Medical terms - Letter N (page 4) | MedicalVocabulary.org

Neonatal chloramphenicol toxicity

See: Gray baby syndrome
Neonatal hyperbilirubinemia

Elevation of the bilirubin level in the blood of the newborn, which results in yellowish staining of the skin and whites of the newborn's eyes (sclerae) by pigment of bile (bilirubin). In newborn babies a degree of…
Neonatal intensive care unit

An intensive care unit designed for premature and ill newborn babies. Abbreviated NICU. Also called a newborn intensive care unit
Neonatal jaundice

Jaundice: Yellowish staining of the skin and whites of the newborn's eyes (sclerae) by pigment of bile (bilirubin). In newborn babies a degree of jaundice is normal. It is due to the breakdown of red blood cells (which…
Neonatal lupus

A lupus-like disease in a baby due to the transfer through the placenta of lupus antibodies from the mother who has lupus to the fetus. (By lupus here is meant SLE -- systemic lupus erythematosus.) Neonatal lupus can…
Neonatal mortality rate

The number of children dying under 28 days of age divided by the number of live births that year. The neonatal mortality rate in the United States, which was 8.4 per 1,000 live births in 1980, declined to 5.8 per 1,000…
Neonatal sepsis

A serious blood bacterial infection in an infant less than 4 weeks of age. Babies with sepsis may be listless, overly sleepy, floppy, weak, and very pale.
Neonate

A newborn baby.
Neonatologist

A specialist in the care of the newborn.
Neonatology

The art and science of caring medically for the newborn.
Neophobia

Fear of anything new, of innovation, an irrational fear of new situations, places, or things. In animal behavior, neophobia refers to the tendency of an animal to avoid or retreat from an unfamiliar object or situation…
Neoplasia

The process of abnormal and uncontrolled growth of cells. The product of neoplasia is a neoplasm (a tumor)
Neoplasm

A tumor. An abnormal growth of tissue. The word neoplasm is not synonymous with cancer. A neoplasm may be benign or malignant. The word neoplasm literally means a new growth, from the Greek neo-, new + plasma, that…
Neoplastic

Pertaining to a neoplasm or neoplasia. See those terms for more information.
NEP

1. Neutral endopeptidase. See: Metallomembrane endopeptidase.2. Neuroepithelial
Nephrectomy

The surgical removal of a kidney. A nephrectomy can be radical, simple, or partial. The kidney, the adrenal gland, nearby lymph nodes, and other surrounding tissue are removed in a radical nephrectomy. Simple…
Nephritis

Inflammation of the kidney. Nephritis can be acute or chronic. Acute nephritis is most commonly caused by hypersensitivity (allergy) to drug therapy. Recognition of a drug-related cause is important because severe renal…
Nephritis, acute

Sudden inflammation of the kidney. Diagnosis is by finding blood or protein in the urine. There is often hypertension and edema (swelling)
Nephritis, infective tubulointerstitial

Inflammation of the kidney due to infection. Symptoms include nausea, pain in the kidney area, fever, and chills. Early diagnosis is essential to save the kidneys. Treatment is by antibiotics or antiviral medications
Nephritis, interstitial

Nephritis due to disorders of the connective tissue within the kidney, severe allergic reactions, exposure to toxic substances, transplant rejection, urinary blockage, or other factors. Symptoms include fever, pain in…
Nephritis, lipomatous

A disorder in which the nephrons of the kidney are gradually replaced with fatty tissues, preventing proper filtration of wastes and eventually resulting in kidney failure. Treatment is by dialysis
Nephro-

Prefix referring to the kidney as, for example, in nephrotoxic. From the Greek nephros meaning kidney
Nephroblastoma

See: Wilms tumor
Nephroblastomatosis

The presence of multiple embryonic rests of tissue within the kidney. These nephrogenic rests usually are benign but they may give rise to Wilms tumor. Chemotherapy has been advocated if the rests are growing or if a…
Nephrocalcinosis

The deposition of calcium (in the form of calcium phosphate and calcium oxalate) in the substance of the kidney, a process that can impair the function of the kidney function. Nephrocalcinosis is caused by a number of…
Nephrogenic rest

A fragment of embryonic tissue in the kidney retained after the period of embryonic development. Nephrogenic rests are precursors (forerunners) of Wilms tumor. Two distinct categories of nephrogenic rest are recognized…
Nephrolith

A kidney stone
Nephrolithiasis

The process of forming a 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…
Nephrolithotripsy, percutaneous (PNL)

A technique for removing large and/or dense stones and staghorn stones. PNL is done via a port created by puncturing the kidney through the skin and enlarging the access port to 1 cm (about 3/8 inch) in diameter. There…
Nephrologist

A medical specialist in nephrology (the study of the kidney or 'kidney-ology')
Nephrology

The art and science of the care of the kidney.
Nephron

A key unit, both anatomically and functionally, of the kidney.
Nephronophthisis 1 (NPH1)

A childhood kidney disease in which there is progressive symmetrical destruction of the kidneys involving both the tubules and glomeruli, characteristically resulting in anemia, polyuria, polydipsia, isosthenuria…
Nephropathy

Any kidney disease. For example, there is diabetic nephropathy, gouty nephropathy, HIV-associated nephropathy, ischemic nephropathy, sickle cell nephropathy,and so on. From the Greek 'nephros' (kidney) + 'pathos'…
Nephropathy, diabetic

See: Diabetic nephropathy
Nephropathy, membranous

See: Membranous nephropathy
Nephrosclerosis

Hardening (sclerosis) of the kidney usually due to disease of the blood vessels in it from atherosclerosis.
Nephrosis

Non-inflammatory, non-neoplastic disease of the kidney. Nephrosis an be caused by kidney disease, or it may be a complication of another disorder, particularly diabetes. Diagnosis is by urine testing for the presence of…
Nephrosis, lipoid

See: Minimal change disease
Nephrotic syndrome, minimal change

See: Minimal change disease
Nephrotomogram

A series of special x-rays of the kidneys. The x-rays are taken from different angles. They show the kidneys clearly, without the shadows of the organs around them
Nephrotoxic

See: Metallomembrane endopeptidase.
Neprilysin

See: Metallomembrane endopeptidase
Nerve

A bundle of fibers that uses chemical and electrical signals to transmit sensory and motor information from one body part to another. See: Nervous system.
Nerve block

See: Neuron.
Nerve cell

See: Neuron
Nerve compression

'Pinching' a nerve by putting too much pressure on it. For example, the sciatic nerve may be painfully compressed by a ruptured disc in the lower spine causing sciatica. In nerve compression there is pressure on a nerve…
Nerve conduction study

See: Nerve conduction velocity test
Nerve conduction velocity test

Nerve conduction velocity test> An electrical test used to detect nerve conditions. In the nerve conduction velocity (NCV) test, the nerve is electrically stimulated by one electrode while other electrodes detect the…
Nerve growth factor

Abbreviated NGF. A naturally occurring molecule in the body which stimulates the growth and differentiation of the sympathetic and certain sensory nerves. NGF is a protein that consists of 3 types of polypeptide chains…