Vet Glossary Flashcards
Death of a fetus after organ development (28 days), followed by expulsion of the products of conception.
Abortion
A collection of pus in a captivity. It may be beneath the skin, in an organ, or in a body space.
Abscess
The process by which the lens of the eye changes shape to focus light on the retina.
Accommodate
A buildup of acids in the blood, resulting in a lower pH than normal.
Acidosis
Adrenocorticotropic hormone, the pituitary hormone that stimulates the adrenal cortex to produce corticosteroids.
ACTH
Occurring suddenly. Often indicates the early stage of a disease, when symptoms are most pronounced. Acute symptoms are usually short term.
Acute
Without fever.
Afebrile
American Kennel Club
AKC
Any substance that is capable of causing an allergic reaction. Drugs, insect toxins, pollens, molds, dust mites, foods, and vaccinations are common allergens for dogs.
Allergen
Loss of hair or failure to regrow hair, resulting in an area of thinning or baldness.
Alopecia
Pain relief.
Analgesia
Out of the ordinary; a condition that departs from the normal.
Anomaly
The fourth phase of the estrous cycle in which there is little, if any, ovarian activity. The length of this phase varies, lasting on average 130 to 150 days.
Anestrus
Anatomically, the area encompassed by the anus, anal canal, and rectum.
Anorectal
Loss of appetite and failure to eat.
Anorexia
A medication that acts to dispel or destroy parasitic intestinal worms.
Anthelmintic
A protein substance produced by the immune system to neutralize the effects of an antigen.
Antibody
A substance recognized by the immune system as a foreign to the body. The immune system develops antibodies that bind the antigen and prevent it from harming the animal or causing disease.
Antigen
An abnormal heart rhythm. It may be inconsequential, or serious enough to cause cardiac arrest.
Arrhythmia
Roundworms
Ascarids
An abnormal accumulation of fluid in the peritoneal cavity. Congestive heart failure and liver failure are the most common causes.
Ascites
Testing the serum to determine the relative proportion of a substance, such as the concentration of an antigen or antibody.
Assay
Incoordination; an inability to coordinate voluntary muscle movements that is symptomatic of some central nervous system disorders and injuries and is not due to muscle weakness. The adjective is ataxic.
Ataxia
Failure of a channel or passage to open in the course of fetal development.
Atresia
Shrinkage in the size of an organ or tissue due to disuse or death of cells.
Atrophy
Antibodies that a host makes against its own tissues. Auto-antibodies cause destruction of the targeted cells.
Auto-antibodies
A disease resulting from auto-antibodies targeting host tissue.
Autoimmune disease
All chromosomes that are not X and Y sex chromosomes.
Autosomal
Capable of killing bacteria, as opposed to just inhibiting their growth.
Bactericidal
An abnormal growth that is not a malignant cancer. Benign growths are usually not life threatening and do not spread to other areas of the body.
Benign
Foreign bodies in the stomach composed of hair and other ingested materials that form hard concentrations too large to pass out of the stomach.
Bezoars
On both sides.
Bilateral
The removal of tissue for microscopic examination and diagnosis.
Biopsy
A female dog.
Bitch
A skin blister filled with serum or blood.
Bleb
A small skin abscess, usually at the site of a hair follicle.
Boil
Benign prostatic hyperplasia, a non cancerous form of prostate enlargement.
BPH
A dog with a broad skull and a short muzzle, resulting in a flat face, as in the Pug and Pekingese.
Brachycephalic
The owner of the bitch when the dog was bred.
Breeder
The lower chest, particularly the sternum.
Brisket
A procedure in which an endoscope is passed into the trachea and bronchi to directly visualize the interior of the respiratory tract.
Bronchoscopy
A female dog used for breeding.
Brood bitch
A large skin blister filled with clear fluid. Or, in the case of the lungs, air sacs filled with air. May also refer to the tympanic bulla, a part of the inner ear.
Bulla
Dental calculus (also called tartar) is a plaquelike material composed of calcium salts, food particles, and bacteria.
Calculus
A tumor on the surface of the body or within an organ that has the potential to destroy tissue and kill the animal through local growth and/or spread to a distant parts.
Cancer
Foxes, wolves, coyotes, jackals, and other cousins of dogs.
Canids
The time it takes for the gums to pink up after being firmly pressed with a finger - normally one to two seconds or less. A measure of the quality of the circulation.
Capillary relief time
Compression of the heart, resulting in temporary support of the circulation.
Cardiac massage
To remove the testicles of a male dog.
Castrate
Injection of all layers of the skin along with inflammation of the connective tissue, characterized by redness, swelling, tenderness, and increased warmth. Usually very painful.
Cellulitis
Swelling of the brain following injury or a period of oxygen deprivation.
Cerebral edema
The use of drugs that are cellular poisons to attack and kill cancer cells, or to suppress the immune system in the treatment of autoimmune disease.
Chemotherapy
Compounds that protect joint cartilage from the destructive effects of degenerative joint disease.
Chondroprotective
The collection of DNA proteins that are organized into genes and aligned to provide genetic information to the body. Dogs have 78 chromosomes ( arranged in 39 pairs).
Chromosomes
Present for a long period. Often indicates that stage of a disease in which symptoms persist in a milder form.
Chronic
Hairlike projections on cells in the respiratory tract.
Cilia
A procedure that uses an endoscope to view the interior of the colon and rectum.
Colonoscopy
The first milk of the dam, containing the all-important material antibodies that protect puppies from common diseases for the first three months of life.
Colostrum
The products resulting from from the union between egg and sperm.
Conceptus
A subjective term that refers to overall health as shown by the coat, general appearance, body weight, and musculature.
Condition (of the body)
How the various angles, shapes, and parts of the dog’s body conform to the breed standard. At dog shows, dogs are judged by how well they conform to the standard for their breed.
Conformation
A condition that exists at birth, although it is not always clinically evident until later in life. Congenital conditions can be either genetically determined or acquired before or during delivery.
Congenital
A growth that forms in the ovary at the site of ovulation. The corpus luteum manufactures progesterone, essential to the support of pregnancy. The plural is corpora lutea.
Corpus luteum
Creatine phosphokinase, an enzyme found in muscle tissue that is released when there is muscle injury or disease.
CPK
Cardiopulmonary resuscitation; the combination of mouth-to-mouth resuscitation and cardiac massage.
CPR
A dog whose sire and dam are different breeds.
Crossbred
Freezing and storing tissue for later use.
Cryopreservation
A procedure in which tissue is destroyed by freezing it with liquid nitrogen.
Cryotherapy
A male dog with one or both testicles retained in the abdomen or the inguinal area instead of in the scrotum.
Cryptorchid
Computerized tomography, a diagnostic X-Ray procedure that produces cross-sectional views of a body structure. CT scans may be available only at veterinary referral centers. Sometimes called CAT scan, an acronym for computer-assisted tomography.
CT scan
A bluish discoloration of the gums and tongue due to inadequate oxygen in the blood.
Cyanosis
The microscopic examination of cells to determine the cause of a disease.
Cytology
The mother of a puppy.
Dam
Loss of memory and reasoning power characterized by varying degrees of confusion, disorientation, apathy, and stupor.
Dementia
Loss of dark color in the skin caused by destruction of melanin-producing cells. Depigmented areas are shades of white.
Depigmentation
A marked decrease in activity in which the dog withdraws, spends most of her time lying down, is disinteresting in her surroundings, and exhibits little or no interest in eating.
Depression
The sensitive connective tissue layer of the skin located below the epidermis.
Dermis
Vestigial toes; the equivalent of a fifth digit high on the inside of each foot. Normally present on the front feet, unless they are removed. Double dewclaws are required by breed standards on the back feet of Briards, Great Pyrenees, and Icelandic Sheepdogs.
Dewclaws
The third stage in the estrous cycle, also called the literal phase, which begins when the female refused to stand for mating. It lasts, on average, about 60 days, then merges with anestrus.
Diestrus
A gene is dominant if it alone is capable of determining the expression of a particular trait.
Dominant
The first part of the small intestines, after the stomach.
Duodenum
Abnormal performance of an organ or system.
Dysfunction
Painful and/or difficult swallowing.
Dysphasia
Developmentally malformed.
Dysplastic
Painful and/or difficult urination.
Dysuria
Loss of the products of conception before 28 days gestation, often by internal resorption so that no external evidence of the loss is found.
Early embryonic loss
Electrocardiogram; the readings from an electrocardiograph, which measures the changes in electrical currents associated with heart activity. An ECG is used to measure heart function and detect abnormalities. Sometimes called EKG.
ECG
A test that uses plain and Doppler ultrasound (high-frequency sound waves) to create a computerized image of structures within the heart and a detail of blood flow. The procedure that uses and echocardiogram to diagnosis heart disease is called echocardiography.
Echocardiogram
The accumulation of fluid beneath the skin or within an organ.
Edema
Electroencephalography; a procedure that records the electrical activity of the cerebral cortex. It is used to diagnosis epilepsy, tumors, and brain diseases. It is only available at some veterinary referral centers.
EEG
The total volume of semen emitted by the stud dog during breeding.
Ejaculate
The use of an electric probe to destroy tissue using heat.
Electrocautery
Sodium, chloride, potassium, bicarbonate, calcium, phosphorus, and other minerals required organ functioning.
Electrolytes
Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay, a serologic test used to detect antibodies to a protein, such as those associated with a bacteria or virus.
ELISA
