Medical terms - Letter V (page 2) | MedicalVocabulary.org

Vagina, septate

A vagina that is divided, usually longitudinally, to create a double vagina. This situation can be easily missed by the patient and even by the doctor on exam. If the patient becomes sexually active prior to diagnosis…
Vaginal birth after Cesarian section

It was once the rule that, after a C-section, the next delivery also had to be by C-section. Now, vaginal delivery after Cesarian section (VBAC) is sometimes feasible. Age is one the factors that need to be considered…
Vaginal contraceptive sponge

A contraceptive device that is donut-shaped, made of plastic, contains a spermicide (nonoxynol-9) and is inserted into the vagina to cover the cervix. A loop is provided to ease removal. The sponge protects against…
Vaginal discharge

Vaginal discharge is a fluid produced by glands in the vaginal wall and cervix that drains from the opening of the vagina. The amount and appearance of normal vaginal discharge varies throughout the menstrual cycle. An…
Vaginal fornix

The anterior (front) and posterior (back) recesses into which the upper vagina is divided. These vaultlike recesses are formed by protrusion of the cervix into the vagina. The fornix uteri is also known as the fornix…
Vaginal hysterectomy

Hysterectomy: Removal of the uterus through a surgical incision made within the vagina. With a vaginal hysterectomy, the scar is not outwardly visible. A vaginal hysterectomy is as opposed to an abdominal hysterectomy…
Vaginal infection, bacterial

See: Bacterial vaginosis
Vaginal introitus

The vaginal opening is called the introitus of the vagina. The Latin word 'introitus' comes from 'intro', into, within + 'ire', to go = to go into. In anatomy, an introitus is thus an entrance, one that goes into a…
Vaginal membrane

A thin membrane which completely or partially occludes the vaginal opening. This fold of mucous membrane is usually present at birth at the orifice of the vagina. It is also called the hymen, a Greek word meaning 'skin'…
Vaginal opening

The opening to the muscular canal extending from the cervix to the outside of the body. The word 'vagina' is a Latin word meaning 'a sheath or scabbard', a scabbard into which one might slide and sheath a sword. The…
Vaginal spermicide

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…
Vaginal vestibule

The vaginal opening is called the vestibule of the vagina. In medicine, a vestibule is a space or cavity at the entrance to a canal, channel, tube, vessel. In ancient Rome, the 'vestibulum' was an entrance or enclosed…
Vaginal yeast infection

Infection of the vagina caused by a fungus known as Candida. A yeast vaginal infection is characterized by itching, burning, soreness, pain during intercourse and/or urination, and vaginal discharge that is typically…
Vaginitis

Vaginitis: Inflammation of the vagina. The vagina is the muscular canal extending from the cervix to the outside of the body. Vaginitis is often caused by a fungus. A woman with this condition may have itching or…
Vaginitis, atrophic

Thinning of the lining (the endothelium) of the vagina due to decreased production of estrogen. This may occur with menopause. Vaginitis means inflammation of the vagina, the muscular canal extending from the cervix to…
Vaginitis, yeast

Infection of the vagina by a fungus known as Candida, characteristically causing itching, burning, soreness, pain during intercourse and urination, and vaginal discharge. Yeast vaginitis occurs when new yeast are…
Vaginoscopy

The use of a viewing instrument to visualize the vaginal canal. Most commonly, a form of endoscope is used in vaginoscopy. Vaginoscopy is performed to diagnose anatomical abnormalities or lesions affecting the vaginal…
Vaginosis, bacterial

See: Bacterial vaginosis
Vagus nerve

A remarkable nerve that supplies nerve fibers to the pharynx (throat), larynx (voice box), trachea (windpipe), lungs, heart, esophagus, and the intestinal tract as far as the transverse portion of the colon. The vagus…
Val

. Valine. See also: Amino acid symbols
Valdecoxib

Valdecoxib: Generic name of a cox-2 inhibitor. See: Bextra.
Valetudinarian

Someone with a weak or sickly constitution, especially someone whose chief concern is being or becoming a chronic invalid. The word 'valetudinarian' comes from the Latin 'valere', which means to be strong or to be well…
Valga

See: Valgus
Valgum

See: Valgus
Valgus

(valga, valgum) Angled outward, bent or twisted outward, as in cubitus valgus, coxa valga, hallux valgus, and genu valgum
Valine

An amino acid, one of the 20 building blocks of protein. A dietary essential amino acid, valine is required for optimal growth of children. It is one of the three branched-chain amino acids. Deficiency of the…
Vallecula

An anatomic term for a crevice, furrow or depression. There are a variety of valleculae including one in the brain, another in the nail matrix, etc. However, used alone, the term 'vallecula' usually applies to the…
Valley fever

A disease also called coccidioidomycosis (CM) due to a fungus called Coccidioides immitis. About 40% of people infected with this fungus develop symptoms. Most often they have an influenza-like illness with fever…
Valsalva

1. The Valsalva maneuver in which a person tries to exhale forcibly with a closed glottis (windpipe) so that no air goes out through the mouth or nose.2. The renowned Italian anatomist, pathologist, physician, and…
Valsalva maneuver

A maneuver in which a person tries to exhale forcibly with a closed glottis (the windpipe) so that no air exits through the mouth or nose as, for example, in strenuous coughing, straining during a bowel movement, or…
Valsalva, Antonio Maria

Italian anatomist and pathologist, physician and surgeon (1666-1723), perhaps best known for the Valsalva maneuver. Valsalva described and depicted even the smallest muscles and nerves of the ear, subdividing the ear…
Value, Daily

See Daily Value
Valve, aortic

One of the four valves in the heart, this valve is situated at exit of the left ventricle of the heart where the aorta (the largest of all arteries) begins. The aortic valve lets blood from the left ventricle be pumped…
Valve, bicuspid

One of the four valves of the heart, this one is situated between the left atrium and the left ventricle. It permits blood to flow one way only, from the atrium into the ventricle. The valve is more commonly called the…
Valve, mitral

One of the four valves of the heart, the mitral valve is situated between the left atrium and the left ventricle. It permits blood to flow one way: from the left atrium into the left ventricle. The mitral valve has two…
Valve, pulmonary

One of the four valves in the heart, the pulmonary valve stands at the opening from the right ventricle in the pulmonary artery trunk. It lets blood head in the right direction (toward the lungs) and keeps it from…
Valve, Spitz-Holter

See Spitz-Holter valve
Valve, tricuspid

One of the four heart valves, the tricuspid valve is the first one that blood encounters as it enters the heart. The tricuspid valve is situated between the right atrium and right ventricle and allows blood to flow only…
Valves, heart

There are four heart valves. All are one-way valves. Blood entering the heart first passes through the tricuspid valve and then the pulmonary valve. After returning from the lungs, the blood passes through the mitral…
Vampire children

Perjorative term for children with xeroderma pigmentosum, a genetic disease with such extraordinary sensitivity to sunlight that ordinary sun exposure results in the development of skin cancer at a very early age…
Van der Woude syndrome

A genetic disorder characterized by pits of the lower lip and by cleft lip and/or cleft palate. It is the most common known cleft syndrome. The van der Woude syndrome is highly variable in its expression from person to…
Vanishing bone syndrome

An inherited form of osteolysis -- the destruction of bone. There are several such syndromes. In one form of vanishing bone syndrome, there is osteolysis in the hands and feet, crippling arthritic changes in the hands…
Vanishing lung syndrome

A radiological syndrome in which the lungs appear to be disappearing on X-ray. The syndrome is characterized by a progressive decrease in the radiographic opacity of the lung. Causes include the accelerated progression…
Vanishing twin

A twin detected in early pregnancy that is miscarried, frequently by resorption, without clinical signs or symptoms. The surviving twin continues to grow and develop. Of all twin pregnancies, 40% involve a vanishing…
VAQTA

See: Varus.
Vara

See: Varus
Varco

See: Varco, Richard L.
Varco, Richard L.

Innovative American surgeon (1912-2004) who helped perform the first successful open heart operation. On Sept. 2, 1952 at the University of Minnesota. Dr. Varco's team, led by Dr. C. Walton Lillehei and Dr. F. John…
Variant angina

Angina: Chest pain due to coronary artery spasm, a sudden constriction of a coronary artery (one of the vessels that supply the heart muscle with blood rich in oxygen) depriving the heart muscle (myocardium) of blood…
Variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease

Variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease: Abbreviated vCJD. A human disease thought due to the same infectious agent as bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), or mad cow disease. Both the human and bovine disorders are…