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| This glossary contains: 19186 medical terms |
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Ad-
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Ad-"Latin prefix meaning ""toward"" and ""in the direction of,"" as in adduction (movement of a limb toward the midline of the body), adhesion, and adrenal (toward the kidney)."
RELATED TERMS--------------------------------------
Adduction
"Movement of a limb toward the midline of the body. The opposite of adduction is abduction. An adductor muscle pulls toward the midline of the body. For example, the adductor muscles of the legs pull the legs toward the midline of the body so the legs are closer together. From the Latin prefix ""ad"" meaning ""toward"" + ""ducere"" meaning ""to draw or lead"" = ""to draw toward."""
Adhesion
A band of scar tissue that joins normally separated internal body structures, most often after surgery, inflammation, or injury in the area.
SIMILAR TERMS--------------------------------------
PREVIOUS AND NEXT TERMS--------------------------------------
Acute tubular necrosis
A severe form of acute renal failure that develops in people with severe illnesses (such as sepsis) or with very low blood pressure. Patients may need dialysis. Kidney function often improves if the underlying disease is successfully treated. Abbreviated ATN.
Acute-phase protein
Any protein whose plasma concentration increases (or decreases) by 25% or more during certain inflammatory disorders. The acute-phase proteins include C-reactive protein (CRP), serum amyloid A (SAA), fibrinogen, and alpha 1-acid glycoprotein. Perhaps the best known of these acute-phase proteins is CRP, a plasma protein that rises in the blood with inflammation. The level of CRP in blood plasma can rise as high as 1000-fold with inflammation. Conditions that commonly lead to marked changes in CRP include infection, trauma, surgery, burns, inflammatory conditions, and advanced cancer. Moderate changes occur after strenuous exercise, heatstroke, and childbirth. Small changes in CRP occur after psychological stress and in several psychiatric illnesses. C-reactive protein is a test of value. Marked rises in CRP reflect the presence and intensity of inflammation. An elevation in CRP, however, is not a telltale sign pointing to just one disease. Also called an acute-phase reactant.
Acute-phase proteins
See: Acute-phase protein.
Acute-phase reactant
See: Acute-phase protein.
Acyclovir
"(Brand name: Zovirax) One of a group of antiviral drugs that acts against the herpes viruses, including: Herpes simplex 1 which causes cold sores; Herpes simplex 2 which causes genital herpes; Varicella-zoster which causes both chickenpox and shingles; Epstein-Barr virus which causes infectious mononucleosis; Acyclovir inhibits the replication of viral DNA needed to reproduce itself. Virally infected cells absorb more acyclovir than normal cells and convert more of it to an active form which prolongs its antiviral activity where it is most needed. Acyclovir may reduce the severity and duration of a shingles attack if given soon after the onset of symptoms.
Ad-
Adam
A street name for 3-4 methylenedioxymethamphetamine. See: Ecstasy.
Adamantine
In dentistry, relating to the enamel of the teeth. Adamantine comes from the Greek and Latin word adamas which applied to substances having the hardness or luster of a diamond. Adamantine figuratively means unyielding and inflexible.
Adams-Stokes disease
"Sudden collapse into unconsciousness due to a disorder of heart rhythm in which there is a slow or absent pulse resulting in syncope (fainting) with or without convulsions. In this condition, the normal heartbeat passing from the upper chambers of the heart to the lower chambers is interrupted. This results in a condition called a ""heart block."" When a heart block occurs, the heart rate usually slows considerably. This can cause inadequate blood flow to the brain and result in fainting. This condition goes by a baffling number of names including the Adams-Stokes, Morgagni, Morgagni-Adams-Stokes, Spens syndrome, and Stokes-Adams disease or syndrome. Roberts Adams (1791-1875) and William Stokes (1804-1878) were Irish physicians. Stokes is also remembered for Cheyne-Stokes respiration, a pattern of breathing characteristically seen in coma. Thomas Spens (1764-1842) was a Scottish physician. Giovanni Battista Morgagni (1682-1771) was an Italian anatomist and pathologist. Although Adams, Stokes, and Spens did describe the syndrome (separately) in the early 19th century, the first description was, in fact, recorded in 1761 by Morgagni. All of these eponyms are now declining in use as our understanding of the disease process advances. The preferred name is cardiovascular syncope."
ADAMTS2
"A gene that encodes a metalloproteinase enzyme. This enzyme is responsible for processing type I, type II, and type V procollagen proteins. Procollagens are the precursors of collagens, the proteins that add strength and support to many body tissues. Specifically, this enzyme clips a short chain of amino acids off of one end of the procollagen. The clipping step is necessary for proper assembly and function of collagen molecules. Mutations in the ADAMTS2 gene have been identified in patients with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, dermatosparaxis type. These mutations greatly reduce the production of the enzyme made by ADAMTS2. Procollagen cannot be processed correctly without this enzyme. As a result, type I collagen fibrils are not assembled properly; they appear ribbon-like and disorganized under the microscope. Cross-links, or chemical interactions, between collagen fibrils are also affected. These defects weaken connective tissue, particularly in the skin, which causes the symptoms of the disorder. The ADAMTS2 gene is located on the long (q) arm of chromosome 5 at the end (terminal) of the arm. ADAMTS2 stands for A disintegrin-like and metalloprotease with thrombospondin type 1 motif, 2."
Adapter protein
A protein acts as a connecting molecule. An adapter protein is critical to intermolecular interactions and plays a role in the regulation of signal transduction initiated by engagement of surface receptors on all cell types. Some adapter proteins are expressed in all tissues, while the expression of other adapter proteins is restricted to specific tissues.
RELATED TERMS--------------------------------------
Adduction
"Movement of a limb toward the midline of the body. The opposite of adduction is abduction. An adductor muscle pulls toward the midline of the body. For example, the adductor muscles of the legs pull the legs toward the midline of the body so the legs are closer together. From the Latin prefix ""ad"" meaning ""toward"" + ""ducere"" meaning ""to draw or lead"" = ""to draw toward."""
Adhesion
A band of scar tissue that joins normally separated internal body structures, most often after surgery, inflammation, or injury in the area.
SIMILAR TERMS--------------------------------------
PREVIOUS AND NEXT TERMS--------------------------------------
Acute tubular necrosis
A severe form of acute renal failure that develops in people with severe illnesses (such as sepsis) or with very low blood pressure. Patients may need dialysis. Kidney function often improves if the underlying disease is successfully treated. Abbreviated ATN.
Acute-phase protein
Any protein whose plasma concentration increases (or decreases) by 25% or more during certain inflammatory disorders. The acute-phase proteins include C-reactive protein (CRP), serum amyloid A (SAA), fibrinogen, and alpha 1-acid glycoprotein. Perhaps the best known of these acute-phase proteins is CRP, a plasma protein that rises in the blood with inflammation. The level of CRP in blood plasma can rise as high as 1000-fold with inflammation. Conditions that commonly lead to marked changes in CRP include infection, trauma, surgery, burns, inflammatory conditions, and advanced cancer. Moderate changes occur after strenuous exercise, heatstroke, and childbirth. Small changes in CRP occur after psychological stress and in several psychiatric illnesses. C-reactive protein is a test of value. Marked rises in CRP reflect the presence and intensity of inflammation. An elevation in CRP, however, is not a telltale sign pointing to just one disease. Also called an acute-phase reactant.
Acute-phase proteins
See: Acute-phase protein.
Acute-phase reactant
See: Acute-phase protein.
Acyclovir
"(Brand name: Zovirax) One of a group of antiviral drugs that acts against the herpes viruses, including: Herpes simplex 1 which causes cold sores; Herpes simplex 2 which causes genital herpes; Varicella-zoster which causes both chickenpox and shingles; Epstein-Barr virus which causes infectious mononucleosis; Acyclovir inhibits the replication of viral DNA needed to reproduce itself. Virally infected cells absorb more acyclovir than normal cells and convert more of it to an active form which prolongs its antiviral activity where it is most needed. Acyclovir may reduce the severity and duration of a shingles attack if given soon after the onset of symptoms.
Ad-
Adam
A street name for 3-4 methylenedioxymethamphetamine. See: Ecstasy.
Adamantine
In dentistry, relating to the enamel of the teeth. Adamantine comes from the Greek and Latin word adamas which applied to substances having the hardness or luster of a diamond. Adamantine figuratively means unyielding and inflexible.
Adams-Stokes disease
"Sudden collapse into unconsciousness due to a disorder of heart rhythm in which there is a slow or absent pulse resulting in syncope (fainting) with or without convulsions. In this condition, the normal heartbeat passing from the upper chambers of the heart to the lower chambers is interrupted. This results in a condition called a ""heart block."" When a heart block occurs, the heart rate usually slows considerably. This can cause inadequate blood flow to the brain and result in fainting. This condition goes by a baffling number of names including the Adams-Stokes, Morgagni, Morgagni-Adams-Stokes, Spens syndrome, and Stokes-Adams disease or syndrome. Roberts Adams (1791-1875) and William Stokes (1804-1878) were Irish physicians. Stokes is also remembered for Cheyne-Stokes respiration, a pattern of breathing characteristically seen in coma. Thomas Spens (1764-1842) was a Scottish physician. Giovanni Battista Morgagni (1682-1771) was an Italian anatomist and pathologist. Although Adams, Stokes, and Spens did describe the syndrome (separately) in the early 19th century, the first description was, in fact, recorded in 1761 by Morgagni. All of these eponyms are now declining in use as our understanding of the disease process advances. The preferred name is cardiovascular syncope."
ADAMTS2
"A gene that encodes a metalloproteinase enzyme. This enzyme is responsible for processing type I, type II, and type V procollagen proteins. Procollagens are the precursors of collagens, the proteins that add strength and support to many body tissues. Specifically, this enzyme clips a short chain of amino acids off of one end of the procollagen. The clipping step is necessary for proper assembly and function of collagen molecules. Mutations in the ADAMTS2 gene have been identified in patients with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, dermatosparaxis type. These mutations greatly reduce the production of the enzyme made by ADAMTS2. Procollagen cannot be processed correctly without this enzyme. As a result, type I collagen fibrils are not assembled properly; they appear ribbon-like and disorganized under the microscope. Cross-links, or chemical interactions, between collagen fibrils are also affected. These defects weaken connective tissue, particularly in the skin, which causes the symptoms of the disorder. The ADAMTS2 gene is located on the long (q) arm of chromosome 5 at the end (terminal) of the arm. ADAMTS2 stands for A disintegrin-like and metalloprotease with thrombospondin type 1 motif, 2."
Adapter protein
A protein acts as a connecting molecule. An adapter protein is critical to intermolecular interactions and plays a role in the regulation of signal transduction initiated by engagement of surface receptors on all cell types. Some adapter proteins are expressed in all tissues, while the expression of other adapter proteins is restricted to specific tissues.
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This dictionary contains 19186 terms.
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