Ankylosing Spondylitis, Rheumatologic Perspective Glossary of Terms

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2. Myths and Facts About Back Pain

Abdomen: The belly, that part of the body that contains all of the structures between the...

Abdominal: Relating to the abdomen, the belly, that part of the body that contains all of ...

Abdominal pain: Pain in the belly. Abdominal pain can be acute or chronic. It may reflect ...

Aerobic: Oxygen-requiring. Aerobic bacteria need oxygen to grow. Aerobic exercise requires...

Anemia: The condition of having a lower-than-normal number of red blood cells or quantity ...

Ankylosing: Having a tendency to stiffen and fuse together.

Ankylosing spondylitis: A form of chronic inflammation of the spine and the sacroiliac joi...

Arthritis: Inflammation of a joint. When joints are inflamed they can develop stiffness, w...

Back pain: Pain felt in the low or upper back. Causes of pain in the low and upper back in...

Bacteria: Single-celled microorganisms that can exist either as independent (free-living) ...

Blood count: The calculated number of white or red blood cells (WBCs or RBCs) in a cubic m...

C-reactive protein: An acute-phase plasma protein whose blood concentration reflects the p...

Colitis: Inflammation of the large intestine (the colon). There are many forms of coliti...

Cortisone: A naturally occurring adrenocorticoid hormone that is produced in minute amount...

CT scan: Computerized tomography scan. Pictures of structures within the body created by a...

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

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. ...

Erythrocyte: A cell that contains hemoglobin and can carry oxygen to the body. Also called...

Essential: In medicine, of unknown cause, as in essential hypertension (high blood pressur...

Family history: The family structure and relationships within the family, including inform...

Fatigue: A condition characterized by a lessened capacity for work and reduced efficiency ...

Fever: Although a fever technically is any body temperature above the normal of 98.6 degr...

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

Genetic: Having to do with genes and genetic
information.

Heart: The muscle that pumps blood received from veins into arteries throughout the body. ...

Heartburn: An uncomfortable feeling of burning and warmth occurring in waves rising up be...

Ibuprofen: A nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) that is commonly used to treat pa...

Indicate: In medicine, to make a treatment or procedure advisable because of a particular ...

Infection: The invasion and multiplication of microorganisms such as bacteria, viruses, an...

Inflammation: A localized reaction that produces redness, warmth, swelling, and pain as a ...

Informatics: The application of computers and statistics to the management of information....

Internal medicine: The medical specialty dedicated to the diagnosis and medical treatment ...

Iritis: Inflammation of the iris. The iris is the circular, colored curtain in the front o...

Joint: The area where two bones are attached for the purpose of permitting body parts to m...

Klebsiella: A group of bacteria that normally lives in the intestinal tract, but can cause...

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

Marker: A piece of DNA that lies on a chromosome so close to a gene that the marker and t...

Mouth: 1. The upper opening of the digestive tract, beginning with the lips and con...

MRI: Magnetic resonance imaging.

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...

Necrosis: The death of living cells or tissues. Necrosis can be due, for example, to ische...

NSAID: Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug, a medication that is commonly prescribed or pu...

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...

Pelvic: Having to do with the pelvis, the lower part of the abdomen, located between the h...

Pelvis: The lower part of the abdomen, located between the hip bones. Structures in the fe...

Peripheral: Situated away from the center, as opposed to centrally located.

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...

Posture: The carriage of the body as a whole, the attitude of the body, or the position of...

Protein: One of the three nutrients used as energy sources (calories) by the body. Protein...

Psoriasis: A reddish, scaly rash often located over the surfaces of the elbows, knees, sca...

Rash: Breaking out (eruption) of the skin. A rash can be caused by an underlying medical c...

Rehabilitation: The process of helping a person who has suffered an illness or injury rest...

Rheumatology: A subspecialty of internal medicine that involves the nonsurgical evaluation...

Sacrum: The large heavy bone at the base of the spine, which is made up of fused sacral v...

Scan: As a noun, the data or image obtained from the examination of organs or regions of...

Sedimentation rate: A blood test that detects and monitors inflammation in the body. Abbre...

Shoulder: A structure made up of two main bones: the scapula (shoulder blade) and the hume...

Sleep: The body's rest cycle.

Spine: 1) The column of bone known as the vertebral column, which surrounds and protects ...

Spondylitis: Inflammation of one or more of the vertebrae of the spine. Diffuse inflammati...

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

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

Supine: With the back or dorsal surface downward. A person who is supine is lying face up....

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

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

Total hip replacement: Surgery in which the diseased ball and socket of the hip joint are ...

Trigger: Something that either sets off a disease in people who are genetically predispose...

Tumor: An abnormal mass of tissue. Tumors are a classic sign of inflammation, and can be ...

Tumor necrosis factor: One of multiple proteins capable of inducing necrosis (death) of tu...

Ulceration: The process or fact of being eroded away, as by an ulcer.

Vertebra: A vertebra is one of 33 bony segments that form the spinal column of humans. Th...

Vertebrae: The preferred plural of vertebra. (The alternate plural is vertebras.) See also...

X-ray: High-energy radiation with waves shorter than those of visible light. X-ray is used...