Bipolar Disorder Glossary of Terms

1. Bipolar Disorder Slideshow Pictures
2. Bipolar Disorder (Mania) Quiz
3. Depression Slideshow Pictures

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

Acquired: Not inherited, or present at birth (congenital), but developing after birth. For...

Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome: AIDS. AIDS is a disease due to infection with the huma...

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

ADHD: Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

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

Anorexia nervosa: See Anorexia.

Anticonvulsant: A medication used to control (prevent) seizures (convulsions) or stop an o...

Antidepressant: Anything, and especially a drug, used to prevent or treat depression.

Antihypertensive: Something that reduces high blood pressure (hypertension).

Antipsychotic: A medication (or another measure) that is believed to be effective in the t...

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

Atypical: Unusual, or not fitting a single diagnostic
category.

Behavior therapy: A treatment program that involves substituting desirable behavior respon...

Bipolar disorder: A mood disorder sometimes called manic-depressive illness or manic-depr...

Birth control: Birth control is the use of any practices, methods, or devices to prevent p...

Blood clot: A mass of coagulated blood. A blood clot can block a major blood vessel, causi...

Blood clots: Blood that has been converted from a liquid to a solid state. Also called a t...

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

Blood sugar: Blood glucose. See also: High blood sugar; Low blood sugar.

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

Brain tumor: A benign or malignant growth in the brain. Primary brain tumors initially for...

Breastfeeding: Feeding a child human breast milk. According to the American Academy of Ped...

Bulimia: Also called bulimia nervosa. An eating disorder characterized by episodes of secr...

Capsule: Capsule has many meanings in medicine including the following:

1. In medici...

Cell: The basic structural and functional unit of any living thing. Each cell is a small c...

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

Chronic pain: Pain (an unpleasant sense of discomfort) that persists or progresses over ...

Cocaine: A substance derived from the leaves of the coca plant that is a bitter, addictive...

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

Cognitive behavior therapy: A therapeutic practice that helps patients recognize and remed...

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

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...

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

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

Diabetes: Refers to diabetes mellitus or, less often, to diabetes insipidus. Diabetes mell...

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 ...

Dopamine: An important neurotransmitter (messenger) in the brain.

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

Dysfunction: Difficult function or abnormal function.

EEG: Electroencephalogram.

Electroencephalogram: A technique for studying the electrical currents within the brain. E...

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

Encephalitis: Inflammation of the brain, which may be caused by a bacterium, a virus, or a...

Epilepsy (seizure disorder): When nerve cells in the brain fire electrical impulses...

Euphoria: Elevated mood. Euphoria is a desirable and natural occurrence when it results f...

Extrapyramidal side effects: Physical symptoms, including tremor, slurred speech, akathesi...

Family therapy: A type of psychotherapy designed to identify family patterns that contribu...

Fats: Plural of the word "fat". See the definition of fat.

FDA: Food and Drug Administration.

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

Food and Drug Administration: An agency within the US Public Health Service that provides ...

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

Genetic: Having to do with genes and genetic
information.

Grief: The normal process of reacting to a loss. The loss may be physical (such as a death...

Group therapy: 1) A type of psychiatric care in which several patients meet with one or m...

Growing pains: Mysterious pains in growing children, usually in the legs, likely occurring...

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

Herbal: 1. An adjective, referring to herbs, as in an herbal tea.
2. A...

HIV: Acronym for the Human Immunodeficiency Virus, the cause of AIDS (acquired immunodefi...

Homicide: 1. The killing of a person. 2. Strictly speaking, the killing of a...

Hormone: A chemical substance produced in the body that controls and regulates the activit...

Human immunodeficiency virus: HIV, the cause of AIDS. HIV has also been called the human...

Hyperglycemia: A high blood sugar. An elevated level specifically of the sugar glucose in...

Hypomania: A condition similar to mania but less severe. The symptoms are similar with ele...

Immunodeficiency: The inability to form a normal immune response. Immunodeficiency can be ...

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

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

Intervention: The act of intervening, interfering or interceding with the intent of modify...

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...

Lipids: Another word for "fats." (Please see the various meanings of Fat.) Lipids can be m...

Lithium: A naturally occurring salt that, in purified form, is used to treat certain psych...

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

Lumbar: Referring to the five lumbar vertebrae, the disks below them, and the correspondin...

Lupus: A chronic inflammatory disease that is caused by autoimmunity. Patients with lupus ...

Mania: An abnormally elevated mood state characterized by such symptoms as inappropriate...

Manic: In a state of mania.

Meningitis: Inflammation of the meninges, the three membranes that envelop the brain and t...

Migraine: Usually, periodic attacks of headaches on one or both sides of the head. These ...

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...

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

Neurosyphilis: Neurological complications in the third (tertiary) and final phase of syp...

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

Outpatient: A patient who is not hospitalized, but instead comes to a physician?s office, ...

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

Panic: A sudden strong feeling of fear that prevents reasonable thought or action. The wor...

Panic disorder: An anxiety disorder that is characterized by sudden attacks of fear and pa...

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

Phobia: An unreasonable sort of fear that can cause avoidance and panic. Phobias are a rel...

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

Pregnant: The state of carrying a developing fetus within the body.

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...

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

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

Psychiatry: The medical specialty that is concerned with the prevention, diagnosis, and tr...

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...

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

Relapse: The return of signs and symptoms of a disease after a remission.

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

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

Schizoaffective disorder: A mood disorder that is coupled with some symptoms that resemble...

Schizophrenia: One of several brain diseases whose symptoms may include loss of personalit...

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

Serotonin: A neurotransmitter that is involved in the transmission of nerve impulses. Sero...

Sexually transmitted disease: Any disease transmitted by sexual contact; caused by microo...

Sleep: The body's rest cycle.

Social phobia: A paralyzing fear of interacting with others. Symptoms include excessive bl...

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

Spinal tap: Also known as a lumbar puncture or "LP", a spinal tap is a procedure whereby ...

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...

Substance abuse: The excessive use of a substance, especially alcohol or a drug. (There is...

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

Suicide prevention: Diminishing the risk of suicide. It may not be possible to eliminate e...

Syndrome: A combination of symptoms and signs that together represent a disease process.

Syphilis: A sexually transmitted disease caused by Treponema pallidum, a microscopic orga...

Systemic: Affecting the entire body. A systemic disease such as diabetes can affect the wh...

Systemic lupus erythematosus: A chronic inflammatory condition caused by an autoimmune di...

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

Thyroid: 1. The thyroid gland. Also, pertaining to the thyroid gland. 2. A p...

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

Trauma: A physical or emotional injury.

Tremor: An abnormal, repetitive shaking movement of the body. Tremors have many causes and...

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 ...

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

Virus: A microorganism that is smaller than a bacterium that cannot grow or reproduce apar...

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