Aspirin Poisoning Glossary of Terms

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Abnormal: Outside the expected norm, or uncharacteristic of a particular patient.

Absorb: 1. To take something in, as through the skin or the intestine.
2....

Absorption: Uptake. For example, intestinal absorption is the uptake of food (or other sub...

Activated charcoal: Charcoal that has been heated to increase its ability to absorb molecu...

Acute: Of abrupt onset, in reference to a disease. Acute often also connotes an illness th...

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

Analgesic: A drug that relieves pain.

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

Aspirin: Once the Bayer trademark for acetylsalicylic acid, now the common name for this a...

Bicarbonate: In medicine, bicarbonate usually refers to bicarbonate of soda (sodium bicarb...

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

Blood pressure: The blood pressure is the pressure of the blood within the arteries. It is...

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

Cardiac: Having to do with the heart.

Cardiopulmonary: Having to do with both the heart and lungs.

Catheter: A thin, flexible tube.

Child abuse: A complex set of behaviors that include child neglect and the physical, emoti...

Chloride: The major anion (negatively charged substance) in the blood and extracellular fl...

Chronic: In medicine, lasting a long time. A chronic condition is one that lasts 3 months ...

Coma: A state of deep, unarousable unconsciousness. A coma may occur as a result of head t...

Dehydration: Excessive loss of body water. Diseases of the gastrointestinal tract that ca...

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

Dialysis: The process of cleansing the blood by passing it through a special machine. Dial...

Discharge: 1.The flow of fluid from part of the body, such as from the nose or vag...

Diuresis: The increased formation of urine by the kidney. See diuretic for more detail.

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

Dry mouth: The condition of not having enough saliva to keep the mouth wet. This is due to...

Emergency department: The department of a hospital responsible for the provision of medica...

Emergency physician: A physician focused on the immediate decision making and action neces...

Family medicine: Also called family practice. The medical specialty which provides continu...

Father: (1) The male parent. (2) One who originates. For example, "Wilhelm Roentgen is con...

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

Gastric: Having to do with the stomach.

Gastrointestinal: Adjective referring collectively to the stomach and small and large inte...

Headache: A pain in the head with the pain being above the eyes or the ears, behind the he...

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

Heart rate: The number of heartbeats per unit of time, usually per minute. The heart rate ...

Hippocrates: (c.460-377BC) Great Greek physician on the Mediterranean island of Cos, who f...

Hyperventilation: Overbreathing. Hyperventilation causes dizziness, lightheadedness, a sen...

Hypokalemia: Low blood potassium.

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

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

Intensive care: See critical care.

Intubation: The process of putting a tube into a hollow organ or passageway, often into th...

Ipecac: A naturally occurring substance with multiple properties including the ability to ...

Kidney: One of a pair of organs located in the right and left side of the abdomen. The kid...

Laboratory: A place for doing tests and research procedures, and for preparing chemicals a...

Lavage: Washing out. Gastric lavage, for example, is the washing out of the stomach to rem...

Laxative: Something that promotes emptying of the bowels. Laxatives are used to combat con...

Lethal: Deadly.

Lethargy: Abnormal drowsiness, stupor.

Life support: 1. A therapy or device designed to preserve someone's life when an es...

Low blood pressure: Any blood pressure that is below the normal expected for an individua...

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

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

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

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

Organ: A relatively independent part of the body that carries out one or more special func...

Oxygen: The odorless gas that is present in the air and necessary to maintain life. Oxygen...

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

Pharmacologist: A specialist in the science of medications. A pharmacologist is usually es...

Poison: Any substance that can cause severe organ damage or death if ingested, breathed in...

Poison control center: A special information center set up to inform people about how to r...

Poisoning: Taking a substance that is injurious to health or can cause death. Poisoning i...

Potassium: The major positive ion (cation) found inside cells. The chemical notation for p...

Prescription: A physician's order for the preparation and administration of a drug or dev...

Prognosis: The forecast of the probable outcome or course of a disease; the patient's chan...

Prostaglandin: One of a number of hormone-like substances that participate in a wide range...

Psychiatric: Pertaining to or within the purview of psychiatry, the medical specialty conc...

Resident: In medicine, a physician who has finished medical school and is receiving traini...

Ringing in the ears: Medically called tinnitus, can be due to many causes including ear in...

Salicylic acid: A substance obtained from plants (white willow back and wintergreen leaves...

Sodium: The major positive ion (cation) in the fluid surrounding cells in the body. The ch...

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...

Suicidal: Pertaining to suicide. the taking of ones own life. As in a suicidal gesture, su...

Supportive care: Treatment given to prevent, control, or relieve complications and side ef...

Sweating: The act of secreting fluid from the skin by the sweat (sudoriferous) glands. The...

Symptom: Any subjective evidence of disease. In contrast, a sign is objective. Blood comin...

Synthesis: Putting together different entities to make a whole which is new and different....

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

Tinnitus: Ringing in the ears. Tinnitus has many causes, including some medications (inclu...

Toxicity: The degree to which a substance (a toxin or poison) can harm humans or animals. ...

Unconscious: 1. Interruption of awareness of oneself and one's surroundings, lack ...

Urine: Liquid waste produced by the kidneys. Urine is a clear, transparent fluid that norm...

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

Vessel: A tube in the body that carries fluids. Examples of vessels are blood vessels and ...

Vital: Necessary to maintain life. For example, breathing is a vital function.

Vitamins: The word "vitamin" was coined in 1911 by the Warsaw-born biochemist Casimir Funk...

Vomit: Matter from the stomach that has come up into and may be ejected beyond the mouth, ...

Wheezing: A whistling noise in the chest during breathing. Wheezing occurs when the airway...