Hepatitis C Medications Glossary of Terms

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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.

Acetaminophen: A nonaspirin pain reliever or analgesic. Acetaminophen may be given alone t...

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

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

Alpha-1: Short for alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency.

Anal itching: Irritation of the skin at the exit of the rectum, accompanied by the desire ...

Analog: In biochemistry, a substance that is similar, but not identical, to another.

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

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

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

Ascites: An abnormal accumulation of fluid within the abdomen. There are many causes of as...

Asymptomatic: Without symptoms. For example, an asymptomatic infection is an infection wit...

Autoimmune: Pertaining to autoimmunity, a misdirected immune response that occurs when the...

Autoimmune hepatitis: A disease in which the body's immune system attacks liver cells, cau...

Belly: That part of the body that contains all of the structures between the chest and t...

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

Blood transfusion: The transfer of blood or blood components from one person (the donor) i...

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

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 ...

Cirrhosis: Liver disease characterized by irreversible scarring. Alcohol and viral hepatit...

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...

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

Edema: The swelling of soft tissues as a result of excess fluid accumulation. Edema is oft...

End stage: The last phase in the course of a progressive disease. As in end-stage liver di...

Enzyme: A protein (or protein-based molecule) that speeds up a chemical reaction in a livi...

Enzymes: Proteins that act as a catalysts in mediating and speeding a specific chemical re...

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

FDA: Food and Drug Administration.

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

Flu: Short for influenza. The flu is caused by viruses that infect the respiratory tract w...

Genotype: The genetic constitution (genome) of a cell, an individual, or an organism. The ...

HCV: Hepatitis C virus.

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 disease: Any disorder that affects the heart. Sometimes the term "heart disease" is ...

Hemodialysis: A medical procedure that uses a special machine (a dialysis machine) to fil...

Hemorrhoids: Dilated (enlarged) veins in the walls of the anus and sometimes around the re...

Hepatitis: Inflammation of the liver, irrespective of the cause. Hepatitis is caused by a ...

Hepatitis A: Inflammation of the liver caused by the hepatitis A virus (HAV). HAV is usua...

Hepatitis C: Inflammation of the liver due to the hepatitis C virus (HCV), which is usuall...

Hepatitis C virus: A single-stranded RNA virus in the Flaviviridae family that causes hepa...

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

Immune: Protected against infection, usually by the presence of antibodies.

Immune system: A complex system that is responsible for distinguishing a person from every...

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 ...

Interferon: A naturally occurring substance that interferes with the ability of viruses t...

Intron: Part of a gene that is initially transcribed into the primary RNA transcript but i...

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

Jaundice: Yellow staining of the skin and sclerae (the whites of the eyes) by abnormally h...

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

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

Liver disease: Liver disease refers to any disorder of the liver. The liver is a large org...

Liver transplant: Surgery to remove a diseased liver and replace it with a healthy liver (...

Multiple sclerosis: A disease that is characterized by loss of myelin (demyelinization). A...

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...

Neutropenia: Not enough neutrophils, neutrophils being a type of white blood cell (specifi...

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

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

Pancreas: A spongy, tube-shaped organ that is about 6 inches long and is located in the ba...

Piercing: Using a sharp instrument, usually a needle, to make a temporary or permanent ...

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.

Protease: An enzyme that can split a protein into the peptides from which it was originall...

Protease inhibitor: An agent that can keep a protease from splitting a protein into peptid...

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

Proteins: Large molecules composed of one or more chains of amino acids in a specific orde...

Pruritus: Itching. Pruritus can result from drug reaction, food allergy, kidney or liver...

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

Recipient: In medicine, someone who is given something, such as a blood transfusion or an ...

Recombinant: A person with a new combination of genes, a combination not present in either...

Red blood cells: The blood cells that carry oxygen. Red cells contain hemoglobin and it is...

Replication: A turning back, repetition, duplication, reproduction.

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

RNA: Ribonucleic acid.

RNA virus: A virus in which the genetic material is RNA. The RNA may be either double- or ...

Sclerosis: Localized hardening of skin. Sclerosis is generally caused by underlying diseas...

Sleep: The body's rest cycle.

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

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...

Tattoo: The permanent insertion of ink below the skin, using a sharp instrument. Humans ha...

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

Thymosin: One of several polypeptide hormones secreted by the thymus that control the matu...

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

Transfusion: The transfer of blood or blood products from one person (the donor) into the ...

Transplant: The grafting of a tissue from one place to another, just as in botany a bu...

Tylenol: See: Acetaminophen.

Vertex: The top of the head. For example, in a vertex presentation at birth, the top of th...

Viable: Capable of life. For example, a viable premature baby is one who is able to surviv...

Viral: Of or pertaining to a virus. For example, if a person has a viral rash, the rash wa...

Viral hepatitis: Liver inflammation caused by a virus. Specific hepatitis viruses have bee...

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

Viruses: Small living particles that can infect cells and change how the cells function. I...

Weight loss: Weight loss is a decrease in body weight resulting from either voluntary (die...