Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS, Lou Gehrig's Disease) Glossary of Terms

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Airway: The path that air follows to get into and out of the lungs. The mouth and nose are...

Anxiety: A feeling of apprehension and fear, characterized by physical symptoms such as pa...

Aspiration: Removal of a sample of fluid and cells through a needle. Aspiration also re...

Atrophy: A wasting away or diminution. Muscle atrophy is a decrease in muscle mass, often ...

Autoimmune: Pertaining to autoimmunity, a misdirected immune response that occurs when the...

Biopsy: The removal of a sample of tissue for examination under a microscope to check for ...

Bladder: A hollow organ in the lower abdomen that stores urine. The kidneys filter waste f...

Bowel: The small and large intestine.

Brain: The portion of the central nervous system that is located within the skull. It func...

Breathing: The process of respiration, during which air is inhaled into the lungs through ...

Chest: The area of the body located between the neck and the abdomen. The chest contains t...

Cognitive: Having to do with thought, judgment, or knowledge.

Constipation: Infrequent and frequently incomplete bowel movements. Constipation is the op...

Cure: 1. To heal, to make well, to restore to good health. 2. A time withou...

Dementia: Significant loss of intellectual abilities, such as memory capacity, that is sev...

Depression: An illness that involves the body, mood, and thoughts and that affects the way...

Diagnosis: 1 The nature of a disease; the identification of an illness. 2 A ...

Diarrhea: A common condition that involves unusually frequent and liquid bowel movements. ...

Dizziness: Painless head discomfort with many possible causes including disturbances of ...

Dysarthria: Speech that is characteristically slurred, slow, and difficult to understand. ...

Dysfunction: Difficult function or abnormal function.

Dysphagia: Difficulty swallowing. Dysphagia is due to abnormal nerve or muscle control. It...

Electrophysiologic: Pertaining to electrophysiology.

Familial: A condition that tends to occur more often in family members than is expected by...

Familial ALS: ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) in which there a family history of the d...

Frontal: In anatomy, pertaining to the forehead. As, for example, the frontal bone, fronta...

Frontal lobe: The part of each hemisphere of the brain located behind the forehead that se...

Gene: The basic biological unit of heredity. A segment of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) need...

Glutamate: A form of glutamic acid. See: Glutamic acid.

Involuntary: Done other than in accordance with the conscious will of the individual. The ...

Juvenile: Between infantile and adult. Used in medicine to indicate onset in childhood, as...

Lab test: A test that is done in the laboratory where the appropriate equipment, supplies,...

Lateral: 1. In anatomy, the side of the body or a body part that is farther from th...

Liver: The largest solid organ in the body, situated in the upper part of the abdomen on t...

Lobe: Part of an organ that appears to be separate in some way from the rest. A lobe may b...

Lungs: The lungs are a pair of breathing organs located with the chest which remove carbon...

Memory: 1. The ability to recover information about past events or knowledge. ...

Metabolic: Relating to metabolism, the whole range of biochemical processes that occur wit...

Microscope: An optical instrument that augments the power of the eye to see small objects....

Motor: Something that produces or refers to motion. For example, a motor neuron is a nerve...

Motor neuron: A neuron that sends electrical output signals to muscle neurons. Also called...

Motor neuron disease: A group of related diseases of the nervous system that are character...

MRI: Magnetic resonance imaging.

Mucus: A thick fluid that is produced by the lining of some organs of the body.

Muscle: Muscle is the tissue of the body which primarily functions as a source of power. T...

Muscle biopsy: A minor surgical procedure done under local anesthetic using a needle or a...

Muscular: Having to do with the muscles. Also, endowed with above average muscle developme...

Muscular dystrophy: One of a group of genetic diseases characterized by progressive weakne...

Mutation: A permanent change, a structural alteration, in the DNA or RNA. In humans and m...

Nausea: Stomach queasiness, the urge to vomit. Nausea can be brought on by many causes, in...

Neck: The part of the body joining the head to the shoulders. Also, any narrow or constric...

Nerve: A bundle of fibers that uses electrical and chemical signals to transmit sensory an...

Neurological: Having to do with the nerves or the nervous system as, for example, a neurol...

Neurologist: A physician who specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of disorders of th...

Neurology: The medical specialty concerned with the diagnosis and treatment of disorders o...

Neuron: A nerve cell that receives and sends electrical signals over long distances within...

Neurotransmitter: A chemical that is released from a nerve cell which thereby transmits an...

Neutrophil: A type of white blood cell, a granulocyte that is filled with microscopic gran...

Nutrition: 1) The science or practice of taking in and utilizing foods. 2) A nourishing ...

Nutritionist: 1) In a hospital or nursing home, a person who plans and/or formulates spe...

Onset: In medicine, the first appearance of the signs or symptoms of an illness as, for ex...

Pain: An unpleasant sensation that can range from mild, localized discomfort to agony. Pa...

Paralysis: Loss of voluntary movement (motor function). Paralysis that affects only one mu...

Pathologist: A physician who identifies diseases and conditions by studying abnormal cells...

Percutaneous: Through the skin. For example, a percutaneous biopsy is a biopsy that is obt...

Pharmacy: A location where prescription medications are sold. A pharmacy is constantly sup...

Physical therapy: A branch of rehabilitative health that uses specially designed exercises...

Pneumonia: Inflammation of one or both lungs, with dense areas of lung inflammation. Pneum...

Primary care: A patient's main source for regular medical care, ideally providing continui...

Primary care provider: In insurance parlance, a physician who is chosen by or assigned to ...

Progressive: Increasing in scope or severity, advancing, or going forward. For example, a ...

Public health: The approach to medicine that is concerned with the health of the community...

Quality of life: The patient's ability to enjoy normal life activities. Quality of life is...

Reflex: An involuntary reaction. For example, the corneal reflex is the blink that occurs ...

Regimen: A plan or a regulated course, such as a diet, exercise, or treatment, that is des...

Respiratory: Having to do with respiration.

Respiratory failure: Inability of the lungs to perform their basic task of gas exchange, t...

Respiratory therapist: A person who has graduated from an approved respiratory therapist p...

Risk factor: Something that increases a person's chances of developing a disease. For exam...

Rule out: Term used in medicine, meaning to eliminate or exclude something from considera...

Saliva: a watery secretion in the mouth produced by the salivary glands that aids in the d...

Sclerosis: Localized hardening of skin. Sclerosis is generally caused by underlying diseas...

Sequencing: Determining the order of nucleotides (base sequences) in a DNA or RNA molecule...

Sleep: The body's rest cycle.

Spasticity: A state of increased tone of a muscle (and an increase in the deep tendon refl...

Speech therapy: The treatment of speech and communication disorders. The approach used d...

Spinal cord: The major column of nerve tissue that is connected to the brain and lies with...

Sporadic: Occurring upon occasion or in a scattered, isolated, or seemingly random way.

Stomach: The digestive organ that is located in the upper abdomen, under the ribs. The upp...

Stress: In a medical or biological context stress is a physical, mental, or emotional fact...

Stroke: The sudden death of brain cells due to lack of oxygen, caused by blockage of blood...

Substance: 1. Material with particular features.
2. The material that...

Surgeon: A physician who treats disease, injury, or deformity via operative or manual meth...

Surgery: The branch of medicine that employs operations in the treatment of disease or inj...

Therapeutics: In medicine, the branch that deals specifically with the treatment of diseas...

Therapy: The treatment of disease. Therapy is synonymous with treatment.

Tiredness: See: Tired.

Tongue: A strong muscle that is anchored to the floor of the mouth. The tongue is covered ...

Trachea: A tube-like portion of the respiratory tract that connects the larynx with the br...

Tracheostomy: Surgery to create an opening (stoma) into the windpipe. The opening itself m...

Trauma: A physical or emotional injury.

Twitch: : an involuntary contraction of a group of muscles, also known as a fasciculation...

Twitching: : Involuntary contractions of groups of muscle fibers. Also known as fasciculat...

Ventilator: A machine that mechanically assists a patient in the exchange of oxygen and ca...

Voluntary: Done in accordance with the conscious will of the individual. The opposite of i...