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

Naturopathic

Pertaining to naturopathy
Naturopathic medicine

See: Naturopathy
Naturopathy

A system of therapy based on preventative care, and on the use of heat, water, light, air, and massage as primary therapies for disease. Some naturopaths use no medications, either pharmaceutical or herbal. Some…
Nausea

Nausea, is the urge to vomit. It can be brought by many causes including, systemic illnesses, such as influenza, medications, pain, and inner ear disease. When nausea and/or vomiting are persistent, or when they are…
Navel

The umbilicus, the former site of attachment of the umbilical cord, usually found in about the middle of the abdominal wall. The appearance of the navel depends on how the cord was cut and also on the condition of the…
NBCCS

Nevoid basal cell carcinoma syndrome, also known as the Gorlin syndrome
NBIA

Neurodegeneration with brain iron accumulation. See: Hallervorden-Spatz disease
NCCAM

National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship.
NCCS

National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship
NCEP

The National Cholesterol Education Program. See: National Cholesterol Education Program
NCI (National Cancer Institute)

The National Cancer Institute is one of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in the U.S. The mission of the NCI is to 'lead a national effort to reduce the burden of cancer morbidity and mortality and ultimately to…
NCRR

Stands for National Center for Research Resources, one of the Centers of the National Institutes of Health. NCRR's mission is to 'advance biomedical research and improves human health through research projects and…
NCS

Nerve conduction study. See: Nerve conduction velocity test
NCV

Nerve conduction velocity. See: Nerve conduction velocity test
ND

An extinct subspecies of Homo sapiens who lived in Europe and the area around the Mediterranean from 100,000 to 30,000 years ago. Study of mitochondrial DNA indicates that Neanderthal man made little or no contribution…
Neanderthal

An extinct subspecies of Homo sapiens who lived in Europe and the area around the Mediterranean from 100,000 to 30,000 years ago. Study of mitochondrial DNA indicates that Neanderthal man made little or no contribution…
Nearsightedness

The ability to see near objects more clearly than distant objects. Also called myopia . Myopia can be caused by a longer-than-normal eyeball or by any condition that prevents light rays from focusing on the retina. Most…
Nebulization, heated

Administration of medication via fine spray that has been heated to increase its water content
Nebulizer

A device for administering a medication by spraying a fine mist into the nose. Also known as an atomizer
Neck

The part of the body joining the head to the shoulders. Also, any narrow or constricted part of a bone or organ that joins its parts as, for example, the neck of the femur bone
Neck dissection

A surgical procedure in which the neck is opened -- to 'dissect' means to 'cut apart' -- in order to identify, examine, and sometimes remove structures such as lymph nodes or other tissue for diagnosis and/or treatment…
Neck pain

Neck pain: Neck pain is the sensation of discomfort in the neck area. Neck pain can result from disorders of any of the structures in the neck, including the cervical vertebrae and intervertebral discs, nerves, muscles…
Neck, chronic stiff

Also called torticollis or spasmodic torticollis, this is the most common of the focal dystonias: a state of abnormal -- either excessive of inadequate -- muscle tone. In this disorder, the muscles in the neck that…
Neck, wry

Medically called spasmodic torticollis, or torticollis. The most common of the focal dystonias. In torticollis, the muscles in the neck that control the position of the head are affected, causing the head to twist and…
Necrobiosis

See: Necrobiosis lipoidica diabeticorum
Necrobiosis lipoidica

See: Necrobiosis lipoidica diabeticorum
Necrobiosis lipoidica diabeticorum

A dull red raised area on the skin that evolves into a shiny scar with a violet border, most often on the shin. There is telangiectasia with blood vessels easily visible under the skin. The area be itchy and painful and…
Necropsy

A postmortem examination or autopsy. Necropsies have been done for more than 2,000 years but during most of this time they were rarely done, and then only for legal purposes. The Roman physician Antistius performed one…
Necrosis

The death of living cells or tissues. Necrosis can be due, for example, to ischemia (lack of blood flow). From the Greek 'nekros' (dead body).
Necrosis, coagulation

Tissue death due to clots in the bloodstream, which block the flow of blood to the affected area
Necrotic

Synonymous with dead. Necrotic tissue is dead tissue.
Necrotizing fasciitis

A dangerous infection of soft-tissue that starts in the subcutaneous tissue (just below the skin) and spreads along the flat layers of fibrous tissue that separate different layers of tissue (fascial planes). It most…
Necrotizing gingivitis

This is trench mouth, a progressive painful infection with ulceration, swelling and sloughing off of dead tissue from the mouth and throat due to the spread of infection from the gums. Certain germs (including fusiform…
Needle biopsy, stereotactic

See: Stereotactic needle biopsy
Needle stick

See: Needlestick injury
Needlestick injury

A penetrating stab wound from a needle (or other sharp object) that may result in exposure to blood or other body fluids. The main concern is exposure to the blood or other body fluids of another person who may be…
Nef gene

Short for negative factor gene, a gene the absence (or defect) of which diminishes the strength of a disease. The term Nef gene was coined in 1989 in respect to HIV (the human immunodeficiency virus) and AIDS. The Nef…
Negative calorie diet

The Negative calorie diet is a weight loss concept based upon the premise that consumption of foods with a 'negative caloric effect' (meaning that the calories burned by chewing, digesting, and eliminating the food are…
Negative clinical trial

A clinical trial that shows that a new treatment is inferior to standard treatment. See: Clinical trials. See also: Inconclusive clinical trial; Non-inferior clinical trial; Positive clinical trial.
Negative, false

A result that appears negative but fails to reveal a situation. An example of a false negative: a particular test designed to detect cancer of the toenail is negative but the person has toenail cancer
Negative-strand RNA virus

Also known as an antisense-strand RNA virus, a virus whose genetic information consists of a single strand of RNA that is the negative or antisense strand which does not encode mRNA (messenger RNA). Examples of…
Neglect, child

Child neglect is the most frequently reported form of child abuse (60% of all cases) and the most lethal. Child neglect is the failure to provide for the shelter, safety, supervision and nutritional needs of the child…
NEI

Stands for National Eye Institute, 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…
Neisseria

Group of bacteria that includes the cause of gonorrhea.
Neisseria infection

See: Meningococcal infection
NEJM

The New England Journal of Medicine
Nematodes

Roundworms.
Neo- (prefix)

Prefix meaning new. From the Greek 'neos', new, young, fresh, recent. Examples of terms starting with 'neo-' include neonatal and neonate (the newborn), neoplasia and neoplasm (new growth = tumor), etc. The opposite of…
Neocortex

The newer portion of the cerebral cortex that serves as the center of higher mental functions for humans. The neocortex contains some 100 billion cells, each with 1,000 to 10,000 synapses (connections), and has roughly…
Neonatal

Pertaining to the newborn period which, by convention, is the first four weeks after birth.