Medical terms - Letter F (page 3) | MedicalVocabulary.org

Fariborz Amini

Amini, Fariborz
Farsightedness

Farsightedness: Medically termed hyperopia; the ability to see distant objects more clearly than close objects. Farsightedness (hyperopia) may be corrected with glasses or contact lenses.
Fart

This is not an accepted medical word for passing gas. Excess gas in the intestinal is medically termed 'flatulence.' (But what is excess gas is difficult to define since symptom-free individuals have recorded…
FAS

See: Fetal alcohol syndrome diagnosis.
FAS diagnosis

See: Fetal alcohol syndrome diagnosis
FAS gene

A gene that encodes one of several proteins important to apoptosis, the normal process through which cells die. Mutations in the FAS gene have been found in ALPS (the autoimmune lymphoproliferative syndrome), a disease…
Fascia

A flat band of tissue below the skin that covers the underlying tissues and separates different layers of tissue. Fascia encloses muscles. Inflammation of the fascia is referred to as fasciitis. 'Fascia' is the Latin…
Fasciculation

Involuntary contractions or twitchings of groups of muscle fibers. Fasciculations can occur in normal individuals without an associated disease or condition and can also occur as a result of illness, such as muscle…
Fasciitis

Fasciitis: Inflammation of the fascia (a lining tissue under the skin that covers a surface of underlying tissues)
Fasciitis, eosinophilic (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…
Fasciitis, plantar

Inflammation of the plantar fascia (fasciitis), the 'bowstring-like' tissue stretching from the heel underneath the sole. Plantar fasciitis is often due to a bony spur projecting from the underside of the heel that…
Fascinoma

Medical slang for a fascinating case, usually involving a rare disease
Fasciola hepatica

A parasite called the liver fluke which causes Fascioliasis or 'liver rot' in ruminants and many other mammals, including people. Eating contaminated vegetation such as watercress is a common mode of infection. Fasciola…
Fascioliasis

See: Fasciola hepatica
Fasciolopsiasis

Infection with Fasciola flukes such as Fasciolopsis buski. See: Fasciolopsis
Fasciolopsis

The giant intestinal fluke. See: Fasciolopsis.
Fasciolopsis buski

The giant intestinal fluke. See: Fasciolopsis
Fasting blood glucose

A method for learning how much glucose (sugar) there is in a blood sample taken after an overnight fast. The fasting blood glucose test is commonly used in the detection of diabetes mellitus. A blood sample is taken in…
Fat

1 Along with proteins and carbohydrates, one of the three nutrients used as energy sources by the body. The energy produced by fats is 9 calories per gram. Proteins and carbohydrates each provide 4 calories per gram. 2…
Fat cell

A cell containing fat. Also called an adipocyte. A fat cell, or adipocyte, is a connective tissue cell that has differentiated and become specialized in the synthesis (manufacture) and storage of fat. The fat cell…
Fat requirements, infant

Fat in human milk provides 30%-35% of the total daily caloric needs for a growing infant. Manufacturers of infant formulas utilize many different vegetable oils for fat including corn, soy, safflower, and coconut oils…
Fat scales

See: Bioelectric impedance analysis
Fat, brown

See: Brown fat
Fat, saturated

A fat that is solid at room temperature and comes chiefly from animal food products. Some examples are butter, lard, meat fat, solid shortening, palm oil, and coconut oil. These fats tend to raise the level of…
Fat, trans

An unhealthy substance, also known as trans fatty acid, made through the chemical process of hydrogenation of oils. Hydrogenation solidifies liquid oils and increases the shelf life and the flavor stability of oils and…
Fat, unsaturated

A fat that is liquid at room temperature and comes from a plant such as olive, peanut, corn, cottonseed, sunflower, safflower, or soybean. Unsaturated fats tend to lower the level of cholesterol in the blood
Fatal familial insomnia

Abbreviated FFI. An hereditary prion disease characterized by disrupted sleep (insomnia), motor abnormalities (myoclonus, ataxia, dysarthria, dysphagia, and pyramidal signs), and hyperactivation of the autonomic nervous…
Father

(1) The male parent. (2) One who originates. For example, 'Wilhelm Roentgen is considered the father of radiology.' (3) To produce offspring as a male. (4) To provide paternal protection and guidance to children
Fatigue

A condition characterized by a lessened capacity for work and reduced efficiency of accomplishment, usually accompanied by a feeling of weariness and tiredness. Fatigue can be acute and come on suddenly or chronic and…
Fats

Plural of the word 'fat'. See the definition of fat
Fatty acid

One of many molecules that are long chains of lipid-carboxylic acid found in fats and oils and in cell membranes as a component of phospholipids and glycolipids. (Carboxylic acid is an organic acid containing the…
Fatty acid, trans

An unhealthy substance, also known as trans fat, made through the chemical process of hydrogenation of oils. Hydrogenation solidifies liquid oils and increases the shelf life and the flavor stability of oils and foods…
Fatty acids

Molecules that are long chains of lipid-carboxylic acid found in fats and oils and in cell membranes as a component of phospholipids and glycolipids. (Carboxylic acid is an organic acid containing the functional group…
Fatty acids,omega-3

A class of fatty acids found in fish oils, especially from salmon and other cold-water fish, that acts to lower the levels of cholesterol and LDL (low-density lipoproteins) in the blood. (LDL cholesterol is the 'bad'…
Fatty alcohol: NAD+ oxidoreductase deficiency

Clinically known as the Sjogren-Larsson syndrome, this is a genetic (inherited) disease usually characterized by a triad of findings consisting of ichthyosis (thickened fish-like skin), spastic paraplegia (spasticity of…
Fatty aldehyde dehydrogenase 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…
Fatty liver of pregnancy, acute

Fatty liver of pregnancy, acute: Liver failure in late pregnancy, usually from unknown cause. Acute fatty liver of pregnancy (AFLP) typically occurs in first-time pregnancies in the last trimester. AFLP causes nausea…
Fauces

The throat. The word fauces is the plural of the Latin faux meaning a small passage.
Fava bean

The broad bean to which many people react adversely with an acute hemolytic anemia with sudden breakup of red blood cells (see Favism). Fava beans look like large tan lima beans. They are popular in Mediterranean and…
Favism

A condition characterized by hemolytic anemia (breakup of red blood cells) after eating fava beans (Vicia fava) or being exposed to the pollen of the fava plant. This dangerous reaction occurs exclusively in people with…
FBLN3

The gene encoding the protein known as fibulin 3. See: Fibulin 3
FBLN5

The gene encoding the protein known as fibulin 5. See: Fibulin 5
FBN1

The fibrillin 1 gene. This gene is mutated in Marfan syndrome, the MASS syndrome, and related disorders of connective tissue. The FBN1 gene produces a protein called fibrillin-1 which is transported out of the cell and…
FCC

In medicine, familial colorectal cancer (not the Federal Communications Commission)
FDA

The Food and Drug Administration, 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…
FDA recalls

Recalls: The recall of a defective or possibly harmful product by the US Food & Drug Administration (the FDA). These recalls are often highly publicized in newspapers and on radio and TV news broadcasts. Recent…
Fear of age

An abnormal and persistent fear of growing old is termed gerascophobia. Sufferers of gerascophobia feel undue anxiety about aging even though they may be in good health -- physically, economically and otherwise. They…
Fear of animals

An abnormal and persistent fear of animals termed 'zoophobia. A phobia is an unreasonable fear that can cause avoidance and panic. Phobias are a relatively common type of anxiety disorder. Phobias can be treated with…
Fear of bacteria

Eria): An abnormal and persistent fear of bacilli (bacteria). A phobia is an unreasonable sort of fear that can cause avoidance and panic. Phobias are a relatively common type of anxiety disorder. Phobias can be treated…
Fear of bees

An abnormal and persistent fear of bees. A phobia can cause avoidance and panic. Phobias are a relatively common type of anxiety disorder. Phobias can be treated with cognitive behavioral therapy using exposure and fear…