Blood, Lymph, Immune Terminology

Question 1

Antiretroviral

Answer 1

working against or targeted against retroviruses, especially HIV.
“antiretroviral therapy”

Question 2

CD4

Answer 2

In molecular biology, CD4 (cluster of differentiation 4) is a glycoprotein found on the surface of immune cells such as T helper cells, monocytes, macrophages, and dendritic cells.

Question 3

Dyspnea

Answer 3

difficult or labored breathing.

Question 4

Hemoglobin

Answer 4

a red protein responsible for transporting oxygen in the blood of vertebrates. Its molecule comprises four subunits, each containing an iron atom bound to a heme group.

Question 5

Platelets

Answer 5

a small colorless disk-shaped cell fragment without a nucleus, found in large numbers in blood and involved in clotting.

Question 6

Pneumocystis pneumonia

Answer 6

is a form of pneumonia, caused by the yeast-like fungus Pneumocystis jirovecii. Pneumocystis pneumonia is not commonly found in the lungs of healthy people, but, being a source of opportunistic infection, it can cause a lung infection in people with a weak immune system.

Question 7

Sputum

Answer 7

a mixture of saliva and mucus coughed up from the respiratory tract, typically as a result of infection or other disease and often examined microscopically to aid medical diagnosis.

Question 8

WNL

Answer 8

Medical shorthand for within normal limits. For example, a laboratory test result may be “WNL”

Question 9

AIDS

Answer 9

a disease in which there is a severe loss of the body’s cellular immunity, greatly lowering the resistance to infection and malignancy.