Medical terms - Letter S (page 30) | MedicalVocabulary.org

Syndrome, superior vena cava

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 heart. The superior vena cava…
Syndrome, TAR

TAR stands for Thrombocytopenia (low blood platelets) and Aplasia (absence) of the Radius (the long bone on the thumb-side of the forearm), features characterizing this syndrome. There is phocomelia (flipper-limb) with…
Syndrome, tarsal tunnel

See Tarsal tunnel syndrome
Syndrome, temporomandibular joint

Disorder of the temporo-mandibular joint (TMJ) causing pain usually in front of the ear. Pain in the TMJ can be due to trauma (such as a blow to the face), inflammatory or degenerative arthritis, or by the mandible…
Syndrome, testicular feminization

Now more appropriately called the complete androgen insensitivity syndrome, this is a genetic disorder that makes XY fetuses insensitive (unresponsive) to androgens (male hormones). Instead, they are born looking…
Syndrome, tetraphocomelia-thrombocytopenia

See Syndrome, TAR.
Syndrome, third and fourth pharyngeal pouch

See: DiGeorge syndrome
Syndrome, thoracic outlet

A condition due to compromise of blood vessels or nerve fibers between the armpit (axilla) and base of the neck, usually due to compression of nerves or blood vessels between the neck and shoulders. Symptoms include…
Syndrome, thrombocytopenia-absent radius

See Syndrome, TAR
Syndrome, Timothy

See: Timothy syndrome
Syndrome, TMJ

Disorder of the temporo-mandibular joint (TMJ) causing pain usually in front of the ear. Pain in the TMJ can be due to trauma (such as a blow to the face), inflammatory or degenerative arthritis, or by the mandible…
Syndrome, tooth and nail

A genetic disorder characterized by the absence of several teeth at birth and abnormalities of the nails. The disorder is also known as hypodontia and nail dysgenesis or Witkop syndrome (TNS). It was first described by…
Syndrome, Tourette

Syndrome, Tourette: A tic disorder characterized by the presence of chronic vocal and motor tics, probably based on differences in or damage to the basal ganglia of the brain. Tourette syndrome usually emerges between…
Syndrome, toxic shock

A grave condition occurring predominantly in menstruating women using tampons, toxic shock is characterized by a highly toxic state (with sudden high fever, vomiting, diarrhea, muscle aching) followed by low blood…
Syndrome, trisomy 13

Condition with three rather than the normal two chromosomes #13. Children born with this syndrome have multiple malformations and mental retardation due to the extra chromosome #13. The congenital malformations (birth…
Syndrome, trisomy 18

There are three instead of the normal two chromosomes #18. Children with this condition have multiple malformations and mental retardation due to the extra chromosome #18. The children characteristically have low birth…
Syndrome, trisomy 21

A common chromosome disorder, often called Down syndrome, due to an extra chromosome number 21 (trisomy 21). The chromosome abnormality affects both the physical and intellectual development of the individual. Trisome…
Syndrome, Turner-Kieser

See Nail-patella syndrome
Syndrome, Usher

A genetic disorder characterized by hearing impairment and an eye disorder called retinitis pigmentosa in which vision worsens over time. Some people with Usher syndrome also have balance problems. It is the most common…
Syndrome, von Hippel-Lindau

See Von Hippel-Lindau syndrome
Syndrome, Waardenburg

See Waardenburg syndrome
Syndrome, Werner

A premature aging disease that begins in adolescence or early in adulthood and results in apparent old age by 30-40 years of age. The characteristic features of Werner syndrome include short stature, premature graying…
Syndrome, Witkop

A genetic disorder characterized by the absence of several teeth at birth and abnormalities of the nails. The disorder is also known as hypodontia and nail dysgenesis or, more picturesquely, as the tooth and nail…
Syndrome, Wolf-Hirschhorn

See: Wolf-Hirschhorn syndrome
Syndrome, Wolff-Parkinson-White

A condition caused by an abnormality in the electrical system of the heart which normally tells the heart muscle when to contract. In Wolff-Parkinson-White (WPW) syndrome there is an extra electrical connection inside…
Syndrome, Wolfram

See: Wolfram syndrome
Syndrome, WPW

WPW is an abbreviation for the Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, a condition caused by an abnormality in the electrical system of the heart which normally tells the heart muscle when to contract. In WPW there is an extra…
Syndrome, yeast

The yeast Candida has been thought to cause a syndrome with a number of nonspecific problems including fatigue, loss of appetite, headache, short-attention span, depression and all manner of intestinal irregularities…
Syndrome, Zellweger

A genetic disorder, also called the cerebrohepatorenal syndrome, characterized by the reduction or absence of peroxisomes (cell structures that rid the body of toxic substances) in the cells of the liver, kidneys, and…
Syndrome, Zollinger-Ellison

A rare disorder caused by a tumor called a gastrinoma, most often occurring in the pancreas. The tumor secretes the hormone gastrin, which causes increased production of gastric acid leading to severe recurrent ulcers…
Syndromic

Part of a syndrome. Hearing loss, for instance, can be syndromic or nonsyndromic
Synesthesia

A condition in which normally separate senses are not separate. Sight may mingle with sound, taste with touch, etc. The senses are cross-wired. For example, when a digit-color synesthete sees or just thinks of a number…
Synesthete

A person with synesthesia, a condition in which the normally separate senses are not separate. Sight may mingle with sound, taste with touch, etc. The senses are cross-wired. For example, when a digit-color synesthete…
Synovectomy

Surgical removal of the joint lining. A synovectomy may be done to remove the inflamed lining of a joint in rheumatoid arthritis
Synovia

The joint fluid. The term synovia was invented in 1520 by the Swiss physician (and alchemist) Paracelsus who combined the Greek syn-(together) and oon (egg) to create a name for any body fluid that looked like the white…
Synovial chondromatosis

A disorder of a joint featuring a change of the normal joint lining (synovium) tissue's cellular structure to form cartilage tissue. Synovial chondromatosis is rare. Synovial chondromatosis leads to pain in the affected…
Synovial cyst, popliteal

A swelling in the space behind the knee (the popliteal space). The swelling is composed of a membrane-lined sac filled with synovial fluid that has escaped from the joint. Commonly called Baker's cyst.
Synovial fluid

The slippery fluid that lubricates joints and provides nutrients to the cartilage. Also known as the synovia
Synovial lining

The lining of the joint.
Synovial membrane

A layer of connective tissue that lines the cavities of joints, tendon sheaths, and bursae and makes synovial fluid, which has a lubricating function
Synovial osteochondromatosis

A malignant sarcoma of soft tissue that arises near but not in a joint, most often in an adolescent or young adult, is typically slow-growing, and may escapes notice until it causes pain. These tumors occur mainly in…
Synovial sarcoma

A malignant sarcoma of soft tissue that arises near but not in a joint, most often in an adolescent or young adult, is typically slow-growing, and may escapes notice until it causes pain. These tumors occur mainly in…
Synovitis

Inflammation of the synovial membrane, the lining of the joint
Synthesis

Putting together different entities to make a whole which is new and different. In biochemistry, synthesis refers specifically to the process of building compounds from more elementary substances by means of one or more…
Synuclein

A family of structurally related proteins that are prominently expressed in the central nervous system. See: Alpha-synuclein
Syphilis

A sexually transmitted disease caused by Treponema pallidum, a microscopic organism called a spirochete. This worm-like, spiral-shaped organism infects people by burrowing into the moist mucous membranes of the mouth or…
Syphilis test (FTA-ABS)

The fluorescent treponemal antibody absorbed (FTA-ABS) test for syphilis is a blood serum screening test designed to demonstrate the presence or absence of specific antibodies directed against the organism (Treponema…
Syphilis test, RPR

Rapid plasma reagin, a blood test for syphilis that looks for an antibody that is present in the bloodstream when a patient has syphilis. A negative (nonreactive) RPR is compatible with a person not having syphilis, but…
Syphilis test, VDRL

A blood test for syphilis (VDRL stands for Venereal Disease Research Laboratory) that detects an antibody that is present in the bloodstream when a patient has syphilis. A negative (nonreactive) VDRL is compatible with…
Syphilis, congenital

The third stage of syphilis, in which the syphilis spirochetes infect the brain and other organs of the body. Dementia is a common outcome. Tertiary syphilis can develop many years after an initial untreated infection…