Medical terms - Letter S (page 24) | MedicalVocabulary.org

Supercilious

Arrogant, haughty or disdainful. From the raising of an eyebrow ('supercilium' in Latin). Supercilious is an example of a word derived from anatomy that has lost its anatomic meaning but been retained for its figurative…
Superficial

See: Melanoma, superficial spreading.
Superficial spreading melanoma

See: Melanoma, superficial spreading
Superfluous

Beyond what is sufficient. A sixth finger is superfluous
Superior

A large vein that receives blood from the head, neck, upper extremities, and thorax and delivers it to the right atrium of the heart.
Superior vena cava

A large vein that receives blood from the head, neck, upper extremities, and thorax and delivers it to the right atrium of the heart. NTER>
Superior vena cava syndrome

Superior vena cava syndrome: The symptoms that result from compression of the large vein that carries blood down to the heart. The superior vena cava is a large vein that transmits blood from the upper body back to the…
Superjacent

Lying just above or upon. Overlying. The opposite of superjacent is subjacent. Other related terms include adjacent and circumjacent. From super-, above, over + the Latin jacere, to lie = to lie above
Supernumerary

Beyond the normal number. Anything supernumerary is extra. A supernumerary chromosome is an extra one beyond the usual number of 46. A supernumerary digit is an extra finger or toe. A supernumerary nipple is an extra…
Supernumerary digit

An extra finger or toe
Supernumerary nipple

An extra nipple. Supernumerary nipples are usually smaller than normal and vestigial (nonfunctional, without accompanying mammary glands). They tend to occur on along a roughly curved line extending from near the…
Supernumerary placenta

A succenturiate or accessory placenta
Supertaster

A supertaster has an unusually large density of taste buds, each surrounded by pain fibers
Supination

Rotation of the forearm and hand so that the palm is up (and the corresponding movement of the foot and leg with the sole up), as opposed to pronation. For a more complete listing of terms used in medicine for spatial…
Supinator foot type

A type of foot that restricts the impact of the stride largely to the outer edges of the foot. This type of foot often has a very high, rigid arch
Supine

With the back or dorsal surface downward. A person who is supine is lying face up. As opposed to prone. For a more complete listing of terms used in medicine for spatial orientation, please see the entry to 'Anatomic…
Supplies kit, disaster

You and your family can cope best by preparing for disaster before it strikes. One way to prepare is by assembling a Disaster Supplies Kit. Once disaster hits, you won't have time to shop or search for supplies. But if…
Supplies kit, emergency

Treatment given to prevent, control, or relieve complications and side effects and to improve the patient's comfort and quality of life.
Supportive care

Treatment given to prevent, control, or relieve complications and side effects and to improve the patient's comfort and quality of life
Suppressant, cough

A drug used to control coughing, particularly with a dry, nagging, unproductive cough
Suppurate

To form or discharge pus. The adjective is suppurative, as in suppurative arthritis. The noun is suppuration, and is rarely used today. From the Latin puris = pus
Suppurative arthritis

The part of the larynx above the glottis (where the vocal cords are located). The supraglottic larynx includes the epiglottis as well as the false vocal cords, ventricles, aryepiglottic folds, and arytenoids.
Supraglottis

The part of the larynx above the glottis (where the vocal cords are located). The supraglottic larynx includes the epiglottis as well as the false vocal cords, ventricles, aryepiglottic folds, and arytenoids
Suprarenal gland

See adrenal gland.
Supraspinatus muscle

>The supraspinatus muscle; >The subscapularis muscle, which moves the arm by turning it inward (internal rotation); >The infraspinatus muscle, which assists the lifting of the arm during turning the arm outward…
Suprasternal notch

The V shaped notch at the top of the breastbone (sternum)
Supraventricular tachycardia

Abbreviated SVT. A regular, abnormally fast heart beat (tachycardia) caused by rapid firing of electrical impulses from a focus above the atrioventricular node (A-V node) in the heart. Called supraventricular because…
Surface EMG

A technique in which electrodes are placed on (not into) the skin overlying a muscle to detect the electrical activity of the muscle. Surface EMG (SEMG) has some attractive features. Most notably, it does not involve…
Surfactant

A fluid secreted by the cells of the alveoli (the tiny air sacs in the lungs) that serves to reduce the surface tension of pulmonary fluids; surfactant contributes to the elastic properties of pulmonary tissue. In more…
Surgeon

A physician who treats disease, injury, or deformity by operative or manual methods. A medical doctor specialized in the removal of organs, masses and tumors and in doing other procedures using a knife (scalpel). The…
Surgeon General

In the United States, the chief medical officer of the U.S. Public Health Service (USPS), the agency responsible for the public health of the American people. The Public Health Service (PHS) administers a number of…
Surgery

The word 'surgery' has multiple meanings. It is the branch of medicine concerned with diseases and conditions which require or are amenable to operative procedures. Surgery is the work done by a surgeon. By analogy, the…
Surgery, anti-reflux (fundoplication)

A surgical technique that strengthens the barrier to acid reflux when the lower esophageal sphincter does not work normally and there is gastro-esophageal reflux. Fundoplication has been the standard surgical method for…
Surgery, cataract

See: Cataract surgery
Surgery, elective

Surgery that is subject to choice (election). The choice may be made by the patient or doctor. For example, the time when a surgical procedure is performed may be elective. The procedure is beneficial to the patient but…
Surgery, fetal

The surgical treatment of the fetus before birth. Also called prenatal or antenatal surgery. Fetal surgery is done when the fetus is not expected to live long enough to make it through to delivery or to live long after…
Surgery, GERD (fundoplication)

A surgical technique that strengthens the barrier to acid reflux when the lower esophageal sphincter does not work normally and there is gastro-esophageal reflux. Fundoplication has been the standard surgical method for…
Surgery, off-pump

See: Off-pump surgery
Surgery, plastic

The field of surgery concerned with reducing scarring or disfigurement that may occur as a result of accidents, birth defects, or treatment for diseases, such as melanoma. Many plastic surgeons also perform cosmetic…
Surgery, reflux (fundoplication)

A surgical technique that strengthens the barrier to acid reflux when the lower esophageal sphincter does not work normally and there is gastro-esophageal reflux. Fundoplication has been the standard surgical method for…
Surgery, retrograde intrarenal (RIRS)

Retrograde intrarenal surgery (RIRS) is a procedure for doing surgery within the kidney using a viewing tube called a fiberoptic endoscope. In RIRS the scope is placed through the urethra (the urinary opening) into the…
Surgery, stereotactic

Surgery in which a system of three- dimensional coordinates is used to locate the site to be operated on. Stereotactic surgery is used in neurosurgery (and neurological research) for locating points within the brain…
Surgery, video-assisted

Surgery that is aided by the use of a video camera that projects and enlarges the image on a television screen. Also called video-assisted resection
Surgery, YAG laser

The use of a YAG (yttrium-aluminum-garnet) laser to do surgery. One use for a YAG laser in surgery is to punch a hole in the iris to relieve increased pressure within the eye from acute angle-closure glaucoma. In this…
Surgical menopause

Menopause: Menopause induced by surgery. Surgical menopause is a type of induced menopause: menopause due to an unusual event. It is induced when the ovaries are surgically removed (by bilateral oophorectomy)…
Surgicenter

A facility for minor surgery done on an outpatient basis; a facility designed to serve patients who need surgical treatment exceeding the capabilities of the usual physician's office yet not of such proportions as to…
Surveillance and containment

See: Ring vaccination
Surveillance of disease

See: Disease surveillance
Surveillance, Epidemiology, and Ends Results

See: SEER
Susceptibility genes, breast cancer

Inherited factors that predispose to breast cancer. Put otherwise, these genes make one more susceptible to the disease and so increase the risk of developing breast cancer. Several breast cancer susceptibility genes…