Excess Skin Removal After Extreme Weight Loss Glossary of Terms

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Abdominal: Relating to the abdomen, the belly, that part of the body that contains all of ...

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

Adjacent: Lying nearby. Related terms include superjacent, subjacent, and circumjacent. Fr...

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

Antibody: An immunoglobulin, a specialized immune protein, produced because of the introdu...

Antiphospholipid antibody syndrome: An immune disorder characterized by the presence of ab...

Arms: An appendage in anatomy and in clinical trials. See: Arm.

Aspirin: Once the Bayer trademark for acetylsalicylic acid, now the common name for this a...

Bariatric: Pertaining to the study, prevention, or treatment of overweight.

Bariatric surgery: Surgery on the stomach and/or intestines to help a person with extrem...

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

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

BMI: Body mass index.

Body mass index: A key index for relating weight to height. Abbreviated BMI. BMI is a pers...

Cardiac: Having to do with the heart.

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

Compression: 1. The act of pressing together. As in a compression fracture, nerve c...

Contrast: Short for "contrast media." Contrast media are X-ray dyes used to provide contra...

Deep vein thrombosis: A blood clot within a deep vein, typically in the thigh or leg. The ...

Degenerative joint disease: Also known as osteoarthritis, this type of arthritis is cause...

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

Epidemic: The occurrence of more cases of a disease than would be expected in a community...

Fascia: A flat band of tissue below the skin that covers underlying tissues and separates ...

Folate: Folic acid, one of the B vitamins that is a key factor in the synthesis (the makin...

Hematoma: A localized swelling that is filled with blood caused by a break in the wall of ...

Heparin: An anticoagulant (anti-clotting) medication. Heparin is useful in preventing thro...

Hypertrophic: Exhibiting hypertrophy (enlargement or overgrowth of an organ or part of the...

Hypothermia: Abnormally low body temperature. Someone who falls asleep in a cold temperatu...

Ibuprofen: A nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) that is commonly used to treat pa...

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...

Iron: An essential mineral. Iron is necessary for the transport of oxygen (via hemoglobin ...

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

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

Laser surgery: A type of surgery that uses the cutting power of a laser beam to make blood...

Lateral: 1. In anatomy, the side of the body or a body part that is farther from th...

Liposuction: The surgical suctioning of fat deposits from specific parts of the body, the ...

Neck: The part of the body joining the head to the shoulders. Also, any narrow or constric...

Obese: Well above ones normal weight. A person has traditionally been considered to be obe...

Obesity: The state of being well above one's normal weight.

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

Overweight: The term "overweight" is used in two different ways. In one sense it is a way ...

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

Physical therapy: A branch of rehabilitative health that uses specially designed exercises...

Plastic surgery: A surgical specialty that is dedicated to reconstruction of facial and bo...

Preoperative: Before surgery. As opposed to postoperative, after surgery.

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

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

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

Superficial: In anatomy, on the surface or shallow. As opposed to deep. The skin is superf...

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...

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

Tension: 1) The pressure within a vessel, such as blood pressure: the pressure within t...

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

Thigh: The thick, muscular portion of the leg that extends from the hip to the knee. The t...

Thrombosis: The formation or presence of a blood clot in a blood vessel. The vessel may be...

Tummy: 1. "Babytalk" referring to the stomach. The word tummy is derived from stoma...

Type 2 diabetes: See Diabetes, type 2.

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

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

Women's hospital: A hospital for the exclusive use of women.