Food Poisoning Glossary of Terms

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Abdomen: The belly, that part of the body that contains all of the structures between the...

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 ...

Activated charcoal: Charcoal that has been heated to increase its ability to absorb molecu...

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

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

Bacillus: A large family of bacteria that are rod-like in shape. They include the bacteria...

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

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

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

Blurred vision: Lack of sharpness of vision with, as a result, the inability to see fine d...

Botulism: An uncommon but potentially very serious illness, a type of food poisoning, that...

Bowel: The small and large intestine.

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

Caliciviridae: See: Calicivirus; Norovirus.

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

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

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: The US agency charged with tracking and invest...

Chemotherapy: 1. In the original sense, a chemical that binds to and specifically k...

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

Ciguatera: Seafood poisoning due to ciguatoxin, a toxin acquired by eating fish that have ...

Clostridium: A group of anaerobic bacteria (bacteria that thrive in the absence of oxygen)...

Clostridium botulinum: A group of gram-positive, rod-shaped bacteria commonly found...

Coma: A state of deep, unarousable unconsciousness. A coma may occur as a result of head t...

Cryptosporidium: See: Cryptosporidiosis.

CT scan: Computerized tomography scan. Pictures of structures within the body created by a...

Cure: 1. To heal, to make well, to restore to good health. 2. A time withou...

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

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 ...

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

Dizziness: Painless head discomfort with many possible causes including disturbances of ...

Drip: Short for intravenous drip, a device for administering a fluid drop-by-drop into a v...

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

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

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

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...

Giardia: A genus of protozoa that infect the gastrointestinal tract of some animals, incl...

Giardiasis: Infection with Giardia lamblia.

Ginger: Ginger, the rhizome of the plant Zingiber officinale, has been used as medicine in...

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

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...

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

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

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

Immunocompromised: Having an immune system that has been impaired by disease or medical tr...

Indicate: In medicine, to make a treatment or procedure advisable because of a particular ...

Infection: The invasion and multiplication of microorganisms such as bacteria, viruses, an...

Intensive care: See critical care.

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

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

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

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...

Lactose: The sugar found in milk. Lactose is a large sugar molecule that is made up of two...

Lactose intolerance: The inability to digest lactose, a component of milk and some other d...

Lips: Aside from the lips of the mouth, there are two pairs of lips at the entrance to the...

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

Listeriosis: A disease that is caused by eating food contaminated with the bacterium Liste...

Mouth: 1. The upper opening of the digestive tract, beginning with the lips and con...

Mucus: A thick fluid that is produced by the lining of some organs of the body.

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...

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

Norovirus: A group of viruses that are a common cause of food poisoning and acute gastroen...

Norwalk virus: A family of small round viruses that are an important cause of viral gastro...

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

OB/GYN: A commonly used abbreviation. OB is short for obstetrics or for an obstetrician, ...

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...

Parasite: A plant or an animal organism that lives in or on another and takes its nourishm...

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

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.

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

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

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

Rectum: The last 6 to 8 inches of the large intestine. The rectum stores solid waste until...

Rehydration: The process of restoring lost water (dehydration) to the body tissues and flu...

Respiratory: Having to do with respiration.

Rotavirus: A virus that is a leading cause of severe diarrhea and dehydration in young chi...

Saliva: a watery secretion in the mouth produced by the salivary glands that aids in the d...

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

Scan: As a noun, the data or image obtained from the examination of organs or regions of...

Sensory: Relating to sensation, to the perception of a stimulus, to the voyage made by inc...

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

Staphylococcus: A group of bacteria that cause a multitude of diseases. Under a microscope...

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

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...

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

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

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

Tiredness: See: Tired.

Tongue: A strong muscle that is anchored to the floor of the mouth. The tongue is covered ...

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

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

Urine: Liquid waste produced by the kidneys. Urine is a clear, transparent fluid that norm...

Vibrio: A group of bacteria that includes Vibrio cholerae, the agent that causes cholera. ...

Vibrio cholerae: One of the Vibrio bacteria, V. cholerae (as the name implies) is the a...

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

Virulence: The ability of an agent of infection to produce disease. The virulence of a mic...

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...

Vomit: Matter from the stomach that has come up into and may be ejected beyond the mouth, ...

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