Medical terms - Letter S (page 12) | MedicalVocabulary.org

Sirolimus

A naturally occurring substance discovered in a soil sample from Easter Island. Sirolimus was initially thought to hold promise as an antifungal antibiotic but this idea was dropped when sirolimus was unexpectedly found…
Sitophilus granarius

See: Granary weevil
Sitosterolemia

A genetic disease involving lipids (fats) in which there is excessive intestinal absorption of dietary sterols and impaired clearance of these sterols from the liver into the bile. These sterols include cholesterol and…
Situational syncope

The temporary loss of consciousness in a particular kind of situation. The situations that trigger this reaction are diverse, and include having blood drawn, straining while urinating or defecating, and coughing. It can…
Situs inversus totalis

A condition in which there is complete right to left reversal (transposition) of the thoracic and abdominal organs. For example, the heart is not in its usual position in the left chest but is in the right chest. (This…
Six fingers or toes

The presence of an extra sixth finger or toe, a very common congenital malformation (birth defect). This condition is called hexadactyly. The word hexadactyly literally means six digits. In medical usage, hexadactyly…
Sixth cranial nerve

The sixth cranial nerve is the abducent nerve, a small motor nerve that has one task: to supply a muscle called the lateral rectus muscle that moves the eye outward. Paralysis of the abducent nerve causes inward turning…
Sixth disease

A viral disease of infants and young children with sudden onset of high fever which lasts several days and then suddenly subsides leaving in its wake a fine red rash. The causative agent is herpesvirus type 6 so the…
Sjogren of Sjogren syndrome

Sjogren syndrome: Henrik Samuel Conrad Sjögren, Swedish ophthalmologist (1899-1986), who described the sicca syndrome, a chronic disease, commonly called Sjögren syndrome today. Sjögren graduated in medicine in 1922…
Sjogren syndrome

Sjogren syndrome: An autoimmune disease that classically combines dry eyes, dry mouth, and another disease of the connective tissues such as rheumatoid arthritis (most common), lupus, scleroderma or polymyositis…
Sjogren-Larsson syndrome

The Sjogren-Larsson syndrome is a genetic (inherited) disease usually characterized by a triad of clinical findings consisting of ichthyosis (thickened fish-like skin), spastic paraplegia (spasticity of the legs) and…
SJS

Stevens-Johnson syndrome.
Skeletal

Pertaining to the skeleton, the bones of the body which collectively provide the framework for the body
Skeletal dysplasia

One of a large contingent of genetic diseases in which the bony skeleton is abnormally formed during development. For example, achondroplasia (achondroplastic dwarfism).
Skeletal muscle

One of three types of muscle tissue in the body (skeletal, smooth, cardiac) which represents the majority of the muscular tissue in the body. Skeletal muscle is the type of muscle which powers movement of the skeleton…
Skeleton

The skeleton is composed of bones and is the framework of the body
Skeleton, bones of the

The human body has 206 bones. These consist of 80 axial (head and trunk) bones and 126 appendicular (upper and lower extremity) bones. Axial bones: The 80 axial bones comprise 29 bones in the head and 51 bones in the…
Skin

The skin is the body's outer covering. It protects us against heat and light, injury, and infection. It regulates body temperature and stores water, fat, and vitamin D. Weighing about 6 pounds, the skin is the body's…
Skin abscess

A common boil, a collection of pus beneath the skin, which may need to be surgically lanced to let it drain and heal.
Skin biopsy

Skin biopsy: Removal of a piece of skin for the purpose of further examination in the laboratory using a microscope. NTER> Skin biopsy is most frequently done to diagnose a skin growth such as a mole, or a skin…
Skin calipers

A simple method for determining the lean body mass. This method involves measuring the skinfold thickness of the layer of fat just under the skin in several parts of the body with calipers. The results are then…
Skin color

The color of skin which is complexly determined. Skin color depends on many factors including reddening caused by inflammation, the hemoglobin level in the blood, and the darkening caused by increased deposition of the…
Skin Diseases, National Institute of...

Is and Musculoskeletal and (NIAMS): One of the National Institutes of Health in the U.S. As its somewhat cumbersome name indicates, NIAMS's mission is a broad and important one, namely to 'conduct and support a broad…
Skin erosion

Skin erosion is a loss of some or all of the epidermis (the outer layer) leaving a denuded surface. Erosion is an eating away of a surface. The word 'erosion' comes from the Latin 'erodere' meaning to eat out.
Skin graft

Skin that is used to cover an area where the patient's skin has been lost due to a burn, injury, or surgery. The most effective skin grafts involve moving the patient's own skin from one part of the body to another. The…
Skin graft, allogeneic

A skin graft transplanted between people who are not genetically identical. Also called an allograft. An allogeneic skin graft can also be between two mice, between two rabbits, or between any individuals belonging to…
Skin graft, autogenic

A graft using the patient's own skin. Also known as an autologous graft.
Skin graft, composite

A graft technique in which both the patient's own skin and donor skin are used together
Skin graft, full-thickness

A graft technique in which sheets of skin containing both the epidermis and the dermis are used
Skin graft, mesh

A graft technique in which multiple pieces of skin are carefully arranged to cover an area. This technique is used most frequently when a large area needs protection
Skin graft, pedicle

A graft technique in which a piece of skin from a nearby area remains attached at one of its corners, while the main part of the piece is reattached over the area in need of coverage.
Skin graft, pinch

A graft technique in which very small squares of skin are attached to the area needing coverage, in hopes that they will start to grow and cover it
Skin graft, porcine

A skin graft in which pig skin is used. Like grafts from human donors, porcine grafts are usually just a short-term protective measure.
Skin graft, split-thickness

A graft technique in which sheets of skin containing the epidermis and part of the dermis are used
Skin plaque

A plaque is a broad, raised area on the skin. Because it is raised, it can be felt (palpated). By definition, a skin plaque has a greater surface than its elevation above the skin surface: it is broader than it is high
Skin tag

Skin tag: A small tag of skin that may have a stalk (a peduncle). Skin tags may appear on the skin almost anywhere although the favorite locales are the eyelids, neck, armpits (axillae), upper chest, and groin…
Skin test for allergy

Allergy: Teste on the skin to identify the allergy substance (the allergen) that is triggering the allergic reaction. A small amount of the suspected allergy-provoking substance is placed on the skin. The skin is then…
Skin test for immunity

A method of evaluating whether a person has developed an immune response to certain infections. A substance is injected into the deep layer of the skin (dermis), which will cause a reaction if the immune system…
Skin, scalded, syndrome

See Scalded skin syndrome
Skin, tattooing of the

The permanent insertion of ink or other pigments below the skin using a sharp instrument. Humans have done tattooing for cosmetic and ritual purposes since at least the Neolithic era. In the Western world, tattooing has…
Skittles

Street name for dextromethorphan (DXM)
Skittling

Street name for the high produced by abuse of the drug dextromethorphan
Skull

The skull is a collection of bones which encase the brain and give form to the head and face. The bones of the skull include the following: the frontal, parietal, occipital, temporal, sphenoid, ethmoid, zygomatic…
Skull, hair-on-end

Thin fine linear extensions radiating out from the skull that look on an X-ray like hair standing 'on-end' from the skull, an appearance associated with hemolytic anemias such as sickle cell disease and thalassemia. The…
Skullcap

See: Scutellaria barbata
Skute barbata

See: Scutellaria barbata
SKY (spectral karyotype)

Karyotype: A visualization of all of the chromosomes in the genome all together with each chromosome labeled with a different color. The SKY technique is useful for identifying chromosome abnormalities
Slake

1. To satisfy or quench. As, for example, she drank some water to slake her thirst. 2. To mix with water, to hydrate. As, for example, to slake lime
Slanted ear

An ear that is slanted more than usual. Technically, an ear is slanted when the angle of the slope of the auricle is more than 15 degrees from the perpendicular. Considered a minor anomaly. The presence of 2 or more…
Slap cheek

See: Fifth disease