Medical terms - Letter O (page 6) | MedicalVocabulary.org

Orthomolecular medicine

1. A term coined by the chemist Linus Pauling who defined it as 'the preservation of good health and the treatment of disease by varying the concentration in the human body of substances that are normally present in the…
Orthopaedics

The branch of surgery broadly concerned with the skeletal system (bones). This particular term is commonly misspelled. Orthopedics is how this field of surgery is listed under Physicians & Surgeons in the telephone…
Orthopaedist

An orthopaedic surgeon, a doctor who corrects congenital or functional abnormalities of the bones with surgery, casting, and bracing. Orthopaedists also treat injuries to the bones. Sometimes spelled orthopedist. The…
Orthopedics

The branch of surgery broadly concerned with the skeletal system (bones). Orthopedics is how this field of surgery is listed under Physicians & Surgeons in the telephone Yellow Pages in Jacksonville, Florida. This…
Orthopedist

An orthopaedic surgeon, orthopaedics being the branch of surgery broadly concerned with the skeletal system (bones). Orthopedics is how this field of surgery is listed under Physicians & Surgeons in the telephone…
Orthopnea

The inability to breathe easily unless one is sitting up straight or standing erect
Orthopod

Slang for orthopedist.
Orthopox

The family of viruses to which belongs vaccinia, the virus that causes smallpox. Other members of the orthopox family of viruses capable of infecting humans include: > >Cowpox -- Usually contracted by milking infected…
Orthorexia nervosa

A term designating a disorder in which there is an unhealthy obsession with healthy eating, an extreme dedication to extreme diets that can starve the body of basic nutrition. The emphasis (or overemphasis) is on the…
Orthoscopic

Having correct vision or producing it. Orthoscopic, in other words, is free from optical distortion or designed to correct distorted vision. This fits with the prefix 'ortho', meaning straight or erect, and with…
Orthosis, thoracolumbosacral (TLSO)

One of the two main types of braces used to correct the lateral (sideways) curve of the spine in scoliosis. Patients can wear this brace to correct spinal curves whose apex is at or below the eighth thoracic vertebra…
Orthostatic hypotension

A temporary lowering of blood pressure (hypotension) due usually to suddenly standing up (orthostatic). Orthostatic hypotension may be experienced by healthy people -- it is more common in older people -- who rise…
Orthotic

A support, brace, or splint used to support, align, prevent, or correct the function of movable parts of the body. Shoe inserts are orthotics that are intended to correct an abnormal, or irregular walking pattern, by…
Oryzomys palustris

See: Rice rat
Os

Two Latin words used in medicine that have different meanings and pronunciations. 1. The mouth: a. The upper opening of the digestive tract. b. Any opening or aperture in the body. The o in os meaning mouth or opening…
OS (lens prescription)

Abbreviation of 'oculus sinister.' Latin for 'left eye.' By contrast, OD stands for 'oculus dexter' which is Latin for the right eye.
Os calcis

See: Calcaneus
Os sacrum

The large, heavy bone at the base of the spine, which is made up of fused sacral vertebrae. The sacrum is located in the vertebral column, between the lumbar vertebrae and the coccyx. It is roughly triangular in shape…
OSA (obstructive sleep apnea)

See: Oscillopsia.
Oscillating vision

See: Oscillopsia
Oscillopsia

Oscillating vision. Swinging vision. In oscillopsia, objects seem to swing, move back and forth, jerk, or wiggle. A classical language hybrid derived from the Latin oscillo, to swing, + the Greek opsis, vision
Oscitation

The act of yawning, the involuntary opening of the mouth with respiration, breathing first inward, then outward. Yawning is often caused by suggestion. Repeated yawning is commonly a sign of drowsiness. It can also…
Osgood-Schlatter disease

Osgood-Schlatter disease: A condition involving inflammation and sometimes tearing of ligaments within the knee and lower leg. Treatment is by rest, casting if necessary, and sometimes surgery. Osgood-Schlatter disease…
OSHA

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration, an agency of the US government under the Department of Labor with the responsibility of ensuring safety at work and a healthful work environment. OSHA's mission is to…
Osler's nodes

These are small (the size of split peas), tender, transient nodules in the pads of fingers and toes and the palms and soles. They are a highly diagnostic sign of bacterial infection of the heart (subacute bacterial…
Osler, Sir William

Renowned Canadian physician (1849-1919) who taught at McGill University, the University of Pennsylvania, Johns Hopkins and Oxford University and who first described many medical phenomena now named after him such as the…
Osler-Rendu-Weber syndrome

See: Hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia
Osmolar

In biochemistry, referring to the osmolarity, the concentration of osmotically active particles in solution, which may be quantitatively expressed in osmoles of solute per liter of solution
Osmolarity

The concentration of osmotically active particles in solution, which may be quantitatively expressed in osmoles of solute per liter of solution. See also: Plasma osmolarity
Osmolarity, plasma

See: Plasma osmolarity
Osmole

In biochemistry, the amount of a substance that dissociates in solution to form one mole of osmotically active particles
Osseous

Having to do with the bone, consisting of bone, or resembling bone. From 'os' which is a synonym for 'bone.' The Latin word 'os' means 'bone' as does the related Greek word 'osteon.'
Ossicle

Any small bone, such as the tiny bones within the human ear
Ossification

The process of creating bone, that is of transforming cartilage (or fibrous tissue) into bone. The human skeleton initially consists largely of cartilage which is relatively soft and is gradually transformed into hard…
Ossify

To make into bone; to convert cartilage or fibrous tissue into bone. The skeleton initially consists mainly of cartilage which is gradually transformed into bone during development. This bone-building process is termed…
Osteitis

Osteitis is inflammation of the bone. For example, patients with what is called the SAPHO syndrome develop osteitis -- the O in SAPHO stands for oteitis -- and the bone inflammation typically affects the sacroiliac…
Osteitis deformans

Better known today as Paget disease, this is a chronic bone disorder that typically results in enlarged, deformed bones due to excessive breakdown and formation of bone tissue that can cause bones to weaken and may…
Osteitis fibrosa cystica

A condition associated with hyperparathyroidism in which bone tissue is gradually replaced by cysts and fibers
Osteo- (prefix)

Combining form meaning bone. From the Greek 'osteon', bone. Appears for instance in osteoarthritis, osteochondroma osteodystrophy, osteogenesis, osteomyelitis, osteopathy, osteopetrosis, osteoporosis, osteosarcoma, etc
Osteoarthritis

Osteoarthritis: A type of arthritis caused by inflammation, breakdown, and eventual loss of cartilage in the joints. Also known as degenerative arthritis.
Osteoarthropathy

Any disease of the bones and joints. From osteo-, bone + -arthro-, joint, + pathy, disease
Osteoblast

A cell that makes bone. It does so by producing a matrix that then becomes mineralized. Bone mass is maintained by a balance between the activity of osteoblasts that form bone and other cells called osteoclasts that…
Osteoblastoma

A benign tumor in bone tissue. Osteoblastomas are small, and are seen most frequently in children or young adults. Symptoms include pain and bone mass reduction. Treatment is primarily by surgery. Chemotherapy and…
Osteochondritis dissecans

Osteochondritis dissecans: A condition in which a fragment of bone in a joint is deprived of blood and separates from the rest of the bone, causing soreness and making the joint 'give way'. Diagnosis is by X-ray…
Osteochondroma

An abnormal, solitary, benign growth of bone and cartilage, typically at the end of a long bone. Osteochondromas are usually discovered in persons 15 to 25 years of age. They are typically detected when the area is…
Osteochondromatosis

A condition characterized by multiple benign tumors of cartilage called osteochondromas projecting from bone, most often from near the ends of long bones. In a small proportion of cases, an osteochondroma may become…
Osteochondromatosis, synovial

Any disease that affects the progress of bone growth by killing bone tissue. Osteochondrosis is seen only in children and teens whose bones are still growing.
Osteochondrosis

Any disease that affects the progress of bone growth by killing bone tissue. Osteochondrosis is seen only in children and teens whose bones are still growing
Osteoclasia

Destruction and reabsorption of bone tissue, as occurs when broken bones heal
Osteoclasis

The surgical destruction of bone tissue. Osteoclasis is performed to reconstruct a bone that is malformed, often a broken bone that healed improperly. The bone may be broken and then reshaped with the aid of metal pins…