Medical terms - Letter K (page 2) | MedicalVocabulary.org

Keshan disease

Condition caused by deficiency of the essential mineral selenium. Keshan disease is a potentially fatal form of cardiomyopathy (disease of the heart muscle). It was first observed in Keshan province in China and since…
Ketoacidosis

A feature of uncontrolled diabetes mellitus characterized by a combination of ketosis and acidosis. Ketosis is the accumulation of substances called ketone bodies in the blood. Acidosis is increased acidity of the…
Ketogenic diet

A diet devised as a treatment for severe seizure disorders that do not respond to conventional medication. The ketogenic diet is comprised almost entirely of fats and protein. All portion must be precisely weighed and…
Ketone

A chemical substances that the body makes when it does not have enough insulin in the blood. When ketones build up in the body for a long time, serious illness or coma can result. See: Diabetic ketoacidosis; Ketoacidosis
Ketone bodies

Chemicals that the body makes when there is not enough insulin in the blood and it must break down fat instead of the sugar glucose for energy. The ketone bodies -- acetone, acetoacetate, and beta-hydroxybutyrate -- are…
Ketone body

A chemicals that the body makes when there is not enough insulin in the blood and it must break down fat instead of the sugar glucose for energy. The ketone bodies -- acetone, acetoacetate, and beta-hydroxybutyrate --…
Ketonuria

A condition in which abnormally high amounts of ketone bodies (a byproduct of the breakdown of cells) are present in the urine. Ketonuria is a sign seen in diabetes mellitus that is out of control. Diabetics prone to…
Ketosis-prone diabetes

See Diabetes, type 1
KHM

Keratoderma hereditarium mutilans. See: Vohwinkel syndrome
KID syndrome

Acronym for the Keratitis- Ichthyosis-Deafness syndrome, a genetic disorder. See Keratitis-ichthyosis-deafness syndrome
Kiddie cam

A camcorder (a video camera and video recorder in one unit) that displays a live feed so that parents can monitor their children from a remote location. A kiddie cam may have other uses, as in a day-care center. Also…
Kiddie-cam

See: Kiddie cam
Kiddiecam

See: Kiddie cam
Kidney

One of a pair of organs located in the right and left side of the abdomen which clear 'poisons' from the blood, regulate acid concentration and maintain water balance in the body by excreting urine. The kidneys are part…
Kidney cancer

Kidney cancer: Malignancy of the kidney, the organ that is primarily responsible for the removal of metabolic waste products from the body. The types of kidney cancer in adults and children are different and distinct: >…
Kidney Dis, Nat'l Inst of Diabetes and Digestive

Igestive and (NIDDK): One of the National Institutes of Health in the U.S., the NIDDK has a multisystem name and a comparably broad mission, namely, to 'conduct and support basic and applied research and provide…
Kidney disease screening

Screening (looking) for early kidney disease in people who are not already known to have it. Kidney disease is common and is commonly insidious in onset. The burden of kidney disease in its earlier stages lies not only…
Kidney infection in children

See: Urinary tract infection in children
Kidney scoping

Formally known as retrograde intrarenal surgery (RIRS), this is a procedure for doing surgery within the kidney using a viewing tube called a fiberoptic scope (an endoscope). In RIRS the scope is placed through the…
Kidney stone

Kidney stone: A stone in the kidney (or lower down in the urinary tract). Kidney stones are a common cause of blood in the urine and pain in the abdomen, flank, or groin. Kidney stones occur in 1 in 20 people at some…
Kidney stones, cystine

Cystine kidney stones are due to cystinuria, an inherited (genetic) disorder of the transport of an amino acid (a building block of protein) called cystine. The result is an excess of cystine in the urine (cystinuria)…
Kidney transplant

Replacement of a diseased, damaged, or missing kidney with a donor kidney. Also called a renal transplant. Patients with end-stage renal failure are candidates for transplantation. A successful transplant frees the…
Kikuchi disease

A disorder that typically causes 'swollen glands' in the neck (cervical lymphadenopathy) together with fever or flu-like symptoms. Laboratory test abnormalities include elevated erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), and…
Kilobase

Unit of length of DNA equal to 1000 nucleotide bases
Kilocalorie

The term used to represent the amount of energy required to raise the temperature of a liter of water one degree centigrade at sea level. In nutrition terms, the word calorie is commonly used to refer to a unit of food…
Kimmelstiel-Wilson disease

Diabetic nephropathy (kidney disease). Kimmelstiel-Wilson disease is a kidney condition associated with long-standing diabetes. It affects the network of tiny blood vessels (the microvasculature) in the glomerulus, a…
Kimmelstiel-Wilson syndrome

Diabetic nephropathy (kidney disease). Kimmelstiel-Wilson syndrome is a kidney condition associated with long-standing diabetes. It affects the network of tiny blood vessels (the microvasculature) in the glomerulus, a…
Kinder-cam

See: Kiddie cam
Kindercam

See: Kiddie cam
Kindred

An extended family or clan, a group of related individuals. The term 'kindred' is used in population studies of diseases or genetic traits. For example, a syndrome of progressive retinal disease, endocrine (hormonal)…
Kinesin

A family of microtubule motor proteins active in mitosis. The kinesins use chemical energy from the hydrolysis of ATP (adenosine triphosphatase) to generate mechanical force. They bind tightly to and move along the…
Kinetic

With movement. The opposite of kinetic is akinetic. It means without movement. In neurology, kinetic and akinetic denote the presence or absence of movement. Kinetic comes from the Greek word 'kinesis' for motion. The…
Kinetics

Kinetics (with an 's' at the end) refers to the rate of change in a biochemical (or other) reaction, the study of reaction rates. Kinetics is a noun. It is distinct from 'kinetic' (an adjective) meaning with movement…
King's evil

An old term for tuberculosis of the lymph nodes in the neck. Also known as scrofula
Kingella kingae

A type of bacteria that has emerged from obscurity to become known as an important cause of invasive infections in young children. These infections include especially septic arthritis (infection of joints)…
Kinky hair syndrome

See: Menkes syndrome
Kinome

A subset of the genome consisting of the protein kinase genes. The complete complement of over 500 protein kinases constitutes one of the largest of all human gene families. Protein kinases act as key regulators of cell…
Kinsey Report

A report entitled 'Sexual Behavior in the Human Male' published by Alfred Charles Kinsey's in 1948 that attracted great attention. The Kinsey Report, as it was known, was based on extensive interviews with 18,500…
Kinship

Relationship by marriage or, specifically, a blood tie.
Kirklin

See: Kirklin, John W.
Kirklin, John W.

American cardiovascular surgeon (1920-2004) who improved and applied the heart-lung machine to open heart surgery. Dr. Kirklin refined the Gibbon heart-lung machine (an apparatus developed by John H. Gibbon) to…
Kiss

A touch or caress with the lips. 'The anatomical juxtaposition of two orbicularis oris muscles in a state of contraction.' -- Henry Gibbons, Sr., MD (1808-1884) (This definition does not apply universally as a kiss can…
Kissing bug

The insect that transmits the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi, which causes Chagas disease (American trypanosomiasis). The bug 'kisses' people, especially babies, on the lips while they are asleep, infecting them with the…
Kissing disease

A name for infectious mononucleosis ('mono'), a very common illness caused by the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV). By the time most people reach adulthood, an antibody against EBV can be detected in their blood meaning they…
Kit, disaster supplies

You and your family can cope best by preparing for disaster before it strikes. One way to prepare is by assembling a Disaster Supplies Kit. Once disaster hits, you won't have time to shop or search for supplies. But if…
Kit, emergency supplies

A group of bacteria normally living in the intestinal tract and frequently the cause of nosocomial infections (infections acquired in the hospital). Named for Dr. Klebs.
Klebsiella

A group of bacteria normally living in the intestinal tract and frequently the cause of nosocomial infections (infections acquired in the hospital). Named for Dr. Klebs.
Kleine-Levin syndrome

A rare condition characterized by excessive need for sleep, food, and sexual disinhibition. Most people with Kleine-Levin syndrome are adolescent males. When awake, they may be confused, irritable, and lethargic, and…
Klinefelter syndrome

Klinefelter syndrome: A chromosome condition in boys and men that is usually due to 47 chromosomes with XXY sex chromosomes. XXY is one of the most common chromosomal abnormalities. It occurs in 1 in 500 male births…
Klippel-Feil anomalad

See: Klippel-Feil sequence