Medical terms - Letter S (page 10) | MedicalVocabulary.org

SHP

Schonlein-Henoch purpura
Shprintzen syndrome

See: Velocardiofacial syndrome
ShRNA

Short hairpin RNA. A short sequence of RNA which makes a tight hairpin turn and can be used to silence gene expression
Shulman's syndrome (Eosinophilic fasciitis)

Disease which leads to inflammation and thickening of the skin and fascia. (The fascia is a lining tissue under the skin that covers a surface of underlying tissues. When the fascia is inflamed, the condition is…
Shunt

1) To move a body fluid, such as cerebrospinal fluid, from one place to another. 2) A catheter (tube) that carries cerebrospinal fluid from a ventricle in the brain to another area of the body. A shunt may be placed to…
Shunt, Blalock-Taussig

A pioneering heart operation named after the American surgeon Alfred Blalock (1899-1964) and the pediatric cardiologist Helen B. Taussig (1898-1986). Dr. Taussig designed and Dr. Blalock carried out the first…
Shunt, Glenn

See: Glenn shunt
Shunt, Spitz-Holter

See Spitz-Holter valve
Shunt, transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic

A shunt that allows blood from the portal circulation (that supplies the liver) to flow into the systemic (general) circulation. Transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt involves catheterization of a hepatic…
Shunt, transjugular, intrahepatic, portosystemic

A shunt that drains fluid from the cerebral ventricle into the abdomen.
Shunt, triculoperitoneal

A shunt that drains fluid from the cerebral ventricle into the abdomen.
Shunt, ventriculoatrial

A shunt that drains fluid from the cerebral ventricle into the right atrium of the heart
Shunt, ventriculopleural

See: Ventriculopleural shunt
Shy-Drager syndrome

A mysterious progressive disorder of the central and sympathetic nervous systems, also called multiple system atrophy with postural hypotension. Postural (or orthostatic) hypotension is an excessive drop in blood…
SI joint pain

See sacroiliac joint dysfunction
Sialidosis

A form of mucolipidosis characterized by deficiency of acid alpha-N-acetyl- neuraminidase (sialidase). See also mucolipidosis, mucopolysaccharidosis.
Siamese twin

Twin: Identical (monozygotic) twins that did not separate fully from one another but are still partially united. Due to the incomplete division of one fertilized ovum. Such twins are known medically as conjoined twins…
Sib

Sibling
Sibling

A brother or sister
Sibship

The total number of children born to a set of parents. Siblings belong to a sibship
Sicca syndrome

An autoimmune disease, also known as Sjogren syndrome, that classically combines dry eyes, dry mouth, and another disease of connective tissue such as rheumatoid arthritis (most common), lupus, scleroderma or…
Sick building syndrome

Sick building syndrome: A condition caused by exposure to various noxious agents that affect persons employed in a 'sick building,' usually an office or other building that houses many people working in close proximity…
Sick sinus syndrome

Symptoms of dizziness, confusion, fainting, and heart failure due to a problem with the sinus node of the heart, which acts as the body's natural pacemaker. If the sinus node is not functioning normally, it is reflected…
Sickle cell anemia

A genetic blood disease due to the presence of an abnormal form of hemoglobin, namely hemoglobin S. Hemoglobin is the molecule in red blood cells that transports oxygen from the lungs to the farthest areas of the body…
Sickle cell disease

A genetic blood disease due to the presence of an abnormal form of hemoglobin, namely hemoglobin S. Hemoglobin is the molecule in red blood cells that transports oxygen from the lungs to the farthest reaches of the…
Sickle cell trait

The condition in which a person has one copy of the gene for sickle cell (and is called a sickle heterozygote) but does not have sickle cell disease (which requires two copies of the sickle cell gene). If two people…
Sickle hemoglobin

Hemoglobin S, the most common type of abnormal hemoglobin and the basis of both sickle cell trait and sickle cell anemia. Hemoglobin S differs from normal adult hemoglobin (hemoglobin A) only by a single amino acid…
Sickness, acute mountain (AMS)

Acute mountain sickness (AMS) is the illness that results from being at high altitude. AMS is common at very high altitudes, that is above 8,000 feet (2,440 meters). Three-quarters of people have mild symptoms of AMS…
Sickness, altitude

>If possible, don't fly or drive to high altitude. Start below 10,000 feet (3,048 meters) and walk up. >If you do fly or drive, do not over-exert yourself or move higher for the first 24 hours. >If you go above 10,000…
Sickness, morning

Nausea and vomiting of pregnancy. Morning sickness is a misnomer, because it can occur at any time of the day (though not at night during sleep) and it is not a sickness. It is a normal characteristic of early…
Sickness, motion

Motion sickness is a very common disturbance of the inner ear that is caused by repeated motion such as from the swell of the sea, the movement of a car, the motion of a plane in turbulent air, etc. In the inner ear…
Sickness, mountain

>If possible, don't fly or drive to high altitude. Start below 10,000 feet (3,048 meters) and walk up. >If you do fly or drive, do not over-exert yourself or move higher for the first 24 hours. >If you go above 10,000…
Siddha medicine

An ancient system of medicine prevalent in South India. The word Siddha comes from the Tamil word for perfection. Those who attained an intellectual level of perfection were called Siddhas. Siddha medicine aims at the…
SIDDT

Sudden infant death with dysgenesis of testes. SIDDT was first identified in an Old Order Amish community in Pennsylvania. Over two generations, nine families from this community had lost 21 infants to sudden death. All…
Side effects

Problems that occur when treatment goes beyond the desired effect. Or problems that occur in addition to the desired therapeutic effect. Example -- A hemorrhage from the use of too much anticoagulant (such as heparin)…
Sideropenic dysphagia

See: Plummer-Vinson syndrome
Sidney Goldring

See: Goldring, Sidney
SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome)

The sudden and unexpected death of a baby with no known illness, typically affecting sleeping infants between the ages of two weeks to six months. Infants with a brother or sister who died of SIDS; babies whose mothers…
SIDS with dysgenesis of testes

Abbreviated SIDDT. For more, see: SIDDT
Sight, day

Night blindness. Listed in medical dictionaries under 'Nyctalopia' from the Greek 'nyct' (night) + 'aloas' (obscure or blind) + 'opsis' (vision), the condition involves impaired vision in dim light and in the dark (but…
Sigma Theta Tau

The international honor society for nursing. Membership is by invitation to baccalaureate and graduate nursing students, who demonstrate excellence in scholarship, and to community leaders exhibiting exceptional…
Sigmodon hispidus

See: Cotton rat
Sigmoid

In human anatomy, the lower colon (the lower portion of the large bowel). 'Sigmoid' is short for 'sigmoid colon.' The word 'sigmoid' came from the Greek letter 'sigma' which is shaped like a C. It also means curved in…
Sigmoid volvulus

See: Volvulus
Sigmoidoscope

A thin lighted instrument used to view the inside of the rectum and lower colon
Sigmoidoscopy

Inspection of the rectum and lower colon using a thin lighted tube called a sigmoidoscope. Samples of tissue or cells may be collected for examination under a microscope. Also called proctosigmoidoscopy
Sigmoidoscopy, flexible

Inspection of the inside of the rectum and lower part of the colon using a thin flexible lighted tube (a flexible sigmoidoscope). This procedure may be done to find the cause of diarrhea, constipation, abdominal pain…
Sign

Any objective evidence of disease. Gross blood in the stool is a sign of disease. It can be recognized by the patient, doctor, nurse, or others. In contrast, a symptom is, by its nature, subjective. Abdominal pain is a…
Sign language

Sign language: A language that employs signs made with the hands and other movements, including facial expressions and postures of the body, used primarily by people who are deaf. There are many different sign languages…
Sign of pregnancy

See entry to: Pregnancy symptom