Benzodiazepine Abuse Glossary of Terms

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

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

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

Addiction: An uncontrollable craving, seeking, and use of a substance such as alcohol or a...

Alprazolam: A benzodiazepine sedative that causes dose-related depression of the central n...

Amnesia: An impairment to or lack of memory. Antegrade amnesia refers to a lack of memory ...

Anesthetic: A substance that causes lack of feeling or awareness, dulling pain to permit s...

Anorexia: An eating disorder characterized by markedly reduced appetite or total aversion...

Antidote: A drug that counteracts a poison.

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

Benzodiazepines: A class of drugs that act as tranquilizers and are commonly used in the t...

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

Blurred vision: Lack of sharpness of vision with, as a result, the inability to see fine d...

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...

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

Cleft lip: A fissure in the upper lip that is due to failure of the left and right sides o...

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

Comorbidity: The coexistence of two or more disease processes.

Date rape: Rape of a woman by a man with whom she is acquainted. The rapist is usually the...

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

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

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

Fetus: An unborn offspring, from the embryo stage (the end of the eighth week after concep...

Gastric: Having to do with the stomach.

Genetic: Having to do with genes and genetic
information.

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 ...

Insomnia: The perception or complaint of inadequate or poor-quality sleep due to a number ...

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

Lethal: Deadly.

Medical history: 1. In clinical medicine, the patient's past and present which may ...

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

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

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

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

Palate: The roof of the mouth. The front portion is bony (hard palate), and the back porti...

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

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

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

Pregnancy: The state of carrying a developing embryo or fetus within the female body. Thi...

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

Psychiatrist: A physician who specializes in the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of m...

Psychosis: In the general sense, a mental illness that markedly interferes with a person'...

Psychotherapy: The treatment of a behavior disorders, mental illness, or any other conditi...

Pulse: The rhythmic dilation of an artery that results from beating of the heart. Pulse is...

Rape: Forced sexual intercourse; sexual assault; sexual intercourse between an adult and a...

Rehab: An abbreviation for rehabilitation.

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

Respiratory: Having to do with respiration.

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

Roofies: Street term for Rohypnol.

Sedative: A drug that calms a patient, easing agitation and permitting sleep. Sedatives ge...

Seizure: Uncontrolled electrical activity in the brain, which may produce a physical conv...

Stage: As regards cancer, the extent of a cancer, especially whether the disease has spre...

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...

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

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

Taste: A perception that results from stimulation of a gustatory nerve. Taste belongs to t...

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

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

Toxicology: The study of the nature, effects, and detection of poisons (toxins) and the tr...

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

Withdrawal symptoms: Abnormal physical or psychological features that follow the abrupt di...

Xanax: See: Alprazolam.