Dictionary of Medical Terms

Systolic blood pressure is the pressure when your heart is contracting, squeezing blood out.

The cardiac contraction of a heartbeat.

A sexually transmitted disease caused by the spirochete Treponema pallidum.

The clear lubricating fluid produced in joints, bursae and tendon sheaths.

The working together of different organs or parts of the body so that their combined action is greater than their…

Fainting.

The tiny space between two nerve cells that allows the transmission of a nerve impulse.

1. The joining together of certain vertebrate bones, especially of the skull. 2. A stitch or stitches made to close…

A substitute.

A substance produced in the lungs that reduces surface tension and helps keep the small air sacs open.

A cone-shaped solid mass of medication designed to be placed in the rectum or vagina.

Sudden growth of a different type of bacteria than the type originally diagnosed and treated. This is a common cause…

A serious failure of the body’s heat-regulating mechanism resulting from excessive exposure to intense heat. Also called heat stroke.

A skin inflammation caused by prolonged exposure to ultraviolet radiation from the sun, tanning beds or other sources.

A natural sugar obtained from sugar cane and sugar beets used as a sweetening agent. Also called table sugar.

Beneath a nail.

Partial dislocation.

Below the threshold of conscious awareness.

Just beneath the skin.

Infection of one of the sebaceous glands of the edge of the eyelid.

Deprivation of the blood supply to the brain due to blockage of a blood vessel. Results in unconsciousness, paralysis or…