Medical terms - Letter S (page 16) | MedicalVocabulary.org

Spastic colitis

A common gastrointestinal disorder involving an abnormal condition of gut contractions (motility) characterized by abdominal pain, bloating, mucous in stools, and irregular bowel habits with alternating diarrhea and…
Spastic dysphonia

See: Spasmodic dysphonia
Spastic paraplegia, autosomal dominant

A degenerative disorder of nerves with progressive spasticity of the legs. Abbreviated as AD-HSP. Spasticity is a state of increased muscle tone. Paraplegia refers to the legs (quadriplegia refers to both the arms and…
Spastic pseudoparalysis

Better known as Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD). A dementing disease of the brain. CJD is believed to be due to a highly unconventional transmissible agent named a prion. It is not a bacteria, not a virus, in fact not…
Spasticity

A state of increased tone of a muscle (and an increase in the deep tendon reflexes). For example, with spasticity of the legs (spastic paraplegia) there is an increase in tone of the leg muscles so they feel tight and…
SPD calcinosis

Striopallidodentate (SPD) calcinosis, a condition first described in 1930 by T. Fahr and therefore called Fahr syndrome, is a genetic (inherited) neurological disorder characterized by abnormal deposits of calcium in…
Special pathogen

A highly infectious agent that produces severe disease in humans. Special pathogens include the viruses that cause several hemorrhagic fevers, such as Ebola hemorrhagic fever, Lassa fever, and hantavirus pulmonary…
Specific developmental disorder

A disorder that selectively affects one area of development, sparing essentially all other areas of development. For example, dysgraphia is one type of specific developmental disorder. In dysgraphia there is inability…
Specific-pathogen free

A term applied to animals reared for use in laboratory experiments when the animals are known to be free of germs that can cause disease (pathogenic microorganisms).
Specificity

1. The quality of being specific as, for example, she showed the use of specificity in her diagnosis. 2. The proportion of persons without a disease who are correctly identified by a test. The specificity is the number…
Specificity, analytic

See: Analytic specificity
Speckled iris

Due to little white (or lightly colored) spots that are slightly elevated on the surface of the iris. These spots, arranged in a ring concentric with the pupil, occur in normal children but are far more frequent in…
SPECT

An acronym that stands for Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography, a nuclear medicine procedure in which a gamma camera rotates around the patient and takes pictures from many angles, which a computer then uses to…
SPECT scan

Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography, a nuclear medicine procedure in which a gamma camera rotates around the patient and takes pictures from many angles, which a computer then uses to form a tomographic…
Spectral karyotype (SKY)

Karyotype(SKY): 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
Spectrophobia

An abnormal and persistent fear of ghosts. Sufferers of spectrophobia experience undue anxiety even though they realize their fear is irrational. They may fear going into woods, empty houses or dark places and may react…
Spectrophotometer

A device which measures the amount of ultraviolet light absorbed by a substance. For example, vitamin A absorbs ultraviolet light so that a spectrophotometer can measure within minutes with almost perfect accuracy the…
Speculum

An instrument used to widen an opening to look within a passage or a cavity. For example, a speculum may be used to widen the opening of the vagina so that the cervix is more easily visible. Other examples include the…
Speculum, ear

An instrument inserted into the auditory canal of the ear to increase the circumference of the tunnel-shaped canal walls. (The auditory canal begins at the circular opening of the ear and continues a distance of about…
Speculum, nasal

An instrument used to widen the opening of a nostril so the inside can be more easily seen. 'Speculum' is the Latin word for mirror
Speculum, vaginal

An instrument used to widen the opening of the vagina so that the cervix is more easily visible. 'Speculum' is the Latin word for mirror
Speech disorder

A disorder affecting the ability to produce normal speech. Speech disorders may affect articulation (phonetic or phonological disorders); fluency (stuttering or cluttering); and/or voice (tone, pitch, volume, or speed)…
Speech therapist

An older term for a speech- language pathologist
Speech therapy

The treatment of speech and communication disorders. The approach used depends on the disorder. It may include physical exercises to strengthen the muscles used in speech (oral-motor work), speech drills to improve…
Speech, esophageal

See: Esophageal speech
Speech-language pathologist

A specialist who evaluates and treats communication disorders and swallowing problems. A speech-language pathologist is sometimes called a speech therapist or speech pathologist. Speech pathologists usually have an MA…
Speed

Common street name for a stimulant drug, especially for an amphetamine. Amphetamines have been used to treat hyperactivity in children, the symptoms of narcolepsy, and as an appetite suppressant and they are also…
Sperm

A sperm is the male 'gamete' or sex cell. It combines with the female 'gamete,' called an ovum, to form a zygote. The formation process is called 'fertilization.' (see ovum, zygote).
Sperm function

The capability of sperm to function -- to penetrate and fertilize the egg
Sperm motility

The percentage of all moving sperm in a semen sample. In a semen sample, 50% or more of the sperm should normally be moving rapidly
Sperm stem cell

A cell that is incapable of fertilizing an egg cell but can give rise to cells that develop into sperm. Sperm stem cells can be grown in laboratory culture, providing a ready source of these cells, as was first…
Spermatic cord

A group of structures which go through the inguinal canal to the testis. The structures include the vas deferens, arteries, veins, lymphatic vessels, and nerves.
Spermatocide

Any agent that is destructive to spermatozoa (that is, kills sperm). Nonoxynol-9 is the most commonly encountered spermatocide in the United States. (The nonoxynols, technically speaking, are nonionic surfactant…
Spermatogenesis

The process of sperm formation. The term was created from the prefix 'spermato-' (Greek sperma, the seed or germ) + 'genesis' (the coming into being of something) = the coming into being of sperm. Spermatogenesis is in…
Spermatogonial stem cell

See: Sperm stem cell
Spermicide, vaginal

A vaginal spermicide is a substance that will kill sperm in the vagina. Vaginal spermicides are available in foam, cream, jelly, film, suppository, or tablet forms. All types contain a sperm-killing chemical. Studies…
SPF

Protection factor): A number on a scale for rating sunscreens. SPF stands for Sun Protection Factor. SPF numbers on a package can range from as low as 2 to as high as 60. These numbers refer to the product's ability to…
Sphenoid

1. Shaped like a wedge. 2. Relating to the sphenoid bone (which is wedge-shaped)
Sphenoid bone

A prominent, irregular, wedge-shaped bone at the base of the skull. The sphenoid bone has been called the 'keystone' of the cranial floor since it is in contact with all of the other cranial bones. The Greek physician…
Sphenopalatine neuralgia

A distinctive syndrome of headaches, better known today as cluster headache. There are two main clinical patterns of cluster headache -- the episodic and the chronic: > >Episodic: This is the most common pattern of…
Spherocytosis, hereditary (HS)

A genetic disorder of the red blood cell membrane clinically characterized by anemia, jaundice (yellowing) and splenomegaly (enlargement of the spleen). In HS the red cells are smaller, rounder, and more fragile than…
Sphingomyelin lipoidosis

Also called Niemann-Pick disease, this is a disorder of the metabolism of a lipid (fat) called sphingomyelin that usually causes the progressive development of enlargement of the liver and spleen (hepatosplenomegaly)…
Sphingomyelinase deficiency

Also called Niemann-Pick disease, this is a disorder of the metabolism of a lipid (fat) called sphingomyelin that usually causes the progressive development of enlargement of the liver and spleen (hepatosplenomegaly)…
Sphygmomanometer

An instrument for measuring blood pressure, particularly in arteries. The two types of sphygmomanometers are a mercury column and a gauge with a dial face. The sphygmomanometer in most frequent use today consists of a…
Spider bites

Bites from spiders. These are usually irritating, but not poisonous. Localized reddening and swelling are common and pass within a few days. A few spiders are poisonous, in the US notably the black widow and brown…
Spider fear

See: Arachnophobia
Spider phobia

See: Arachnophobia
Spider telangiectasia

Spider veins.
Spider veins

A group of widened veins that can be seen through the surface of the skin. Their wheel-and- spoke shape resembles a spider. Also known as spider telangiectasia.
Spin doctor

Not a physician who is expert on dizzying conditions but someone who puts a spin on the news to manipulate its meaning