Medical terms - Letter F (page 11) | MedicalVocabulary.org

Focused H and P

In common doctor language, H and P stand for the history (H) and physical (P), namely the medical history and the physical examination of the patient. The H and P are thus the initial clinical evaluation and examination…
Folate

Folic acid, one of the B vitamins that is a key factor in the synthesis (the making) of nucleic acid (DNA and RNA). A deficiency of folic acid after birth causes a kind of anemia, namely, megaloblastic anemia in which…
Folding motif

An independent folding unit, or particular structure, that recurs in many molecules
Foley catheter

See: Catheter, Foley
Folic acid

One of the B vitamins that is a key factor in the synthesis (the making) of nucleic acid (DNA and RNA). A deficiency of folic acid after birth causes a kind of anemia, namely, megaloblastic anemia in which there is a…
Folinic acid

The active form of folic acid in the body. See: Leucovorin
Follicle, hair

See: Hair follicle
Follicular cyst of the ovary

A fluid-filled sac in the ovary, the most common type of ovarian cyst. It results from the growth of a follicle. A follicle is the fluid-filled cyst that contains an egg. In some cycles, this follicle grows larger that…
Fomentation

A quaint old term for the application of hot packs or the substance so applied. From the Latin 'fovimentum' which meant, no surprise, to 'a warm application.' To 'foment' means, literally, to warm or heat up. It is…
Fondation Jean Dausset-CEPH

The Centre d'Etudes du Polymorphisme Humain (CEPH), an internationally renowned research laboratory created in Paris in 1984 by Professor Jean Dausset (Nobel Prize, Medicine and Physiology, 1980) to provide the…
Fong disease

See Nail-patella syndrome
Fontanel (fontanelle)

The word fontanel comes from the French fontaine for fountain. The medical term fontanel is a 'soft spot' of the skull. The 'soft spot' is soft precisely because the cartilage there has not yet hardened into bone…
Food

Any substance eaten to provide nutritional support for the body
Food and Drug Administration

The FDA, an agency within the U.S. Public Health Service, which is a part of the Department of Health and Human Services. Background: The FDA regulates over $1 trillion worth of products, which account for 25 cents of…
Food insecure

When people must live with hunger and fear starvation
Food irradiation

A food safety technology designed to eliminate disease-causing germs from foods. Treating food with ionizing radiation can kill bacteria and parasites that would otherwise cause foodborne disease. Similar technology is…
Food poisoning

Food poisoning: A common flu-like illness typically characterized by nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, due to something the victim ate or drank that contained noxious bacteria, viruses, parasites, metals or toxins. The…
Food poisoning, Campylobacter

Food poisoning, Campylobacter: Now the leading cause of bacterial food poisoning, caused by an Campylobacter jejuni, most often spread by contact with raw or undercooked poultry. A single drop of juice from a…
Food security

When people do not need to live with hunger or fear starvation
Food, functional

Functional foods are 'those foods that encompass potentially healthful products including any modified food or ingredient that may provide a health benefit beyond the traditional nutrients it contains,' as defined by…
Food, super

Foods with alleged healing or health-promoting capabilities. The healing power of foods is a popular concept. Medicinal or nutritionally high- powered foods have been part and parcel of the natural products industry for…
Food-insecure

Referring to the situation when people need to live with hunger and fear starvation
Food-secure

Referring to the situation when people do not need to live with hunger or fear starvation
Foodborne disease

A disease caused by consuming contaminated food or drink. Myriad microbes and toxic substances can contaminate foods. There are more then 250 known foodborne diseases. The majority are infectious and are caused by…
Foot

The end of the leg on which a person normally stands and walks. The foot is an extremely complex anatomic structure made up of 26 bones and 33 joints that must work together with 19 muscles and 107 ligaments to execute…
Foot drop

See Foot-drop
Foot fungus

Athlete's foot causes foot itching, burning, pain, and scaling. It is caused by a fungus and is treated with antifungal medications, many of which are available over-the-counter. Keeping the feet dry by using cotton…
Foot pain

Foot pain: Foot pain is the sensation of discomfort in the foot arising from disorders or injury to any of the structures in the foot including bones, nerves, muscles, blood vessels, or connective tissue. There are…
Foot type

The category into which a particular foot falls. Foot types are generally classified into one of three categories: pronator, neutral, or supinator. The pronator type of foot rolls far inward during the weight-bearing…
Foot, athlete

A skin infection caused by a fungus called Trichophyton which can thrive and infect the upper layer of the skin when the feet (or other areas of the body) remain moist, warm, and irritated. The fungus can be found on…
Foot-and-mouth disease

A disease caused by a highly infectious virus that can infect people but affects them most by infecting livestock -- cattle, pigs, sheep and goats. The foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) is in the same family of…
Foot-drop

Dropping of the front of the foot due to weakness or paralysis of the anterior muscles of the lower leg. Foot-drop results in what is called a steppage gait in which the advancing foot is lifted high in order that the…
Foot-drop brace

See Ankle-foot orthosis
Footdrop

See Foot-drop
Footling presentation

There are single-footling or double-footling presentations depending upon whether the presenting part of the baby at delivery is just one foot or both feet
Foramen

A natural opening. Although a foramen is usually through bone, it can be an opening through other types of tissue, as with the foramen ovale in the heart. The plural of foramen is foramina
Foramen magnum

The large hole at the base of the skull which allows passage of the spinal cord.
Foramen of Magendie

An opening from the fourth ventricle, which is one in a system of four communicating cavities called ventricles within the brain that are continuous with the central canal of the spinal cord. The four ventricles consist…
Foramen ovale

An oval opening between the two upper chambers of the heart (the atria) that is a normal feature of the fetal and neonatal (newborn) circulation. The foramen ovale normally closes on its own by 3 months of age.
Foramen, interventricular

An opening between the lateral and third ventricles in a system of four communicating cavities within the brain that are continuous with the central canal of the spinal cord. The four ventricles consist of the two…
Foramen, intervertebral

See: Intervertebral foramen
Foramen, neural

See: Intervertebral foramen
Foramina

The plural of foramen, a natural opening. As in the foramina of Luschka
Foramina of Luschka

Opening from the fourth ventricle, one in a system of four communicating cavities called ventricles within the brain that are continuous with the central canal of the spinal cord. The four ventricles consist of the two…
Forced expiratory volume

The volume of air that can be forced out taking a deep breath, an important measure of pulmonary function. The forced expiratory volume in the first second is the FEV1
Forceps

An instrument with two blades and a handle used for handling, grasping, or compressing. Many types of forceps are employed in medicine, including the alligator forceps (an angled instrument with jaws at the end), tissue…
Forceps, obstetrical

An instrument designed as an aid in the vaginal delivery of a baby. Forceps may be used to ease delivery or to cope with problems of fetal distress or fetal position. The decision to use forceps or do a C-section must…
Forearm

The portion of the upper limb from the elbow to the wrist. In popular usage, the arm extends from the shoulder to the hand. However, in medical terminology, the arm refers to the upper extremity extending from the…
Foreign body airway obstruction

Partial or complete blockage of the breathing tubes to the lungs due to a foreign body (e.g., food, a bead, toy, etc.) The onset of respiratory distress may be sudden with cough. There is often agitation in the early…
Forensic

Dealing with the application of scientific knowledge to legal problems and legal proceedings as, for example, in forensic anthropology, forensic dentistry, forensic experts, forensic medicine (legal medicine), forensic…