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

Klippel-Feil anomaly

See: Klippel-Feil sequence
Klippel-Feil deformity

See: Klippel-Feil sequence
Klippel-Feil phenotype

See: Klippel-Feil sequence
Klippel-Feil sequence

Short neck, low hairline at the nape of the neck and limited movement of the head. Klippel-Feil sequence is due to a defect in the early development of the spinal column in the neck, resulting in fusion of the cervical…
Klippel-Feil syndrome

See: Klippel-Feil sequence
Klippel-Trenaunay-Weber (KTW) syndrome

A congenital malformation syndrome characterized by the triad of asymmetric limb hypertrophy, hemangiomata, and nevi. 'Asymmetric limb hypertrophy' is enlargement of one limb and not the corresponding limb on the other…
Klumpke palsy

A form of brachial plexus palsy in which there is paralysis of the muscles of the forearm and hand due to an injury to the roots of eigth cervical and first thoracic roots or the lower part of the brachial plexus, a…
Klumpke paralysis

See: Klumpke palsy
Klumpke's palsy

See: Klumpke palsy
Knee

The knee is a joint which has three parts. The thigh bone (the femur) meets the large shin bone (the tibia) to form the main knee joint. This joint has an inner (medial) and an outer (lateral) compartment. The kneecap…
Knee bursitis

Knee bursitis: A bursa is a fluid-filled sac that functions as a gliding surface to reduce friction between moving tissues of the body. There are three major bursae of the knee. Bursitis is usually not infectious, but…
Knee jerk

The reflex tested by tapping just below the knee causing the lower leg to suddenly jerk forward. What is tapped to elicit this reaction is the patellar tendon, the tendon that runs down from the quadriceps muscle in the…
Knee joint

The knee joint has three parts. The thigh bone (the femur) meets the large shin bone (the tibia) to form the main knee joint. This joint has an inner (medial) and an outer (lateral) compartment. The kneecap (the…
Knee ligaments

Ligaments are strong, elastic bands of tissue that connect bone to bone. They provide strength and stability to the joint. Four ligaments connect the femur (the bone in the thigh) with the tibia (the larger bone in the…
Knee phenomenon

See: Knee jerk
Knee replacement, total

A surgical procedure in which damaged parts of the knee joint are replaced with artifical parts. The surgery is done by separating the muscles and ligaments around the knee to expose the inside of the joint. The ends of…
Knee, artificial

Total knee replacement, a surgical procedure in which damaged parts of the knee joint are replaced with artifical parts. The surgery is done by separating the muscles and ligaments around the knee to expose the inside…
Knee, housemaid's

See: Housemaid's knee
Knee, jumper's

See: Patellar tendonitis
Knee, secretary's

The patellofemoral syndrome (PFS), the commonest cause of chronic knee pain. PFS characteristically causes vague discomfort of the inner knee area, aggravated by activity (running, jumping, climbing or descending…
Knee-jerk

Adjective meaning readily predictable to the point of being automatic. Knee-jerk often has a negative connotation and conveys the idea of an all-too-hasty, impulsive, irrational response based on a preset idea. For…
Kneecap

The medical name for the kneecap is the patella. Whichever name -- kneecap or patella -- you prefer, it is the small bone that is in the front of the knee. The patella is a sesamoid bone, a little bone that is embedded…
Knock-knees

An abnormal curve of the legs that causes the knees to touch or nearly touch while the feet are apart. The problem may arise in the bone structure itself, or in some cases it develops gradually as a result of muscle…
Knockout

Inactivation of specific genes. Knockouts are often created in laboratory organisms such as yeast or mice so that scientists can study the knockout organism as a model for a particular disease
Knockout mouse

A mouse missing a single gene (that has been knocked out). Knockout mice are used in biomedical research
Knuckle

The dorsal aspect of the flexed metacarpophalangeal joint. Knuckle may be shorter and simpler to say.
Koch's postulates

In 1890 the German physician and bacteriologist Robert Koch set out his celebrated criteria for judging whether a given bacteria is the cause of a given disease. Koch's criteria brought some much-needed scientific…
Kok disease

A genetic disorder also known as hyperexplexia in which babies have an exaggerated startle reflex (reaction). This disorder was not recognized until 1962 when it was described by Drs. Kok and Bruyn as a disease with the…
Koplik's spots

Little spots inside the mouth that are highly characteristic of the early phase of measles (rubeola). The spots look like a tiny grains of white sand, each surrounded by a red ring. They are found especially on the…
Kostmann disease

Children born with this condition lack neutrophils (a type of white blood cell that is important in fighting infection). These children suffer frequent infections from bacteria which in the past led to death in…
Krabbe disease

A progressive degenerative disorder of the nervous system due to mutation in the galactosylceramidase (GALC) gene, leading to the accumulation of galactocerebroside and destruction of myelin, a fatty material that…
Krukenberg tumor

A tumor of the ovary caused by the spread of stomach cancer. When the stomach cancer spreads to an ovary, the tumor in the ovary is called a Krukenberg tumor. (This tumor, named for a doctor, is not a different disease…
KSS

Kearns-Sayre syndrome
KUB

Kidney, ureter, and bladder
KUB film

An X-ray showing the kidney, ureter, and bladder. This is in reality a plain abdominal X-ray and includes other structures such as the diaphragm above and the pelvis below
Kubler-Ross

See: Kübler-Ross, Elisabeth
Kubler-Ross

See: Kubler-Ross, Elisabeth
Kubler-Ross, Elisabeth

(1926-2004) Swiss-born American psychiatrist whose work with and teching about terminally ill patients helped alter attitudes toward death and the care of the dying. She opposed the taboo against openly discussing and…
Kubler-Ross, Elizabeth

See: Kubler-Ross, Elisabeth
Kuru

A slowly progressive fatal disease of the brain due to an infectious agent transmitted among people in Papua New Guinea by ritual cannibalism. Kuru is an infectious form of subacute spongiform encephalopathy. It was…
Kussmaul breathing

Air hunger.
Kveim test

A skin test for detecting sarcoidosis, a disease of unknown origin that causes inflammation of body tissues, especially the lungs and skin. The Kveim test involves injecting a preparation derived from sarcoid tissue…
Kwashiorkor

The word kwashiorkor comes from the Ivory Coast. It means the deposed (no longer suckled) child. Kwashiorkor is a childhood disease due to protein deprivation. Early signs are vague: apathy (indifference), lethargy…
Kyphoplasty

A procedure similar to vertebroplasty, but with the intent of expanding the collapsedvertebra. A surgical instrument is introduced into the spine with a balloon that is inflated to expand the bone. Once this instrument…
Kyphoscoliosis

Combination of kyphosis and scoliosis (lateral curving of the spine). Part of good health maintenance is to check a child's back (from infancy through adolescence) to make sure the back looks normal and, if concerned, a…
Kyphosis

Kyphosis: Outward curvature of the spine, causing a humped back. Treatment is by physical therapy and wearing a back brace, and in some cases by surgery. Surgery may include inserting a metal rod in the spine and…
Kyphosis, postmenopausal cervical

An outward curvature (kyphosis) of the cervical vertebrae (the bones of the neck), creating a hump at the back of the neck. This condition, once thought to be a characteristic deformity of older women, was called a…