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

Nasal-spray flu vaccine

See: Nasal flu vaccine
NASH

Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis
Naso-

Prefix referring to the nose. For example, nasogastric refers to the passage from the nose to the stomach
Nasoenteral tube

See: Nasogastric tube
Nasogastric

Referring to the passage from the nose to the stomach. A nasogastric tube is one that is passed through the nose (via the nasopharynx and esophagus) down into the stomach. The abbreviation for nasogastric is NG. The…
Nasogastric tube

A tube that is passed through the nose and down through the nasopharynx and esophagus into the stomach. Abbreviated NG tube. It is a flexible tube made of rubber or plastic, and it has bidirectional potential. It can be…
Nasopharynx

The area of the upper throat that lies behind the nose. In contrast to the oropharynx, the area of the throat that lies behind the mouth. The word 'nasopharynx' is a hybrid -- part Latin, part Greek. 'Naso-' is a prefix…
Nat'l Center for Complementary & Alternative Med.

Ne: Abbreviated NCCAM. A part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), this center 'conducts and supports basic and applied research and training and disseminates information on complementary and alternative medicine…
Nat'l Inst. of Child Health and Human Dev.(NICHD)

Nt (NICHD): One of the US National Institutes of Health, NICHD is in a sense the NIH for kids in that it is concerned with child health. The mission of the NICHD is, in formal terms, to support and conduct 'research on…
Nat'l Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease

(NIAID): One of the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH), the mission of the NIAID is 'to support and conduct research and research training (that) strives to understand, treat, and ultimately prevent the myriad…
Nat'l Institute of Diabetes, Digestive and Kidney

Y Diseases (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…
National Academies

Collectively, the four National Academies of the United States -- the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, the Institute of Medicine, and the National Research Council. The National Academy…
National Academy of Sciences

One of the National Academies. Created in 1863 by a congressional charter approved by President Abraham Lincoln at the height of the Civil War
National board exams

The National board exams in medicine refer to the United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE). This exam is sponsored by The Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB) of the United States and the National Board…
National Cancer Institute (NCI)

One of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in the U.S., whose mission is to 'lead a national effort to reduce the burden of cancer morbidity and mortality and ultimately to prevent the disease. Through basic and…
National Center for Research Resources (NCRR)

One of the Centers of the National Institutes of Health, whose mission is to 'advance biomedical research and improves human health through research projects and shared resources that create, develop, and provide a…
National Cholesterol Education Program

NCEP. A program designed to reduce illness and death from coronary heart disease (CHD) in the US by reducing the percentage of Americans with high blood cholesterol. Through educational efforts directed at health…
National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship

A survivor-led advocacy group that works on behalf of the millions of cancer survivors and the millions more touched by this disease. Founded in the US in 1986, NCCS issued the following 12 principles as Imperatives for…
National Eye Institute (NEI)

One of the US National Institutes of Health, NEI's mission is to 'conduct and support research, training, health information dissemination, and other programs with respect to blinding eye diseases, visual disorders…
National Formulary

Full name: United States Pharmacopeia and National Formulary (USP-NF). An official publication, issued first by the American Pharmaceutical Association and now yearly by the United States Pharmacopeial Convention, that…
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI)

One of the National Institutes of Health in the U.S., the NHLBI's mission is to 'provide leadership for a national research program in diseases of the heart, blood vessels, lungs, and blood and in transfusion medicine…
National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI)

One of the newest of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), NHGRI's mission in formal terms is to 'support the NIH component of the Human Genome Project, a worldwide research effort designed to analyze the structure…
National Institute Arthritis, Musculoskeletal

L and Skin Diseases (NIAMS): One of the National Institutes of Health in the U.S. As its somewhat cumbersome name indicates, NIAMS's mission is a broad and important one, namely to 'conduct and support a broad spectrum…
National Institute for Occupational Safety

Health: Known for short as NIOSH, a US Federal agency responsible for conducting research and making recommendations for the prevention of work-related disease and injury. Despite its name (which would suggest that it…
National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Res.

(NIDCR): One of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in the U.S., the NIDCR is for dental and other craniofacial diseases. NIDCR's mission is, in formal terms, to 'provide leadership for a national research program…
National Institute of Environmental Health Science

EHS): A part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in the United States. NIEHS states that its mission is to 'reduce the burden of human illness and dysfunction from environmental causes by defining how…
National Institute of General Medical Sciences

MS): One of the National Institutes of Health in the U.S., NIGMS's mission is to 'support basic biomedical research that is not targeted to specific diseases or disorders. Among the most significant results of this…
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)

One of the National Institutes of Health in the U.S., NIMH's mission is to 'provide national leadership dedicated to understanding, treating, and preventing mental illnesses through basic research on the brain and…
National Institute of Neurological Disorders

Stroke (NINDS): One of the National Institutes of Health in the U.S., the NINDS's mission is to 'support and conduct research and research training on the normal structure and function of the nervous system and on the…
National Institute of Nursing Research

One of the National Institutes of Health, NINR's mission is to 'sponsor research that focuses on the clinical care of individuals and on their responses to actual or potential health problems. Through its broad mandate…
National Institute on Aging (NIA)

One of the US National Institutes of Health (NIH). The mission of the National Institute on Aging is to 'lead a national program of research on the biomedical, social, and behavioral aspects of the aging process; the…
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism

AA): One of the National Institutes of Health, NIAAA's mission is to 'conduct research focused on improving the treatment and prevention of alcoholism and alcohol-related problems to reduce the enormous health, social…
National Institute on Deafness and Other Commun.

Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD): One of the US National Institutes of Health. The mission of the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders is to 'conduct and support biomedical…
National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)

Drug Abuse (NIDA): One of the National Institutes of Health in the U.S., NIDA's mission is to 'lead the nation in bringing the power of science to bear on drug abuse and addiction through support and conduct of research…
National Institutes of Health (NIH)

The clinical research facility of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in the U.S. As a national resource, the CC's mission is to "provide the patient care, services, and environment needed to initiate and support…
National Institutes of Health Clinical Center

: The clinical research facility of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in the U.S. As a national resource, the CC's mission is to 'provide the patient care, services, and environment needed to initiate and support…
National Library of Medicine (NLM)

The world's largest medical library, the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM) is part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The NLM has as its mission to collect, organize, and make available biomedical science…
National Program of Cancer Registries

A program administered in the US by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) since 1994 that helps the states and US territories to improve their cancer registries; meet standards for data completeness…
National Research Council

In the United States, a part of the National Academies. There are also National Research Councils in Canada, the UK, and other countries
Natriuresis

The excretion of an excessively large amount of sodium in the urine. Natriuresis is similar to diuresis (the excretion of an unusually large quantity of urine), except that in natriuresis the urine is exceptionally…
Natriuretic

Causing natriuresis, the excretion of an excessively large amount of sodium in the urine. A hybrid of the Latin natrium = sodium and the Greek ouresis = a making water.
Natriuretic peptide

>A-type natriuretic peptide is secreted largely by the atrial myocardium in response to dilatation. >B-type natriuretic peptide is manufactured mainly by the ventricular myocardium. >C-type natriuretic peptide is…
Natural family planning

Also known as fertility awareness, periodic abstinence and the rhythm method, this approach entails not having sexual intercourse on the days of a woman's menstrual cycle when she could become pregnant or using a…
Natural immunity

Immunity that is naturally existing, Natural immunity does not require prior sensitization to an antigen. See: Innate immunity
Natural killer cell

A cell that can react against and destroy another cell without prior sensitization to it. Natural killer (NK) cells are part of our first line of defense against cancer cells and virus-infected cells. NK cells are small…
Natural menopause

Menopause: Natural menopause occurs when the ovaries naturally decrease their production of the sex hormones estrogen and progesterone; there are no menstrual periods for 12 consecutive months; and no other biological…
Natural pacemaker

The natural pacemaker of the heart is the sinus node, one of the major elements in the cardiac conduction system, the system that controls the heart rate. This stunningly designed system generates electrical impulses…
Naturalistic study

A type of study in which the researcher very carefully observes and records some behavior or phenomenon, sometimes over a prolonged period, in its natural setting while interfering as little as possible with the…
Nature (journal)

The name of a venerable British scientific journal that has over the past century or so published much of importance to medicine and the biomedical sciences. There are now, in fact, eight publications in the Nature…
Naturopath

A person who practices naturopathy, a drugless system of therapy based on the use of physical forces such as heat, water, light, air and massage.