Cervicitis Glossary of Terms

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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 ...

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

Abortion: In medicine, an abortion is the premature exit of the products of conception (t...

Acyclovir: (Brand name: Zovirax) One of a group of antiviral drugs that acts against the...

Allergy: A misguided reaction to foreign substances by the immune system, the body system ...

Antibiotic: A drug used to treat infections caused by bacteria and other microorganisms. ...

Antiviral: An agent that kills a virus or that suppresses its ability to replicate and, he...

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

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

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

Blindness: Loss of useful sight. Blindness can be temporary or permanent. Damage to any p...

Cancer: An abnormal growth of cells which tend to proliferate in an uncontrolled way and, ...

CDC: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the US agency charged with tracking a...

Cervical: Having to do with any kind of neck, including the neck on which the head is perc...

Cervical cancer: Cancer of the entrance to the womb (uterus). The cervix is the lower, na...

Cervical cap: A soft rubber cup with a round rim designed to fit snugly around the cervix...

Cervicitis: Inflammation of the uterine cervix.

Cervix: The cervix is the lower, narrow part of the uterus (womb). The uterus, a hollow, ...

Chills: feelings of coldness accompanied by shivering. Chills may develop after exposure t...

Chlamydia: The agent of a sexually transmitted disease, a type of bacteria found in the ce...

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

Colposcopy: A procedure in which a lighted magnifying instrument called a colposcope (or v...

Cryosurgery: Treatment performed with an instrument that freezes and destroys abnormal tis...

Cryotherapy: Literally, "cold therapy." Cryotherapy, sometimes referred to as cryosurgery,...

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

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

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

Ectopic: In the wrong place, out of place. For example, an ectopic kidney is a kidney that...

Ectopic pregnancy: A pregnancy that is not in the uterus. The fertilized egg settles and g...

Electrocoagulation: The coagulation (clotting) of tissue using a high-frequency electrical...

Electrocoagulation: A procedure that uses an electrical current to stop bleeding.

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

Endometritis: Inflammation of the endometrium, the inner layer of the uterus.

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

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

Genital: Pertaining to the external and/or internal organs of reproduction.

Genital herpes: An infection by human herpes virus that is transmitted through intimate co...

Genitalia: The male or female reproductive organs. The genitalia include internal and exte...

Gonorrhea: A bacterial infection that is transmitted by sexual contact. Gonorrhea is one o...

Herpes: A family of viruses. Herpes also refers to infection with one of the human herpesv...

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

HPV: Human papillomavirus.

Human papillomavirus: HPV. A family of over 100 viruses including those which cause warts ...

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...

Infertility: Diminished or absent ability to conceive and bear offspring. A couple is cons...

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

Injury: Harm or hurt. To harm, hurt, or wound. The word injure may be in physical or emot...

Itching: An uncomfortable sensation in the skin that feels as if something is crawling on ...

Laser: A powerful beam of light that is used in some types of surgery to cut or destroy ti...

Last menstrual period: By convention, pregnancies are dated in weeks starting from the fir...

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

Menstrual: Pertaining to menstruation (the menses), as in last menstrual period, menstrua...

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...

Outlet: The exit or opening. The means by which something escapes.

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

Painful urination: See: Dysuria.

Pap Smear: A screening test for cervical cancer based on the examination of cells under th...

Pap test: A screening test for cervical cancer that involves the microscopic examination o...

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

Pelvic pain: : Pain perceived in the area of the pelvis, the lower part of the abdomen loc...

Penis: The external male sex organ. The penis contains two chambers, the corpora cavernosa...

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

Precancerous: Pertaining to something that is not yet overtly cancerous, but appears to be...

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.

Premature birth: A birth that takes place before 37 weeks of gestation have passed. Histor...

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...

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

Sensation: In medicine and physiology, sensation refers to the registration of an incoming...

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

Sexually transmitted infection: An infection that can be transferred from one person to an...

Speculum: An instrument that is used to widen the opening of the vagina so that the cervix...

Spontaneous abortion: A miscarriage, that is, any pregnancy that is not viable (the fetus...

STD: Sexually transmitted disease.

Stenosis: A narrowing. For example, aortic stenosis is a narrowing of the aortic valve in ...

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

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

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

Trichomoniasis: Infection with trichomonas, in humans with Trichomonas vaginalis.

Tubes: The "tubes" are medically known as the Fallopian tubes. There are two Fallopian tub...

Urethritis: Inflammation of the urethra, the tube that leads from the bladder to the outsi...

Urinary: Having to do with the function or anatomy of the kidneys, ureters, bladder, or ur...

Urinary tract: The organs of the body that produce, store, and discharge urine. These orga...

Urinary tract infection: An infection of the kidney, ureter, bladder, or urethra. Abbrevia...

Uterus: A hollow, pear-shaped organ that is located in a woman's lower abdomen, between th...

Vagina: The muscular canal that extends from the cervix to the outside of the body. It is ...

Vaginal discharge: Vaginal discharge is a fluid produced by glands in the vaginal wall and...

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

Zovirax: Brand name of Acyclovir.