Family Medical Records 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.

Allergic reaction: The hypersensitive response of the immune system of an allergic indiv...

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

Anxiety: A feeling of apprehension and fear, characterized by physical symptoms such as pa...

Asthma: A common lung disorder in which inflammation causes the bronchi to swell and narro...

Baseline: Information or data gathered at the beginning of a period from which variations ...

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

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

Breathing: The process of respiration, during which air is inhaled into the lungs through ...

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

Chest: The area of the body located between the neck and the abdomen. The chest contains t...

Cholesterol: The most common type of steroid in the body. Cholesterol has a reputation for...

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

CPR: Cardiopulmonary resuscitation.

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

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

Durable power of attorney: A type of advance medical directive in which legal documents pr...

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

Emphysema: 1) A lung condition featuring an abnormal accumulation of air in the lung's ma...

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

Family physician: A physician who is educated and trained in family practice.

Headache: A pain in the head with the pain being above the eyes or the ears, behind the he...

Health Insurance Portability & Accountability Act: See: HIPAA.

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

Herbal: 1. An adjective, referring to herbs, as in an herbal tea.
2. A...

High blood pressure: A repeatedly elevated blood pressure exceeding 140 over 90 mmHg. Chro...

HIPAA: Acronym that stands for the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, a ...

Hives: A raised, itchy area of skin that may be a sign of an allergic reaction. It can be ...

Immunization: Vaccination. Immunizations work by stimulating the immune system, the natur...

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

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...

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

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

MedicAlert: A nonprofit emergency medical information service, known for its MedicAlert je...

Memory: 1. The ability to recover information about past events or knowledge. ...

MPH: Master of public health, a degree designating successful training in analyzing past, ...

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

Nursing: 1) Profession concerned with the provision of services essential to the maintena...

Pacemaker: A system that sends electrical impulses to the heart in order to set the hear...

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

Pharmacist: A professional who fills prescriptions and, in the case of a compounding pharm...

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

Poison: Any substance that can cause severe organ damage or death if ingested, breathed in...

Poison control center: A special information center set up to inform people about how to r...

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

Stress: In a medical or biological context stress is a physical, mental, or emotional fact...

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...

Temple: The area just behind and to the side of the forehead and the eye, above the side o...

Tetanus: An often fatal infectious disease that is caused by the bacterium Clostridium tet...

Toxicology: The study of the nature, effects, and detection of poisons (toxins) and the tr...

Unconscious: 1. Interruption of awareness of oneself and one's surroundings, lack ...

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