Medical terms - Letter V (page 5) | MedicalVocabulary.org

Ventricle, fourth

>Lateral ventricles: The lateral ventricles are in the cerebral hemispheres, one in each hemisphere. Each lateral ventricle consists of a triangular central body and four horns. The lateral ventricles communicate with…
Ventricle, heart

One of the two lower chambers of the heart. The right ventricle is the chamber that receives blood from the right atrium and pumps it into the lungs via the pulmonary artery while the left ventricle is the chamber that…
Ventricle, lateral

>Lateral ventricles: The lateral ventricles are in the cerebral hemispheres, one in each hemisphere. Each lateral ventricle consists of a triangular central body and four horns. The lateral ventricles communicate with…
Ventricle, left

The ventricles are the two lower chambers of the heart. The left ventricle is the chamber that receives blood from the left atrium and pumps it out under high pressure to the body via the aorta
Ventricle, right

The ventricles are the two lower chambers of the heart. The right ventricle is the chamber that receives blood from the right atrium and pumps it under low pressure into the lungs via the pulmonary artery
Ventricle, third

>Lateral ventricles: The lateral ventricles are in the cerebral hemispheres, one in each hemisphere. Each lateral ventricle consists of a triangular central body and four horns. The lateral ventricles communicate with…
Ventricles

1, The right ventricle and the left ventricle, the lower two chambers of the heart. 2. Two or more of the four connected spaces within the central portion of the brain
Ventricular

Pertaining to the ventricles, the lower chambers of the heart, as in ventricular fibrillation and ventricular septal defect
Ventricular arrhythmias

Abnormal rapid heart rhythms (arrhythmias) that originate in the lower chambers of the heart (the ventricles). Ventricular arrhythmias include ventricular tachycardia and ventricular fibrillation. Both are life…
Ventricular assist device

A mechanical pump that takes over the function of the damaged ventricle of the heart and restores normal blood flow. Left ventricular assist devices (LVADs) were originally developed for patients with heart disease from…
Ventricular beat, premature

See: Extrasystole
Ventricular fibrillation

An abnormal irregular heart rhythm whereby there are very rapid uncoordinated fluttering contractions of the lower chambers (ventricles) of the heart. Ventricular fibrillation disrupts the synchrony between the…
Ventricular septal defect (VSD)

Ventricular septal defect (VSD): A hole in the septum (the wall) between the lower chambers of the heart (the ventricles). Ventricular Septal Defect is the most common type of heart malformation (congenital heart…
Ventricular septum

The wall between the two lower chambers (the right and left ventricles) of the heart
Ventricular tachycardia

An abnormally rapid heart rhythm that originates from a ventricle, one of the lower chambers of the heart. Although the beat is regular, ventricular tachycardia is life-threatening because it can lead to a dreaded…
Ventriculopleural shunt

A shunt that drains fluid from a cerebral ventricle into the pleural (chest) cavity. The shunt is designed to relieve hydrocephalus ('water on the brain')
Venule

A little vein. Venules go from capillaries to veins, vessels that carry blood low in oxygen content from the body back to the heart. The deoxygenated form of hemoglobin (deoxyhemoglobin) makes the blood in veins and…
VER

Visual evoked response. A type of electrophysiologic retinal testing
Verbal child abuse

Child abuse: Also known as emotional child abuse, this is the third most frequently reported form of child abuse (after child neglect and physical child abuse), accounting 17% of all cases of child abuse. It is likely…
Vernix

More formally known as vernix caseosa, the vernix is a white cheesy substance that covers and protects the skin of the fetus and is still all over the skin of a baby at birth. Vernix is composed of sebum (the oil of the…
Vernix caseosa

A white cheesy substance that covers and protects the skin of the fetus and is still all over the skin of a baby at birth. Vernix caseosa is composed of sebum (the oil of the skin) and cells that have sloughed off the…
Verruca

A wart by another name, a local growth of the outer layer of the skin (the epidermis) caused by a virus. The virus of warts (a human papillomavirus) is transmitted by contact. The contact can be with a wart on someone…
Version

1. In obstetrics, the process of turning the fetus. A cephalic version brings the fetal head into the birth canal. 2. In gynecology, the tilting of the uterus. Uterine retroversion indicates the uterus is tilted…
Vertebra

A vertebra is one of 33 bony segments that form the spinal column of humans. There are 7 cervical, 12 thoracic, 5 lumbar, 5 sacral (fused into one sacrum bone) and 4 coccygeal (fused into one coccyx bone).
Vertebra, first cervical

The first cervical (neck) vertebra is called the atlas. It supports the head. The atlas bone is named for the Greek god Atlas who was condemned to support the earth and its heavens on his shoulders. (Because the god…
Vertebra, prominent

The 7th cervical (neck) vertebra (C7) is sometimes called the prominent vertebra because of the length of its spinous process (the projection off the back of the vertebral body). The spinous process of the top thoracic…
Vertebra, second cervical

The second cervical vertebra is called the axis. It is so-named because the uppermost cervical vertebra (called the atlas) rotates about the odontoid process of the second cervical vertebra. The joint between the axis…
Vertebra, slipped

See: Spondylolisthesis
Vertebrae

The preferred plural of vertebra. (The alternate plural is vertebras.) See also: Cervical vertebrae; Coccygeal vertebrae; Lumbar vertebrae; Sacral vertebrae; and Thoracic vertebrae
Vertebrae, cervical

The cervical (neck) vertebrae are the upper 7 vertebrae in the spinal column (the vertebral column). They are designated C1 through C7 from the top down. C1 is called the atlas. It supports the head and is named for the…
Vertebrae, coccygeal

The coccyx, the small tail-like bone at the bottom of the spine near the anus, is made up of 3-5 (average of 4) rudimentary vertebrae
Vertebrae, lumbar

There are 5 lumbar vertebrae. The lumbar vertebrae are situated between the thoracic vertebrae and the sacral vertebrae in the spinal column. The 5 lumbar vertebrae are represented by the symbols L1 through L5
Vertebrae, sacral

There are 5 sacral vertebral bones. They are represented by the symbols S1 through S5 and are situated between the lumbar vertebrae and the coccyx (the lowest segment of the vertebral column). The sacral vertebrae are…
Vertebrae, thoracic

The 12 thoracic vertebrae are situated between the cervical (neck) vertebrae and the lumbar vertebrae. The thoracic vertebrae are represented by the symbols T1 through T12. The thoracic vertebrae provide attachment for…
Vertebral arch

A circle of bone around the canal through which the spinal cord passes. A vertebral arch is composed of a floor at the back of the vertebra, walls (the pedicles), and a roof where two laminae join
Vertebral artery

A key artery located in the back of the neck that carries blood from the heart to the brain
Vertebral column

The 33 vertebrae fit together to form a flexible, yet extraordinarily tough, column that serves to support the back through a full range of motion. It also protects the spinal cord, which runs from the brain through the…
Vertebral compression fracture

One of the last two ribs. A rib is said to be "vertebral" if it does not attach to the sternum (the breast bone) or to another rib. There are usually 12 pairs of ribs in all. Each pair of ribs is attached to the…
Vertebral rib

One of the last two ribs. A rib is said to be 'vertebral' if it does not attach to the sternum (the breast bone) or to another rib. There are usually 12 pairs of ribs in all. Each pair of ribs is attached to the…
Vertebroplasty

A nonsurgical method for the repair of vertebral fractures and compression due to osteoporosis. Broken bones in the spine are often due to osteoporosis, the progressive loss of bone tissue, which depletes both the…
Vertex

The top of the head. In a vertex presentation, the top of the baby's head comes first at delivery. The word 'vertex' in Latin means a 'whirlpool, whirlwind, top of the mountain, or the top of the head.' Why 'top of the…
Vertical

Passage of a disease-causing agent (a pathogen) vertically from mother directly to baby during the perinatal period, the period immediately before and after birth. The perinatal period is defined in diverse ways…
Vertical transmission

Passage of a disease-causing agent (a pathogen) vertically from mother directly to baby during the perinatal period, the period immediately before and after birth. The perinatal period is defined in diverse ways…
Vertigo

Aside from being the name of a classic 1958 Alfred Hitchcock film (with Jimmy Stewart and Kim Novak), vertigo is a feeling that you are dizzily turning around or that things are dizzily turning about you. Vertigo is…
Vertigo, benign paroxysmal positional (BPPV)

A balance disorder that results in the sudden onset of dizziness, spinning, or vertigo when moving the head
Vertigo, recurrent aural

A condition, also known as Meniere's disease, with recurrent vertigo accompanied by ringing in the ears (tinnitus) and deafness. Symptoms include vertigo, dizziness, nausea, vomiting, loss of hearing (in the affected…
Very low calorie diet (VLCD)

The Very low calorie diet (VLCD) is a doctor-supervised weight loss plan that uses commercially prepared formulas (usually shakes and/or bars) to achieve significant short-term weight loss. The shakes or bars typically…
VES (Voluntary Euthanasia Society)

The first society of its kind in the world -- its founders included doctors, lawyers and churchmen -- the VES was set up in England in 1935. The announced aim of the VES is to make it legal for a competent adult…
Vesical

Refers to the urinary bladder. The word comes from the Latin vesica meaning a bag or bladder
Vesicant

A substance that causes tissue blistering. A blister agent. Also called a vesicatory.Vesicants are highly reactive chemicals that combine with proteins, DNA, and other cellular components to result in cellular changes…