Diabetic Foot Care Glossary of Terms

1. Diabetic Peripheral Neuropathy Slideshow
2. Diabetes and Foot Problems Slideshow
3. Diabetes Quiz: Test Your Medical IQ

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

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

Amputation: Removal of part or all of a body part that is enclosed by skin. Amputation can...

Anesthesia: Loss of feeling or awareness, as when an anesthetic is administered before sur...

Angiogram: An X-ray image of blood vessels. The vessels can be seen because a contrast dye...

Artery: A vessel that carries blood high in oxygen content away from the heart to the far...

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

Atherosclerosis: A process of progressive thickening and hardening of the walls of medium-...

Athlete's foot: A skin infection caused by a fungus called Trichophyton that thrives withi...

Bacteria: Single-celled microorganisms that can exist either as independent (free-living) ...

Bacterial: Of or pertaining to bacteria, as in a bacterial lung infection.

Bioinformatics: The sum of the computational approaches to analyze, manage, and store biol...

Blister: A collection of fluid underneath the top layer of skin (epidermis). There are man...

Blood glucose: The main sugar that the body makes from the food in the diet. Glucose is ca...

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

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

Bruise: Injury of the soft tissues that results in breakage of the local capillaries and l...

Bypass: An operation in which a new pathway is created for the transport of substances in ...

Catheter: A thin, flexible tube.

CBC: A commonly used abbreviation in medicine that stands for complete blood count, a set...

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

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

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

Circulation: In medicine, the movement of fluid through the body in a regular or circuitou...

Circulatory: Having to do with circulation, the movement of fluid in a regular or circuito...

Claudication: Limping. From the Latin claudicare, which means 'to limp.' The Roman emperor...

Corns: Small calloused areas of skin caused by local pressure irritating tissue over a bon...

Cuts: Severed skin. Washing a cut or scrape with soap and water and keeping it clean and d...

Debridement: The act of debriding (removing dead, contaminated or adherent tissue or forei...

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

Diabetes mellitus: Better known just as "diabetes" -- a chronic disease associated with ab...

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

Doppler ultrasound: A form of ultrasound that can detect and measure blood flow. Doppler u...

Dry skin: Abnormally dry skin. Can be caused by a dry climate, winter weather, deficiency...

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...

Endocrinology: The study of the medical aspects of hormones, including diseases and condit...

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

Essential: In medicine, of unknown cause, as in essential hypertension (high blood pressur...

Extremity: An uttermost part of the body, such as a hand or a foot.

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

Flat feet: Absence of an arch in the sole of the foot that causes the foot to lie flat whe...

Fungal: Pertaining to a fungus. For example, a fungal skin infection.

Fungus: A single-celled or multicellular organism. Fungi can be true pathogens (such as hi...

Gangrene: Tissue death due to loss of adequate blood supply. Sometimes bacteria invade suc...

Glucose: The simple sugar that is the chief source of energy. Glucose is found in the bloo...

Groin: The area where the thigh meets the hip.

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

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 ...

Informatics: The application of computers and statistics to the management of information....

Ingrown toenail: A common disorder that occurs when the edge of the toenail grows into the...

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

Insulin: A natural hormone made by the pancreas that controls the level of the sugar gluco...

Internal medicine: The medical specialty dedicated to the diagnosis and medical treatment ...

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

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

Joint: The area where two bones are attached for the purpose of permitting body parts to m...

Juvenile: Between infantile and adult. Used in medicine to indicate onset in childhood, as...

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...

Leg: In popular usage, the part of the body from the top of the thigh down to the foot, an...

Limb: An arm or a leg.

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

Nail: In medicine, there are two types of nails. One is just a plain old metal nail used t...

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

Neuropathy: Any disease or malfunction of the nerves.

Nurse: 1) A person trained, licensed, or skilled in nursing. 2) To feed an infant at the ...

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

Operation: In medicine, a surgical procedure. Many operations are named after persons. The...

Orthopedist: An orthopedic surgeon, a physician who corrects congenital or functional abno...

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...

Pediatric: Pertaining to children.

Peripheral: Situated away from the center, as opposed to centrally located.

Peripheral neuropathy: A problem with the functioning of the nerves outside the spinal cor...

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

Podiatrist: A specialist in the diagnosis and care of foot disorders, including their medi...

Poor circulation: An inadequacy of blood flow. Inadequate blood flow to a particular area ...

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

Probe: (1) In surgery, a probe is a slender flexible rod with a blunt end used to e...

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

Pus: A thick, whitish-yellow fluid that results from the accumulation of white blood cells...

Referral: The recommendation of a medical or paramedical professional. If you get a refer...

Respiratory: Having to do with respiration.

Respiratory rate: The number of breaths per minute or, more formally, the number of moveme...

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

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

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

Sore: 1. (adjective) A popular term for painful, such as a sore throat. 2. (...

Sprain: An injury to a ligament that results from overuse or trauma. The treatment of a sp...

Strain: 1. An injury to a tendon or muscle resulting from overuse or trauma. 2. A heredita...

Surgeon: A physician who treats disease, injury, or deformity via operative or manual meth...

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

Sweat: A colorless transparent acidic fluid with a distinctive odor secreted by the small ...

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

Tear: A drop of the salty secretion of the lacrimal glands which serves to moisten the con...

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

Tobacco: A South American herb (Nicotiana tabacum) whose leaves contain 2 to 8 percent nic...

Toenail: A toenail is produced by living skin cells in the toe. A toenail consists of seve...

Trauma: A physical or emotional injury.

Type 1 diabetes: See Diabetes, type 1.

Type 2 diabetes: See Diabetes, type 2.

Ulcer: A lesion that is eroding away the skin or mucous membrane. Ulcers can have various ...

Ultrasound: High-frequency sound waves. Ultra-sound waves can be bounced off tissues by us...

Vascular: Relating to blood vessels. For example, the vascular system in the body includes...

Vein: A blood vessel that carries blood that is low in oxygen content from the body back t...

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

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

White blood cell: One of the cells the body makes to help fight infections. There are seve...

White blood cell count (leukocyte count): The number of white blood cells (WBCs) in the b...

X-ray: High-energy radiation with waves shorter than those of visible light. X-ray is used...