Clinical Terms Used Within Nhs Pathways System Flashcards
1
Q
Abdomen
A
The area between the bottom rib cage down to the groin
2
Q
Abortion
A
Termination of pregnancy
3
Q
Abscess
A
Collection of pus from an infection
4
Q
Adrenal insufficiency
A
Failure of the adrenal glands (also called addison’s disease )
5
Q
Amputation
A
Severing of a body part
6
Q
Anus
A
A persons back passage
7
Q
Anxiety
A
Persistent and excessive worrying about any aspects of daily life
8
Q
Allergen
A
Something which triggers allergy
9
Q
Analgesia
A
Pain relief
10
Q
Aneurysm
A
Localised widening of the aorta
11
Q
Aorta
A
The main artery from the heart
12
Q
Assault
A
Injury with intent to do harm
13
Q
Aura
A
A distinctive feeling or warning sign that a seizure is on its way
14
Q
Back
A
The area between the base of the neck and the bottom Of the spine including the buttocks
15
Q
Bi-polar disorder
A
Also known has manic depression. The sufferer experiences severe mood swings. From high active (manic) episodes and low very depressed periods
16
Q
Blunt injury
A
One that does not involve a break in the skin or other body surface
17
Q
Blurred vision
A
When things have a fuzzy appearance
18
Q
Breathlessness
A
The feeling of having to work harder than normal to get air in and out of lungs. It is like the feeling people get after running
19
Q
Chemotherapy
A
Treatment with drugs to combat disease , usually cancer
20
Q
Chest
A
The area between the collar bones and the bottom of the rib cage
21
Q
Chronic
A
A condition that persists over a long period of time. The symptoms often appear gradually, get worse despite treatment and change very slowly. Normally there is no change in symptoms from day to day
22
Q
Cirrhosis
A
Scarring of the liver
23
Q
Confusion
A
A confused individual may not know who or where they are and may lose track of the date and time. They may not recognise friends and family and may behave oddly
24
Q
COPD
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
A
A condition where the airways become inflamed and the air sacs in your lungs are damaged. This causes your airways to become narrower, which makes it harder to breathe in and out. Therefore, people with COPD have breathing difficulties, and this can affect many aspects of their day to day life
25
De-gloving injury
Where the skin over a finger or toes have been pulled right off. Exposing underlying tissue.
It is like the finger of a glove being pulled off
This does not mean a graze, when just the surface of the skin is scraped off
26
Deep vein thrombosis
A blood clot in the veins deep inside the arm or leg
Sometimes called DVT
27
Dementia
Dementia is a progressive and largely irreversible condition that involves widespread damage to the mental functioning.
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Someone with dementia may experience memory loss
Language impairment
Disorientation
Change in personality
Difficulties with daily living
Self neglect
Behaviour which is out of character
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28
Dental practitioner
Dentist
29
Depression
A change in a persons mood which affect motivation, energy, enjoyment in things , can disturb sleep and may often be linked to increased levels of anxiety
30
Diagnosis
When a person has been told by a GP or hospital specialist that they are suffering from a particular condition
This does not mean the individual suspects that they have a particular condition
31
Diarrhoea
When an individual passes frequent, loose or watery stools
32
Difficulty speaking
New slurring , jumbling or mispronouncing words
33
Dislocated
Out of joint
34
Double vision
Seeing two things at once
35
Ectopic pregnancy
Pregnancy outside the womb
36
Faint
Fainting means passing out for a short period of time. It never lasts longer than 1 or 2 minutes
37
Foetus
Unborn baby
38
Fever
Body temperature that is higher than usual.
| In general, in both adults and children this is taken to be a temperature of 38 degrees (100.4 F) or over
39
Fit
Involves jerking or shaking of part or all of the body.
The person is unaware of their surroundings and usually falls to the floor
Fits also may be described as seizures or convulsions
40
Flank
The fleshy part of the back between the bottom of the rib cage and the top of the hips on either side
41
Floaters
Seeing floating shapes, flashes or zigzags or light
42
Fracture
Broken bone
43
Fractured neck of femur
It occurs when the top of the femur (leg bone) is broken, just below the ball and socket joint
In this injury the ball on the top of the femur has broken where it meets the upper thigh bone, within the hip joint
44
Gasping for breath
Someone who is so breathless they are unable to speak in complete sentences
45
Gastro-enteritis
Infection causing diarrhoea and vomiting
46
General anaesthetic
Used to put an individual to sleep for an operation for an examination
47
Glaucoma
A build up of pressure in the the eye
48
Haemorrhoids
These are blood vessels which protrude from the back passage
Sometimes called piles
49
Haemophilia
A condition where the blood does not clot properly
50
Heparin
A medicine used to thin blood
51
Hernia
A weakness or rupture in the muscle wall which allows other structures of the body to poke through
52
Hyperglycaemia
High blood sugar
53
Hypoglycaemia
Low blood sugar
54
Hypothermia
When a persons body becomes extremely cold
Eg
Following exposure to cold air or cold water for a long time. It is not about cold hands or feet in winter weather
55
Ingest
Swallow
56
Inhale
Breathe in
57
Insomnia
Difficulty sleeping
58
Intra-uterine
A contraceptive device worn inside the womb. It is also called contraceptive device
A coil
IUD or IUCD
59
Iris
Coloured part of the eye
60
Impaled
When individual is caught on an object
Eg
A fence railing which penetrated a body part
61
Jaundice
A symptom which has many causes where the skin and whites of the eyes turn yellow
62
Meconium
The first few green motions passed by a new born baby
63
Meninges
Three membranous layers that surround the structures of the central nervous system
64
Nausea
The feeling of wanting to be sick
65
Nosebleed
Bleeding from one or both nostrils
66
Obsessive- compulsive disorder
This is when someone has excessive and unwelcome thinking about something and/or repetitive action, for example, locking and relocking a door on leaving a building
67
Oesophagus
Gullet or food pipe
68
Palpitations
The sensations of the heart beating irregularly or more rapidly or forcefully than it should.
It could also mean beating slowly or different from
Normal
69
Penetrating injury
One that involves a break in the skin or other body surface
70
Phlegm
Sputum or mucus that may be coughed up
71
Phobia
When a fear becomes exaggerated and causes the sufferer to adjust their life or activities to avoid it
72
Photophobia
Being unable to
| Tolerate bright lights
73
Placenta
After birth
74
Post-traumatic stress
Occurs when someone is exposed to a catastrophic or near catastrophic event which causes them to have flashbacks or nightmares. They also may experience depression
Panic disorder or extreme anxiety as a result of the event
75
Pre-eclampsia
A very serious but rare condition affecting expectant mothers
If it is not treated it can lead to fits
Features include raised blood pressure
Protein in the urine
Fluid accumulation
76
Psychosis
Describes a loss of touch with reality, which may include hearing voices , seeing something that no one else sees, holding unusual personally derived beliefs , experiencing changes in perception or assigning personal meanings to everybody
77
Puerperal psychosis
A severe and rare mental health disorder affecting mothers.
The mother often starts to behave strangely , seeming puzzled and perplexed, sleeping poorly and being restless and erratic in the day.
She may have paranoid delusions that often centre around the child for example a belief that the child is the devil or that the world is too evil for the child to live in
78
Pulmonary embolus
A blood clot in the lung
79
Pus
Thick green or yellow discharge
80
Quinsy
An abscess on one of the tonsils
| This can make it very difficult to open the mouth and the individual feels very unwell
81
Radiotherapy
Treatment with x rays to combat a disease usually cancer
82
Rare
An uncommon or unusual symptom , illness or disease where there are few examples
83
Rectal
The area below just inside the back passage
84
Rectal prolapse
Where the lower part of the bowel drops down out the back passage
85
Rectocele
Where a weakness in the muscle of the vagina can cause the lower bowel to bulge into the vagina
86
Rigors
The violent shivering that can occur with high fevers.
The shivering is so severe that it may be enough to make the bed shake
It is not a occasional shiver or feeling cold
87
Schizoaffective disorder
The diagnosis of schizoaffective disorder is given to someone who experiences both symptoms of a mood disorder ie depression and symptoms of the type of experienced with schizophrenia at the same
Time or within days of each other
88
Seizure
Electrical impulses in the brain are disrupted , causing symptoms from a trance like state ( for a few seconds or minutes) to loss of consciousness and convulsions (uncontrollable shaking of the body)
89
Sepsis
Blood poisoning
90
Septum
The part of the nose that separates the nostrils
91
Severe illness
Illness that prevents an individual from
Thinking about or doing something else . Severe illness would stop someone being able to do all of their normal activities
92
Severe pain
Pain that is bad enough to stop the individual from doing everyday things or from
Thinking about anything else
93
Self-harm
When someone deliberately tries to harm Themselves
94
Shock
The failure of the cardiovascular system to keep enough blood circulating to vital organs
The skin will feel cold and clammy to touch
The person will feel very week and unable to stand up
95
Sickle cell disease
An inherited illness which results in abnormally shaped red blood cells
96
Solvents
Substances such as glues , thinners and lighter fluid which are sometimes sniffed by people
97
Side effect
An unwanted effect from a drug, treatment illness , interaction or therapy in addition to the desired effects of the use of the drug
98
Sinusitis
Infection of the sinuses
99
Soft pAlate
The soft fleshy area of the roof of the mouth
100
Splenectomy
An operation where the spleen has been removed after an injury
101
Squint
When an eye turns inwards or outwards also known as a lazy eye
102
Staggering
Unsteadiness or difficulty with balance
103
Strangulation
When something has constricted or squeezed an individuals neck or throat
104
Suffocation
When something has covered the nose and mouth or compressed the chest, preventing breathing
105
Suicide
When a person takes their own life
106
Sutures
Stitches used to close a wound
107
Tarry motions
Tarry means motions that are black, sticky and look like tar
This does not mean solid motions that are dark in colour
108
Tender
Sore when touched
109
Thrombosis
Blood clot
110
Tonsillectomy
An operation to remove the tonsils
111
Trachea
Windpipe or airway
112
Transplant
An operation to transfer an organ or bone marrow from
| One individual to another
113
Trauma
Injury
114
Umbilicus
Belly button
115
Unconscious
This is when an individual cannot be roused or woken for more than 3 min
This is not like a simple faint which will have lasted for less than 3 min
116
Upper abdomen
The area between the bottom of the ribs and the umbilicus
117
Urethra
Tube through which urine leaves the body
118
Urinary catheter
A tube which is inserted into the bladder to drain urine
119
Urticaria
An itchy rash that looks like a nettle rash which is common in allergic reactions as well as a wide variety of other skin conditions
120
Uterus
Womb
121
Vertigo
A sensation of spinning or whirling. It is often accompanied by vomiting
It usually made worse by movement, especially moving the head
This does not mean light headedness or any other type of dizziness
122
Vascular disease
Problems with blood circulation
123
Warfarin
A medicine used to
| Thin blood
124
Warts
Small , rough bumps on the skin. They sometimes look a bit like tiny cauliflower
125
Wheezing
A whistling or musical sound that comes from inside the individuals chest when they breathe
