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

Laryngectomy, total

A surgical procedure in which the whole voice box is removed, and the stoma opening into the larynx is permanent. The patient breathes through the stoma, and must learn to talk in a new way. In contrast to a partial…
Laryngitis

Laryngitis is an inflammation of the larynx, the portion of the airway (respiratory tract) containing the vocal cords. The larynx is about two inches long and is located between the pharynx and the trachea. Its outer…
Laryngitis, reflux

Inflammation of the voice box (the larynx) caused by stomach acid backing up into the esophagus. Reflux laryngitis is associated with chronic hoarseness and symptoms of esophageal irritation such as heartburn. Reflux is…
Laryngomalacia

A soft floppy larynx (voice box). NTER>
Laryngoscope

A flexible, lighted tube used to look at the inside of the larynx (the voice box). The laryngoscope is inserted through the mouth into the upper airway. NTER> History: The laryngoscope was invented in 1830 by Benjamin…
Laryngoscopist

A person who uses a laryngoscope, a flexible, lighted tube used to look at the inside of the larynx (the voice box). The laryngoscope is inserted through the mouth into the upper airway. NTER> History: The laryngoscope…
Laryngoscopy

Examination of the larynx with a mirror (indirect laryngoscopy) or with a laryngoscope (direct laryngoscopy). The laryngoscope is a flexible, lighted tube used to look at the inside of the larynx (the voice box). The…
Laryngostasis

More commonly known as croup, this is an infection of the larynx, trachea, and the bronchial tubes, that occurs mainly in children. It is usually caused by viruses, less often by bacteria. Symptoms include a cough that…
Laryngotomy

Surgical opening of the larynx, the voice box
Larynx

The larynx is the portion of the breathing, or respiratory, tract containing the vocal cords which produce vocal sound. It is located between the pharynx and the trachea. The larynx, also called the voice box, is a…
Larynx transplant

A transplant of the larynx, or voicebox. This procedure permits a human-sounding voice with inflection, range, and qualities unique to the patient, and normal swallowing. The risks of the procedure include those of…
Laser

A powerful beam of light that can produce intense heat when focused at close range. Lasers are used in medicine in microsurgery, cauterization, for diagnostic purposes, etc. For example, lasers are employed in…
Laser coagulation

The coagulation (clotting) of tissue using a laser. A coagulation laser produces light in the visible green wavelength that is selectively absorbed by hemoglobin, the pigment in red blood cells, in order to seal off…
Laser surgery

A type of surgery that uses the cutting power of a laser beam to make bloodless cuts in tissue or remove a surface lesion such as a skin tumor. There are a number of different types of lasers that differ in emitted…
Laser surgery, YAG

The use of a YAG (yttrium-aluminum-garnet) laser to do surgery. One use for a YAG laser in surgery is to punch a hole in the iris to relieve increased pressure within the eye from acute angle-closure glaucoma. In this…
Laser, argon

See: Argon laser
Laser, excimer

See: Excimer laser
Laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis

A kind of laser eye surgery designed to change the shape of the cornea to eliminate or reduce the need for glasses and contact lenses in cases of severe myopia (nearsightedness). The procedure is best known as LASIK, an…
LASIK

LASIK: Abbreviation standing for laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis, a kind of laser eye surgery designed to change the shape of the cornea to eliminate or reduce the need for glasses and contact lenses in cases of…
Lassa fever

An acute viral infection found in the tropics, especially in West Africa. Epidemics of Lassa fever have occurred in countries such as Sierra Leone, Congo (formerly Zaire), Liberia and Nigeria. The disease was discovered…
Lassa virus

The deadly cause of Lassa fever. Lassa virus is a virulent and highly transmissible RNA virus that belongs to the arenavirus group. Lassa virus was discovered in 1969 by a team led by Dr. Jordi Casals-Ariet. See also…
Lassitude

Weakness, weariness, listlessness, exhaustion, lethargy. For example, the patient complained of lassitude. Borrowed from French, from Latin lassitudo, from lassus meaning weary
Last menstrual period

By convention, pregnancies are dated in weeks starting from the first day of a woman's last menstrual period (LMP). If her menstrual periods are regular and ovulation occurs on day 14 of her cycle, conception takes…
Late infantile neuroaxonal dystrophy

See: Hallervorden-Spatz disease
Latent

Hidden, dormant, inactive. The virus that causes chickenpox remains latent after the initial attack of chickenpox is over. When it becomes reactivated, usually many years later, the virus causes shingles. HIV may remain…
Lateral

1. In anatomy, the side of the body or a body part that is farther from the middle or center of the body. Typically, lateral refers to the outer side of the body part, but it is also used to refer to the side of a body…
Lateral collateral ligament (LCL) of the knee

The knee joint is surrounded by a joint capsule with ligaments strapping the inside and outside of the joint (collateral ligaments) as well as crossing within the joint (cruciate ligaments). These ligaments provide…
Lateral epicondylitis

See: Tennis elbow
Lateral femoral cutaneous mononeuropathy

See: Meralgia paresthetica
Lateral femoral cutaneous nerve

A nerve that supplies sensation to the outer portion of the thigh. Abbreviated LFCN. See also: Meralgia paresthetica.
Lateral femoral cutaneous nerve syndrome

See: Meralgia paresthetica
Lateral meniscus of the knee

The word 'meniscus' refers to a crescent-shaped structure. The lateral meniscus of the knee is a thickened crescent-shaped cartilage pad between the two joints formed by the femur (the thigh bone) and the tibia (the…
Lateral ventricle

>Lateral ventricles: The lateral ventricles are in the cerebral hemispheres, one in each hemisphere. Each lateral ventricle consists of a triangular central body and four horns. The lateral ventricles communicate with…
Lateral X-ray

An X-ray picture taken from the side
Latham bowl

A blood-processing instrument that uses centrifugal force to separate blood into its components: red blood cells, white blood cells, plasma and platelets. Developed by Allen (Jack) Latham Jr. who had grown up on a farm…
Lattice dystrophy

A form of hereditary corneal dystrophy in which there is an accumulation of amyloid deposits, or abnormal protein fibers, throughout the middle and anterior stroma of the cornea. These deposits in the stroma appear on…
Laughing gas

Nitrous oxide, a gas that can cause general anesthesia. Nitrous oxide is sometimes given in the company of other anesthetic agents but it is never used today as the only anesthetic agent because the concentration of…
Launois-Bensaude syndrome

A disorder characterized by painless symmetrical diffuse deposits of fat beneath the skin of the neck, upper trunk, arms and legs. The condition is thought to be genetic although its exact mode of inheritance is…
Lauterbur

See: Lauterbur, Paul C.
Lauterbur, Paul C.

American scientist (1929-) who shared the 2003 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine with Sir Peter Mansfield for discoveries concerning 'magnetic resonance imaging.' (Magnetic resonance imaging is better known perhaps…
Lavage

Washing out. Gastric lavage is washing out the stomach, for example, to remove drugs or poisons
LAVH

Laparoscopic assisted vaginal hysterectomy, a procedure using laparoscopic techniques to remove the uterus (womb) and/or tubes and ovaries through the vagina (birth canal). In LAVH, several small incisions (cuts) are…
Law, Hardy-Weinberg

Basic concept in population genetics discovered independently in 1908 by the great English mathematician G(odfrey) H(arold) Hardy and Wilhelm Weinberg, a physician in Germany. The Hardy-Weinberg law is a cornerstone of…
Lawson Wilkins

See: Wilkins, Lawson
Laxative

Something that loosens the bowels. Used to combat constipation (and sometimes overused, producing diarrhea). The word 'laxative' comes from the Latin 'laxare' meaning 'to open, widen, extend, release.'
Lay midwife

A midwife who has entered the profession as an apprentice to a practicing midwife rather than attending a formal school program
Laying on of hands

In alternative medicine, an ancient method of healing by touching a person with the hands or palms, usually on the head, shoulders, or waist. Also called contact healing. See also: Therapeutic touch
Laynx, pneumatic

See: Pneumatic larynx
Lazy eye

An eye that diverges in gaze. A lazy eye is formally called strabismus. A lazy eye (strabismus) can be due to esotropia (cross-eyed) or to exotropia (wall-eyed). The danger of the condition is that the brain comes in…
Lb.

The abbreviation for pound, the measure of weight, lb. (plural: lb. or lbs.) stands for 'libra' (Latin for pound)