E. coli (Escherichia coli 0157:H7, E. coli 0157:H7) Infections 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 ...

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

Aerobic: Oxygen-requiring. Aerobic bacteria need oxygen to grow. Aerobic exercise requires...

Anaerobic: Not requiring oxygen. Anaerobic bacteria, for example, do not require oxygen to...

Analysis: In psychology, a term for conversation-based therapeutic processes used to gain ...

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

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

Antigen: A substance that the immune system perceives as being foreign or dangerous. The b...

Atropine: A drug, made from the belladonna plant, that is administered via injection, eye ...

Bacteremia: The presence of live bacteria in the bloodstream. Bacteremia is analogous to ...

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

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

Bacterium: The singular of bacteria.

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

Cholangitis: Inflammation of the bile duct. From cholangi-, pertaining to a bile duct + -i...

Cholecystitis: Inflammation of the gallbladder. Cholecystitis is a complication of gallsto...

Colitis: Inflammation of the large intestine (the colon). There are many forms of coliti...

Complication: In medicine, an unanticipated problem that arises following, and is a result...

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

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

Dialysis: The process of cleansing the blood by passing it through a special machine. Dial...

Diarrhea: A common condition that involves unusually frequent and liquid bowel movements. ...

Dysentery: Inflammation of the intestine, with pain, diarrhea, bloody stools, and often a ...

Escherichia coli: Full term for E. coli, the colon bacillus.

Facultative: 1. In general, not obligatory but rather capable of adapting to differ...

FDA: Food and Drug Administration.

Fecal: Relating to the feces, the stool. The excrement discharged from the intestines.

Feces: The excrement discharged from the 'intestines.

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

Food poisoning: A common flu-like illness typically characterized by nausea, vomiting and...

Gastroenterology: The medical specialty devoted to the study, diagnosis and treatment of d...

Gastrointestinal: Adjective referring collectively to the stomach and small and large inte...

Genes: The basic biological units of heredity. Segments of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) nee...

Gram-negative: Gram-negative bacteria lose the crystal violet stain (and take the color of...

Hemolytic: Referring to hemolysis, the destruction of red blood cells which leads to the r...

Hemolytic uremic syndrome: A condition characterized by the breakup of red blood cells (he...

Hemorrhagic: Pertaining to bleeding or the abnormal flow of blood.

Incidence: The frequency with which something, such as a disease or trait, appears in a pa...

Infant: A young baby, from birth to 12 months of age.

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 ...

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

Isolate: A group in which mating is always between members of the group. For example, the ...

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...

Lethal: Deadly.

Listeria: A group of bacteria capable of causing illness including potentially fata...

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

Mortality: A fatal outcome or, in one word, death. The word "mortality" is derived from "m...

Mortality rate: A death rate. There are a number of different types of mortality rates as,...

Mucous: Pertaining to mucus, a thick fluid produced by the lining of some tissues of the b...

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

Neonatal: Pertaining to the newborn period, specifically the first 4 weeks after birth.

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

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

Plasma: The liquid part of the blood and lymphatic fluid, which makes up about half of the...

Plasmid: A circle of DNA that is self-replicating (autonomously replicating) and distinct ...

Platelet: An irregular, disc-shaped element in the blood that assists in blood clotting....

Platelet aggregation: The clumping together of platelets in the blood. Platelet aggregatio...

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

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

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

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

Public health: The approach to medicine that is concerned with the health of the community...

Purpura: Hemorrhage (bleeding) into the surface of the skin. The area of skin with purpura...

Receptor: 1. In cell biology, a structure on the surface of a cell (or inside a cel...

Renal: Having to do with the kidney. For example, renal cancer is cancer of the kidneys.

Resistance: Opposition to something, or the ability to withstand something. For example, s...

Salmonella: A group of bacteria that cause typhoid fever and a number of other illnesses...

Septic: Infected, or denoting infection. For example, septic shock is shock that is caused...

Serotype: The kind of microorganism as characterized by serologic typing (testing for rec...

Serum: The clear liquid that can be separated from clotted blood. Serum differs from plas...

Shigella: A group of bacteria that can cause infantile gastroenteritis, summer diarrhea of...

Stomach: The digestive organ that is located in the upper abdomen, under the ribs. The upp...

Stomach cramps: A nonmedical term most often used to describe pain in the mid- or upper ab...

Stool: The solid matter that is discharged in a bowel movement.

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

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

Synthesis: Putting together different entities to make a whole which is new and different....

Thermometer: A device used to measure the temperature of gaseous, liquid or solid matter ...

Toxin: A poison produced by certain animals, plants, or bacteria.

Traveler's diarrhea: Diarrhea that results from infections acquired while traveling to ano...

Trigger: Something that either sets off a disease in people who are genetically predispose...

Uremia: The presence of excessive amounts of urea in the blood, which may be a sign of ki...

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...

UTI: Urinary tract infection.

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

Virulent: Extremely noxious, damaging, deleterious, and disease causing (pathogenic); mark...