Dictionary of Medical Terms

Upper abdominal discomfort usually experienced after a meal due to incomplete digestion.

The process of hardening. An abnormally hard spot.

An area of dead or dying tissue produced by lack of blood flow to or from that area. For example,…

Causing disease, especially by the presence of foreign microorganisms in the body, including bacteria, viruses or parasites.

A disease that can be spread from one person to another.

Inability to produce children.

Swelling, redness, warmth and pain. A body tissue’s protective response to injury.

A contagious and infectious respiratory illness usually occurring in the winter.

Edges of the nail become trapped under the skin, causing inflammation and, sometimes, infection.

A fluid introduced into the body by a syringe and needle.

Inborn, hereditary.

The injection of a disease agent into the body to cause a mild form of the disease and build…

Not curable through surgery.

Any form or degree of mental disturbance or unsoundness of mind, permanent or temporary, that makes a person incapable of…

To deposit sperm in the vagina.

An inability to fall asleep or to remain asleep.

The hormone produced by the pancreas for regulating carbohydrate metabolism. Used in the treatment of diabetes mellitus.

Skin.

The exchange of communication between individuals. Sexual intercourse is the sexual joining of two people; coitus.

The tube involved in digestion and extending from the stomach to the anus. Consists of the small intestine and the…

Poisoning, or the state of being affected by a poisonous substance. Often used to describe drunkenness.