Medical terms - Letter S (page 22) | MedicalVocabulary.org

Stroke, silent

Small strokes that do not cause any symptoms. Silent strokes still damage brain tissue. The most common symptom of a stroke is weakness or paralysis on one side of the body or the other. There may be a partial or…
Strollerobics

The supportive framework of an organ (or gland or other structure), usually composed of connective tissue. The stroma is distinct from the parenchyma, which consists of the key functional elements of that organ. The…
Stroma

The supportive framework of an organ (or gland or other structure), usually composed of connective tissue. The stroma is distinct from the parenchyma, which consists of the key functional elements of that organ. The…
Stromal

Pertaining to the stroma of an organ. See: Stroma
Strontium

An earth element and metal with atomic no. 38, atomic wt. 87.62 that is used in a radioactive form for imaging tests and as a treatment for cancer. First detected in lead mines near Strontian, Scotland, strontium is…
Strontium ranelate

An agent consisting of two atoms of stable strontium and ranelic acid. Strontium ranelate stimulates the formation of new bone tissue and decreases bone resorption (loss). It reduces the risk of vertebral fractures in…
Structural genomics

The study of the proteome, the three-dimensional structures of thousands upon thousands of proteins, in fact, all of the proteins produced by a species. In the Human Genome Project, the sequence of all the DNA in our…
Structural scoliosis

A fixed lateral (sideway) curve of the spine. Structural scoliosis often occurs from unknown factors without reference to other physical problems (idiopathic scoliosis). It tends to affect girls during adolescence…
STS

Commonly used abbreviation for 'sequence tagged site.' A short (200 to 500 base pair) DNA sequence that occurs but once in the genome and whose location and base sequence are known. STSs are detectable by polymerase…
Study population

The group of individuals in a study. In a clinical trial, the participants make up the study population. The study population might, for example, consist of all children under 2 years of age in a community
Study, antro-duodenal motility

An antro-duodenal motility study is a study for detecting and recording the contractions of the muscles of the stomach and the first part of the small intestine, the duodenum. It is performed to diagnose problems with…
Study, cross-sectional

A study done at one time, not over the course of time. A cross-sectional study a disease such as AIDS might be designed to learn its prevalence and distribution within the population at one point in time. Also known as…
Study, crossover

A type of clinical trial in which the study subjects receive each treatment in a random order. In this type of study, every patient serves as his or her own control
Study, diachronic

See: Study, longitudinal
Study, electrophysiologic

See: Framingham Study.
Study, Framingham

See: Framingham Study
Study, gastric emptying

A gastric emptying study evaluates the emptying of food from the stomach. For a gastric emptying study, a patient eats a meal in which the solid food, liquid food or both are mixed with a small amount of radioactive…
Study, linkage

A study aimed at establishing linkage between genes. Linkage is the tendency for genes and other genetic markers to be inherited together because of their location near one another on the same chromosome. A gene is a…
Study, longitudinal

A study done over the passage of time. For example, a longitudinal study of children with Down syndrome (trisomy 21) might involve the study of 100 children with this condition from birth to 10 years of age. Also called…
Study, preclinical

A study to test a drug, procedure or medical treatment in animals. The aim is to collect data in support of safety. Preclinical studies are required before clinical trials can be started
Study, stomach emptying

Also called a gastric emptying study, this test evaluates the emptying of food from the stomach. For a gastric emptying study, a patient eats a meal in which the solid food, liquid food or both are mixed with a small…
Study, synchronic

See: Study, cross-sectional.
Sturge-Weber syndrome

A congenital, but not inherited, disorder that affects the skin, the neurological system, and sometimes the eyes and internal organs. The main sign of Sturge-Weber syndrome is a port wine stain birthmark. Neurological…
Stye

A stye is a red tender bump on the eyelid that is caused by an acute infection of the oil glands of the eyelid. A stye can also be a complication of blepharitis. Other spellings, sty
Sub-

Prefix meaning meaning under, below, less than normal, secondary, less than fully. As in subacute, subaortic stenosis, subarachnoid, subclavian, subclinical disease, subcutaneous, subdural, subglottis, subjacent…
Subacute

Rather recent onset or somewhat rapid change. The term 'subacute' is used in contrast to acute which indicates very sudden onset or rapid change and chronic which indicates indefinite duration or virtually no change. A…
Subacute sclerosing panencephalitis (SSPE)

A chronic brain disease of children and adolescents that occurs months to often years after an attack of measles, causing convulsions, motor abnormalities, mental retardation and, usually, death.
Subacute spongiform encephalopathy

See: Gerstmann-Straussler-Scheinker syndrome
Subaortic stenosis

Narrowing of the left ventricle of the heart just below the aortic valve through which blood must pass on its way up into the aorta. The narrowing cuts the flow of blood. Subaortic stenosis may be congenital (present at…
Subarachnoid

Literally, beneath the arachnoid, the middle of three membranes that cover the central nervous system. In practice, subarachnoid usually refers to the space between the arachnoid and the pia mater, the innermost…
Subarachnoid hemorrhage

Bleeding within the head into the space between two membranes that surround the brain. The bleeding is beneath the arachnoid membrane and just above the pia mater. (The arachnoid is the middle of three membranes around…
Subclavian

Under the clavicle (the collar bone), as the subclavian artery or the subclavian vein
Subclavian steal

An illness that stays below the surface of clinical detection. A subclinical disease has no recognizable clinical findings. It is distinct from a clinical disease, which has signs and symptoms that can be recognized…
Subclinical disease

An illness that stays below the surface of clinical detection. A subclinical disease has no recognizable clinical findings. It is distinct from a clinical disease, which has signs and symptoms that can be recognized…
Subconjunctival hemorrhage

Hemorrhage: A very common cause of a painless bloody eye usually first noticed by somebody else or by the person with it when they look in the mirror. The bleeding results from a break in a small blood vessel in the…
Subcu

Abbreviation for subcutaneous. Subcutaneous means under the skin. It implies just under the skin. With a subcutaneous injection, a needle is inserted just under the skin. A drug (for example, insulin) can then be…
Subcutaneous

Under the skin. 'Subcutaneous' implies just under the skin. With a subcutaneous injection, a needle is inserted just under the skin. A drug (for example, insulin) can then be delivered into the subcutaneous tissues…
Subcutaneous hematoma

A bruise
Subdeltoid

Beneath the deltoid, the large muscle that stretches from the clavicle (collarbone) to the humerus (the long bone in the upper arm) and so covers the shoulder
Subdural

Below the dura, the outermost, toughest, and most fibrous of the three membranes (meninges) covering the brain and the spinal cord. An subdural hematoma is a collection of blood beneath the dura
Subdural hematoma

Bleeding into the space between the dura (the brain cover) and the brain itself. This space is called the subdural space. If the hematoma puts increased pressure on the brain, neurological abnormalities including…
Subglottis

The lower part of the larynx just below the vocal cords down to the top of the trachea, which takes air to the lungs
Subjacent

Just beneath or underneath. The opposite of subjacent is superjacent. Other related terms include adjacent and circumjacent. From sub-, under + the Latin jacere, to lie = to lie under
Subject

As a noun:1. A branch of learning that forms a course of study. In medical school, one of the subjects traditionally studied in the first year is anatomy.2. A matter that is studied or otherwise considered. Death is a…
Sublingual

Underneath the tongue. A sublingual medication is a type of lozenge put under the tongue where it dissolves and is absorbed. The sublingual gland is a salivary gland under the tongue. See also: Lingual
Sublingual gland

The smallest of the three major salivary glands. It is located beneath the tongue in the floor of the mouth close to the midline. Sublingual means beneath the tongue
Subluxation

Partial dislocation of a joint. A complete dislocation is a luxation
Subluxation of the radial head

See: Nursemaid's elbow
Submandibular gland

The second largest of the three major salivary glands. It is located deep to the mandible (jaw bone).
Submaxillary gland

See Submandibular gland.