

Rheumatoid factor is an antibody that is measurable in the blood. It is commonly used as a blood test for the diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis. Rheumatoid factor is present in about 80% of adults (but a much lower…
Factor, rheumatoid

Rheumatoid factor is an antibody that is measurable in the blood. It is commonly used as a blood test for the diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis. Rheumatoid factor is present in about 80% of adults (but a much lower…
Facultative

1. In general, not obligatory but rather capable of adapting to different conditions. The opposite of facultative is obligate.2. In bacteriology, bacteria that can grow under either aerobic or anaerobic circumstances…
Facultative heterochromatin

Chromosome material that can be either heterochromatin or euchromatin. The inactive X chromosome is made up of facultative heterochromatin. When a woman transmits that X chromosome to a son, the chromosome reverts to…
FAE (fetal alcohol effects)

A softer diagnosis than fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS). The diagnosis of possible FAE is considered when: 1. The person has some signs of FAS; 2. The person does not meet all of the necessary criteria for FAS; and 3…
Fahr syndrome

This syndrome described in 1930 by T. Fahr is a genetic (inherited) neurological disorder characterized by abnormal deposits of calcium in certain of areas of the brain (including the basal ganglia and the cerebral…
Fahrenheit

Thermometer scale in which the freezing point of water is 32°F and the boiling point of water 212°F. The Fahrenheit scale is still obstinately in use in the US. This anachronism requires conversion from Centigrade (°C)…
Failure to thrive (FTT)

Refers to a child whose physical growth is significantly less than that of peers. There is no official consensus on what constitutes failure to thrive (FTT). It usually refers to a child whose growth is below the 3rd or…
Failure, adrenal

A condition in which the adrenal glands do not produce enough of the adrenal hormones that control important functions such as blood pressure. The adrenal glands sit on top of the kidneys. The adrenal is made up of an…
Failure, autonomic

See: Autonomic failure
Failure, heart

Inability of the heart to keep up with the demands on it and, specifically, failure of the heart to pump blood with normal efficiency. When this occurs, the heart is unable to provide adequate blood flow to other organs…
Failure, respiratory

See: Respiratory failure
Fainting (syncope)

Fainting (syncope): Partial or complete loss of consciousness with interruption of awareness of oneself and ones surroundings. When the loss of consciousness is temporary and there is spontaneous recovery, it is…
Falciparum malaria

Malaria: The most dangerous type of malaria. Red blood cells infected with the parasite tend to sludge and form microinfarctions (small areas of dead tissue due to lack of oxygen) in capillaries in the brain, liver…
FALDH deficiency

Also known as the Sjogren-Larsson syndrome, this is a genetic (inherited) disease usually characterized by a triad of clinical findings consisting of ichthyosis (thickened fish-like skin), spastic paraplegia (spasticity…
Fallopian tube

One of the two Fallopian tubes that transport the egg from the ovary to the uterus (the womb). In the diagram, the Fallopian tubes are not labeled but are well shown running between the uterus and ovaries. NTER> The…
False labor

Intermittent non-productive muscular contractions of the womb (uterus) during pregnancy, most commonly in the last two months before full term. These contractions are non-productive in the sense that they do not produce…
False negative

A result that appears negative but fails to reveal a situation. An example of a false negative: a particular test designed to detect cancer of the toenail is negative but the person has toenail cancer
False positive

A result that is erroneously positive when a situation is normal. An example of a false positive: a particular test designed to detect cancer of the toenail is positive but the person does not have toenail cancer
False rib

One of the last 5 pairs of ribs. A rib is said to be 'false' if it does not attach to the sternum (the breast bone). All 12 pairs of ribs attach to the building blocks of the spine (vertebrae) in the back. The 12 pairs…
False vocal cord

A fold of mucous membrane covering muscle in the larynx. The false vocal cord separates the ventricle of the larynx from the vestibule of the larynx. Also called the false vocal fold
False vocal fold

See: False vocal cord
Familial

A condition that is tends to occur more often in family members than expected by chance alone. A familial disease may be genetic (such as cystic fibrosis) or environmental (such as tuberculosis)
Familial adenomatous coli, autosomal recessive

See: MYH
Familial adenomatous polyposis

See: MYH.
Familial adenomatous polyps, autosomal recessive

See: MYH
Familial advanced sleep-phase syndrome (FASPS)

An inherited abnormal sleep pattern in which the individual is a 'morning lark' and consistently goes to sleep very early and is very early to rise. The individual's blood melatonin level and the body core temperature…