Medical terms - Letter P (page 26) | MedicalVocabulary.org

Protein, proteolipid

See: Proteolipid protein
Protein-calorie malnutrition

Severe deficiency of protein + inadequate caloric intake = kwashiorkor.
Protein-losing enteropathy

A condition in which there is excessive loss of plasma protein into the intestine. Protein-losing enteropathy can be due to a number of different causes including extensive ulceration of the intestine, intestinal…
Proteins

Large molecules composed of one or more chains of amino acids in a specific order determined by the base sequence of nucleotides in the DNA coding for the protein. Proteins are required for the structure, function, and…
Proteins, acute-phase

See: Acute-phase protein
Proteins, G

These molecules have been described as 'biological traffic lights.' Located inside the cell, G proteins are able respond to signals outside the cell-light, smell, hormones-and translate (transduce) these signals into…
Proteinuria

Excess protein in the urine. Some protein is normal in the urine. Too much means protein is leaking through the kidney, most often through the glomeruli. The main protein in human blood and the key to the regulation of…
Proteolipid protein

The complete set of proteins expressed and modified following their expression by the genome. The term "proteome" was coined from the PROTEin complement of the genOME in 1994 by Marc Wilkins, a graduate student at…
Proteome

The complete set of proteins expressed and modified following their expression by the genome. The term 'proteome' was coined from the PROTEin complement of the genOME in 1994 by Marc Wilkins, a graduate student at…
Proteomics

The study of the proteome, the complete set of proteins produced by a species, using the technologies of large-scale protein separation and identification. The term proteomics was coined in 1994 by Marc Wilkins who…
Proteus syndrome

A disturbance of cell growth including benign tumors under the skin, overgrowth of the body, often more on one side than the other (hemihypertrophy), and overgrowth of fingers (macrodactyly). The syndrome is named after…
Prothrombin

A coagulation (clotting) factor that is needed for the normal clotting of blood. A cascade of biochemical events leads to the formation of the final clot. In this cascade, prothrombin is a precursor to thrombin…
Prothrombin 20210A mutation

See: Prothrombin mutation G20210A
Prothrombin G20210A mutation

See: Prothrombin mutation G20210A
Prothrombin mutation 20210A

See: Prothrombin mutation G20210A
Prothrombin mutation G20210A

A common genetic risk factor for thrombosis (clots) including deep venous thrombosis (DVT). This mutation in the gene encoding the clotting factor prothrombin is found in about 1 in 50 persons in the US. It raises the…
Prothrombin time

A clotting test, the prothrombin time is done to test the integrity of part of the clotting scheme. The prothrombin time is commonly used as a method of monitoring the accuracy of blood thinning treatment…
Proto-oncogene

A normal gene which, when altered by mutation, becomes an oncogene that can contribute to cancer. Proto-oncogenes may have many different functions in the cell. Some proto-oncogenes provide signals that lead to cell…
Protocol, Bruce

See: Bruce protocol
Proton magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging

See: Magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging
Protozoa

A single-cell organism that can only divide within a host organism. Malaria is caused by a protozoa: Plasmodium. Other protozoan parasites Giardia and Toxoplasma.
Provigil

Brand name of the drug modafinil. See: Modafinil
Prox-

Proximal
Proxi-

Toward the beginning, the nearer of two (or more) items. For example, the proximal end of the femur is part of the hip joint, and the shoulder is proximal to the elbow. The opposite of proximal is distal. For a more…
Proximal

See: Myotonic dystrophy type 2.
Proximal myotonic myopathy

See: Myotonic dystrophy type 2
Proximal white subungual onychomycosis

The rarest form of fungus infection of the finger or toenail. (Fungus infection of the finger or toenail is also called onychomycosis.) The infection begins in the nail fold (the portion of the nail opposite the tip of…
Proximo-

Proximal
Proxy, health care

A health care proxy is one form of advance medical directive. Advance medical directives pertain to treatment preferences and the designation of a surrogate decision-maker in the event that a person should become unable…
Prune belly syndrome

Partial or complete absence of the abdominal muscles so that the outlines of the intestines are visible through the thin, lax, protruding abdominal wall. The abdominal wall looks shrunken, shriveled and wrinkled like a…
Pruritic

Itchy. A scab may be pruritic
Pruritus

Itching. Pruritus can result from drug reaction, food allergy, kidney or liver disease, cancers, parasites, aging or dry skin, contact skin reaction, such as poison ivy, and for unknown reasons
Pruritus ani

A medical name for itchiness of the anus. See Anal itching
Prusiner

See: Prusiner, Stanley B.
Prusiner, Stanley B.

American neurologist (1942-) and winner of the Nobel Prize for the discovery of 'prions - a new biological principle of infection.' Prusiner received his A.B. in chemistry in 1964 and his M.D. in 1968 from the…
PSA

See: Primary sclerosing cholangitis.
PSC (primary sclerosing cholangitis)

See: Primary sclerosing cholangitis
Pseudo-Hurler polydystrophy

A rare genetic disease that is passed on via an autosomal recessive gene. It is characterized by abnormal lysosomal enzyme transport in cells of mesenchymal origin, causing elevated lysosomal enzymes in body fluids and…
Pseudodementia

A severe form of depression resulting from a progressive brain disorder in which cognitive changes mimic those of dementia
Pseudoexfoliation syndrome

An eye condition that often leads to glaucoma. Called the pseudoexfoliation syndrome because deposits on the surface of the lens look like flakes of dandruff, as if the lens capsule has exfoliated (shed the flakes). It…
Pseudogout

Pseudogout: Inflammation of the joints caused by deposits of calcium pyrophosphate crystals, resulting in arthritis, most commonly of the knees, wrists, shoulders, hips, and ankles, usually affecting only one or a few…
Pseudohemophilia

The original name that von Willebrand gave to the bleeding disorder he first described. See: Von Willebrand disease
Pseudomelanosis coli

Anosis coli): A benign, reversible condition usually, but not always, associated with long-term use of anthranoid laxatives in which pigment deposition in the lamina propria of the large intestine results in a brown to…
Pseudomembranous colitis

Severe inflammation of the inner lining of the colon. Pseudomembranous colitis is characterized by pus and blood in the stool and often caused by antibiotics.
Pseudomonas aeruginosa

The versatile 'blue-green pus bacteria' that opportunistically infects people, especially those who are immunocompromised. Pseudomonas rarely causes infection in healthy individuals but it is a major cause of hospital…
Pseudomonas cepacia

Bacterium now known as Burkholderia cepacia. See: Burkholderia cepacia
Pseudomonas infection

Infection usually with Pseudomonas aeruginosa, the versatile 'blue-green pus bacteria' that opportunistically infects people, especially those who are immunocompromised. Pseudomonas rarely causes infection in healthy…
Pseudomonas pseudomallei

A bacteria that causes an infectious illness called melioidosis or Whitmore's disease that is most frequent in Southeast Asia and Northern Australia. Pseudomonas pseudomallei is found in soil, rice paddies and stagnant…
Pseudoobstruction, intestinal

A group of chronic disorders that impair gastrointestinal motility, despite the absence of an actual obstruction. Symptoms include cramping and abdominal pain, malnutrition, nausea, and vomiting. Some forms of…
Pseudoobstruction, myopathic

Intestinal pseudoobstruction caused by damage to muscle cells in the walls of the bowel