Meaning of Acute Acute is the medical term to describe the nature of a disease, sign, symptom or condition. It refers to an illness that is of a sudden onset or of a short duration. Acute can also be used as an adjective to describe a severe state of a condition. Often the term acute is used in contrast to the medical term >> Read More ...
Abscess Definition An abscess is a collection of pus which can occur in tissues, organs or confined spaces in the body. Abscesses may lie superficially, like a boil just underneath the skin or deep within the body like a lung abscess. In most cases, an abscess is caused by bacteria and is the body’s mechanism to >> Read More ...
Supraspinatus tendinopathy is a collective name for various disorders of supraspinatus tendon Supraspinatus tendinitis, an acute inflammation of the tendon due to friction of the tendon against the shoulder bones during repetitive shoulder use, especially in overhead work (swimming, painting, tennis). Supraspinatus >> Read More ...
What Is Peritoneum? The peritoneum (Greek peritonaion = stretched across) is an abdominal membrane consisting of two sheets: the parietal peritoneum (Latin parietalis = belonging to walls) that covers the inner side of the abdominal wall and the visceral peritoneum (Latin viscera = internal organs) that covers certain >> Read More ...
Definition of Disease Disease (Latin dis- = lack of, opposite of + ease = convenience, comfort) literally means lack of strength or satisfaction. It also means a person is no longer at ease. In medicine, disease means an impairment in structure or function of a certain body part or mind with identifiable symptoms >> Read More ...
What Is Infection? An infection is an invasion and multiplying of pathogenic microbes in the body tissues in which they are not usually present (1). Pathogenic means capable of causing disease. Infection does not always cause a disease. Definitions of Infection-Related Terms A colonization is the usual presence of >> Read More ...
What Is Sepsis? Sepsis (Greek sepsis= putrefaction, decay) is an exaggerated response of body’s immune system to an infection, like severe pneumonia or cellulitis, which has spread to the blood; it is also called blood infection. If treatment does not start promptly, sepsis may be deadly. NOTE: Bacteremia, viremia, >> Read More ...
What is Ischemia? Ischemia is the medical term for an inadequate blood supply to a specific area of the body. This results in a reduced oxygen supply as blood has difficulty in reaching the target tissues or organs. Ischemia can be partial or complete. Partial ischemia may cause hypoxia, which is too little oxygen reaching >> Read More ...
What Is a Drug? Broadly speaking, a drug is any substance other than food intended to affect the structure or any function of the body (1). Drug As a Medication According to the United States Federal Drug Agency (FDA), a drug is an article (substance) intended for use in the diagnosis, cure, mitigation (lessening), >> Read More ...
Inflammation is an acute (short term) response by living tissue to any injury. It is usually followed by repair and regeneration after the injury, provided that the tissue was not severe enough to cause cell death (necrosis). Inflammation is a life sustaining mechanism to help the body cope during and just after an injury >> Read More ...