Medicine Flashcards
Inflammation of the “voice box”
Can cause hoarseness or voice loss
LARYNGITIS
From Greek for “panting”
Causes wheezing
Chronic disease most common in children (~10%)
Sometimes begins as allergy
Treated with EPHEDRINE or a BRONCHODILATOR such as Albuterol
“Awareness Day” in May
ASTHMA
Stomach bug (gastroenteritis)
Common on cruise ships
Named for 1968 outbreak in OHIO
NOROVIRUS
NORWALK VIRUS
Genetic disorder
Common in Ashkenazi Jews
Named for a British ophthalmologist & an American neurologist
TAY-SACHS DISEASE
Also called Medial Tibial Stress Syndrome
Common in runners (especially on hard surfaces)
Pain & inflammation around the TIBIA
SHIN SPLINTS
ADRENAL insufficiency
Experienced by JFK
ADDISON’S DISEASE
Inflammation of the bronchi/larynx/trachea
Causes a “barking cough”
Common in children under 3
CROUP
Redness of facial skin
Resembles flushing or blushing
ROSACEA
Hardening of arteries
ARTERIOSCLEROSIS
Hardening of arteries caused by PLAQUE
ATHEROSCLEROSIS
Nervous system disease
Attacks MYELIN
Abbreviated MS
MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS
Inflammation of veins
Common in legs
PHLEBITIS
Bulging & thinning of blood vessel
Can burst, causing a stroke
ANEURYSM
One of a trio in a common vaccine
1925 outbreak in NOME, Alaska led to BALTO’s heroic serum run
DIPHTHERIA
One of a trio in a common vaccine
Also called “whooping cough”
PERTUSSIS
One of a trio in a common vaccine
Also called “lockjaw”
Can be obtained from cuts as a clostridium infection
TETANUS
Split in the roof of the mouth
Possibly experienced by Tutankhamun
CLEFT PALATE
Inner ear problem
Can cause dizziness & tinnitus
Named for a French physician
MENIERE’S DISEASE
Clotting in blood vessel
If moves, can become EMBOLISM
Can be “deep vein”
THROMBOSIS
Blockage in blood vessel
Can be air, a clot, or something else
EMBOLISM
Greek for “lacking blood”
Lack of IRON, HEMOGLOBIN, or RED BLOOD CELLS
ANEMIA
Also called “shaking palsy”
Causes tremors
Named for British doctor James, first described in 1817
Treated with L-DOPA
Experienced by Muhammad Ali & Michael J. Fox
PARKINSON’S DISEASE
Kind of lung infection causing inflammation
Can affect a lobe (“lobar”) or both lungs (“double”)
Can be caused by LEGIONNAIRES’ or SARS, for example
Killed William Henry Harrison
PNEUMONIA
Pneumonia-causing bacteria
Named for 1976 outbreak at a Philadelphia veterans’ convention
LEGIONNAIRE’S DISEASE
LEGIONELLA (BACTERIA)
AMERICAN LEGION (CONVENTION)
Pneumonia-causing virus
Outbreak originating in China in 2002-2003
SARS
(SEVERE ACUTE RESPIRATORY SYNDROME)
Inflammation of the airways in the lungs
Can contribute to COPD
BRONCHITIS
Greek for “puff up”
Breakdown of ALVEOLI
Causes spaces in the LUNG tissue
Can be caused by smoking
Can contribute to COPD
EMPHYSEMA
4-word lung affliction
Can be caused by BRONCHITIS or EMPHYSEMA
COPD
(CHRONIC OBSTRUCTIVE PULMONARY DISEASE)
Antifungal
Used to treat ATHLETE’S FOOT
TINACTIN
Bronchodilator
Used to treat ASTHMA
Starts with A
ALBUTEROL
Decongestant
Brand name is SUDAFED
PSEUDOEPHEDRINE
Alkaloid decongestant
Used to treat ASTHMA
EPHEDRINE
Anesthetic
Also called “truth serum”
SODIUM PENTOTHAL
THIOPENTAL
Used to treat PARKINSON’S
Appears in Oliver Sachs’ AWAKENINGS, where it is used on catatonic patients
L-DOPA
LEVODOPA (a precursor to dopamine)
Anti-inflammatory steroid
Used to treat ARTHRITIS, CARPAL TUNNEL & BURSITIS
Latin for “bark”
9 letters
CORTISONE
ADRENALINE injector
Used to treat ANYPHYLAXIS
Mylan had notoriously steep prices
EPIPEN (adrenaline = epinephrine)
X-ray of blood vessels
Uses a dye
ANGIOGRAM
Disease diagnosed by a Wassermann test
SYPHILIS
Incision in the windpipe as a makeshift airway
TRACHEOTOMY
Insertion of a tube to open a passage such as the TRACHEA
INTUBATION
What TKR stands for in the name of an orthopedic surgery
TOTAL KNEE REPLACEMENT
In 1906, developed a test to diagnose syphilis
AUGUST VON WASSERMANN
British neurologist & writer
“The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat” (1985)
OLIVER SACKS
German-French doctor, musician, & missionary
Built hospital in Gabon
Winner of 1952 Nobel Peace Prize
Organist (loved Bach)
ALBERT SCHWEITZER
Italian educator, psychologist & M.D.
Opened first “Casa dei bambini” in 1907 in Rome
“Education for a New World” (1946)
MARIA MONTESSORI
Excessive talking
Also called “verbomania”
LOGORRHEA
First discussed by Freud in “Interpretation of Dreams” (1899)
Named for a Greek King
OEDIPUS COMPLEX
Jung’s proposed gender-flipped version of Freud’s “Oedipus Complex”
ELECTRA COMPLEX
Disordered pulling out of hair
TRICHOTILLOMANIA
Gnashing of teeth
BRUXOMANIA
Drug that opens airways
e.g. Albuterol to treat asthma
BRONCHODILATOR
Possible treatment for patients with difficulty breathing
Sounds like camping
OXYGEN TENT
What “MDI” stands for in asthma treatment
METERED-DOSE INHALER
Common name for tank respirator
Developed in 1928 by Philip Drinker to treat polio
IRON LUNG
Different colours of iris (eyes)
Often due to melanin differences
Jane Seymour, Kate Bosworth, and many huskies & white cats have it
HETEROCHROMIA
Inherited neurological “disease” or “chorea” on chromosome 4
Described by American physician George in 1872
HUNTINGTON’S DISEASE
What “RLS” stands for in a sleep disorder
RESTLESS LEGS SYNDROME
Also called “St. Anthony’s Fire”, poisoning by this grain fungus can cause convulsions or gangrene
May explain the Salem witch trials
ERGOT
(ERGOTISM)
South African surgeon
Led 1st human-human heart transplant, 1967
CHRISTIAAN BARNARD
Created “live-virus” oral polio vaccine at the U. of Cincinnati
ALBERT SABIN
Issues with aligning eyes
STRABISMUS
From Greek, “yellow/orange”
Hardening/scarring of the liver
Can be caused by alcoholism or Hepatitis C
One form is Laennec’s
CIRRHOSIS
Inflammatory liver disease cause by viral infection
Types A through E
A & B have vaccines
C can cause cirrhosis
David Crosby had D
HEPATITIS
Also called “cholelith”
Hardened bile cholestorol or bilirubin
May require removal of organ, as Warhol & Eisenhower did
GALLSTONE(S)
Name for the fear of Hell
Taken from a mythical river
STYGIOPHOBIA
Type of medication
Prevents binding of adrenaline/noradrenaline receptors
Fights hypertension, heart attacks, arrhythmia, & migraines
e.g. Inderal, Nadolol, & Metoprolol
BETA BLOCKER
A reason not to pursue a certain treatment or drug
For example, due to interaction with other medications
6 syllables
CONTRAINDICATION
Uses X-rays to build cross-sectional images of the body
COMPUTED (AXIAL) TOMOGRAPHY SCAN
C(A)T SCAN
From Greek, “painless”
Painkiller such as codeine or morphine
ANALGESIC
From Greek, “half-skull”
Type of headache
Can include visual aura, nausea, or light sensitivity
Also called a “megrim”
MIGRAINE
(from “HEMICRANIA”)
From Greek, “poppy head”
Opium alkaloid analgesic
CODEINE
From Greek, “fire”
Fever
PYREXIA
From Greek, “difficulty digesting”
Upset stomach or indigestion
DYSPEPSIA
