Medical Terms Flashcards
A metabolic disease in which the body’s inability to produce any or enough insulin causes elevated levels of glucose in the blood.
Diabetes
A condition in which the heart beats with an irregular or abnormal rhythmn.
Arrhythmia
A group of lung diseases that block airflow and make breathing difficult.
COPD
Disease of the retina that results in impairment or loss of vision.
Retinopathy
A viral infection that attacks your respiratory system—nose, throat, and lungs
Influenza
Each of two upper chambers of the heart from which blood is passed to the ventricles. The right receives deoxygenated blood from the veins of the body; the left receives oxygenated blood from the pulmonary vein
Atrium
Most common tick-bourne illness in North America and Europe. Caused by the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi. The skin, joints, and nervous system are affected most often.
Lyme disease
Lung inflammation caused by bacterial or viral infection in which air sacs fill with pus and become solid.
Pneumonia
One of a group of tumors usually arising from connective tissue such as muscles, fat, bones, the linings of joints, or blood vessels. Most are malignant.
Sarcoma
Cancer made up of cells that normally develop into skeletal muscles.
Rhabdomyosarcoma
A highly contagious skin infection that mainly affects infants and children. Usually appears as red sores on the face, especially around a child’s nose or mouth.
Impetigo
A secondary infection originating from the site of an infection already present in the body.
Autoinoculation
An inflammation of the membranes (meninges) surrounding your brain and spinal cord.
Meningitis
Cancer of the lymphatic system which is part of your immune system.
Hodgkin’s lymphoma
A life-threatening disorder that causes severe damage to the lungs and digestive system. An inherited condition that affects the cells that produce mucus, sweat, and digestive juices.
Cystic fibrosis
Abnormally low count of neutrophils a type of white blood cell that helps fight off infections.
Neutropenia
A condition that can cause extended or excessive bleeding. Cause is a deficiency in or impairment of a protein component in your blood-clotting process.
Von Willebrand’s disease
A neurological disorder characterized by jerky involuntary movements affecting especially the shoulders, hips, and face.
Chorea
A hereditary disease marked by degeneration of the brain cells and causing chorea and progressive dementia.
Huntington chorea
A classic motor neuron disease. Motor neuron diseases are progressive chronic diseases of the nerves that come from the spinal cord responsible for supplying electrical stimulation to the muscles.
Lou Gehrig’s disease (ALS-amyotrophic lateral sclerosis)
Paralysis of facial nerve causing muscular weakness in one side of the face.
Bell’s palsy
A rare disorder in which your body’s immune system attacks your nerves. Weakness and tingling in your extremities are usually the first symptoms.
Guillain-Barre syndrome
Drooping of one or both eyelids
Ptosis
Double vision
Diplopia
Characterized by weakness and rapid fatigue of any of the muscles under your voluntary control.
Myasthenia gravis
Autoimmune disease that attacks the lungs and kidneys. The body’s immune system mistakenly produces antibodies against collagen in the lungs and kidneys.
Goodpasture’s syndrome
A swelling of the neck from enlargement of the thyroid gland.
Goiter
A condition in which your immune system attacks your thyroid, a small gland at the base of your neck below your Adam’s apple. Most common cause of hypothyroidism.
Hashimoto’s disease
Deficiency of all types of blood cells caused by failure of bone marrow development.
Aplastic anemia
A condition in which the immune system attacks the red blood cells.
Autoimmune hemolytic anemia
A deficiency in the production of red blood cells through a lack of vitamin B12. Your intestines cannot properly absorb vitamin B12.
Pernicious anemia
Inherited form of anemia in which there aren’t enough healthy red blood cells to carry adequate oxygen throughout your body. Red blood cells become rigid and sticky and are like sickles or crescent moons.
Sickle cell anemia
Fist-shaped, purple, and 4 inches long protected by rib cage. Acts as a filter for blood as part of the immune system. Old red blood cells are recycled and platelets and white blood cells are stored there. Also helps fight certain kinds of bacteria that cause pneumonia and meningitis.
Spleen
Soft, fatty, vascular tissue that fills most bone cavities and is the source of red blood cells and many white blood cells and platelets.
Bone marrow
Bedsore; pressure ulcer in an area of the skin that breaks down when something keeps rubbing or pressing against the skin.
Decubitus ulcer
A thin sheet of fibrous tissue enclosing a muscle or other organ.
Fascia
Severe form of pneumonia
Legionnaires’ disease
Contagious bacterial infection that involves the lungs. May spread to other organs. A chronic, systemic disease whose initial infection is in the lungs.
Tuberculosis
A contagious skin disease marked by itching and small red spots caused by the itch mite.
Scabies
Infestation of the scalp by head lice.
Pediculosis capitis
Scler/o
Hard
Narrowing of the heart’s mitral valve. Rheumatic fever is the most common cause.
Mitral valve stenosis
A weakness of the heart that leads to a buildup of fluid in the lungs and surrounding tissue.
Congestive heart failure
Shortness of breath
Dyspnea
A parasitic disease that involves high fevers, chills, flu-like symptoms and anemia.
Malaria
Type of skin cancer that begins in basal cells. Occurs most often on areas of the skin exposed to the sun.
Basal cell carcinoma
Type of skin cancer arising from the melanocyte cells of the skin; most dangerous type of skin cancer.
Malignant melanoma
Common form of skin cancer that develops in the thin, flat squamous cells that make up the outer layer of the skin; usually not life threatening.
Squamous cell carcinoma
Three types of skin cancer
Basal cell carcinoma
Malignant melanoma
Squamous cell carcinoma
Aggressive type of lung cancer
Oat cell carcinoma (small cell lung cancer)
Presence of air or gas in the cavity between the lungs and the chest wall, causing collapse of the lung.
Pneumothorax
A condition affecting the fingers and toes in which the extremities are broadened and the nails are shiny and abnormally curved.
Clubbing
A cancer arising in epithelial tissue of the skin or of the lining of the internal organs.
Carcinoma
A benign tumor formed from glandular structures in epithelial tissue.
Adenoma
A benign tumor of fatty tissue.
Lipoma
A malignant tumor of connective or other nonepithelial tissue.
Sarcoma
A hereditary disorder causing progressive deafness due to overgrowth of bone in the middle ear.
Otosclerosis
When hearing loss is due to problems with the ear canal, ear drum, or middle ear and its little bones.
Conductive hearing loss
When hearing loss is due to problems of the inner ear; also known as nerve-related hearing loss.
Sensorineural hearing loss
Combination of conductive and sensorineural hearing loss.
Mixed hearing loss
Hardening of the arteries
Atherosclerosis
A disease in which your immune system attacks the protective sheath (myelin) that covers your nerves.
Multiple sclerosis
The fatty substance that coats and protects nerve fibers in the brain and spinal cord.
Myelin
The left lower chamber of the heart that receives blood from the left atrium and pumps it out under high pressure through the aorta into the body.
Left ventricle
The main artery of the body supplying oxygenated blood to the circulatory system.
Aorta
An artery with its origin in the aorta and with distribution to the kidney.
Renal artery
The artery carrying blood from the right ventricle of the heart to the lungs for oxygenation.
Pulmonary artery
Large vein carrying deoxygenated blood into the heart. There are 2 in humans carrying blood from the lower body and upper body.
Vena cava
Fast growing type of lung cancer. Also called oat cell cancer.
Small cell carcinoma
A cancer that develops in the lining or inner surface of an organ and usually has glandular (secretory) properties.
Adenocarcinoma
Cancer that begins in squamous cells —thin, flat cells that look under the microscope like fish scales. Are found in the tissue that forms the surface of the skin, the lining of hollow organs of the body and the passages of the respiratory and digestive tracts.
Squamous cell cancer
Tiny air sacs within the lungs where the exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide takes place.
Alveoli
Oxygen-carrying pigment of red blood cells that give them their red color and serves to convey oxygen to the tissues.
Hemoglobin
A weak acid formed when carbon dioxide combines with water
Carbonic acid