Gallstones Glossary of Terms

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 ...

Acetaminophen: A nonaspirin pain reliever or analgesic. Acetaminophen may be given alone t...

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

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

Angina: Chest pain due to an inadequate supply of oxygen to the heart muscle. The pain is ...

Asymptomatic: Without symptoms. For example, an asymptomatic infection is an infection wit...

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

Belching: A normal process of releasing through the mouth air that accumulates in the stom...

Bile: Bile is a yellow-green fluid that is made by the liver, stored in the gallbladder a...

Biliary: Having to do with the gallbladder, bile ducts, or bile. The biliary system itself...

Bilirubin: A yellow-orange compound that is produced by the breakdown of hemoglobin from r...

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

Bladder: A hollow organ in the lower abdomen that stores urine. The kidneys filter waste f...

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

Chest pain: Pain in the chest that can be a result of many things, including angina, heart...

Chest X-ray: A type of X-ray commonly used to detect abnormalities in the lungs. A chest X...

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

Cholecystectomy: Surgical removal of the gallbladder. This procedure may be done by laparo...

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

Cholescintigraphy: A diagnostic test in which a two-dimensional picture of a radiation sou...

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

Colic: A cause of crampy abdominal pain in early infancy. Colic is a common condition, occ...

Common bile duct: The duct that carries bile from the gallbladder and liver into the duode...

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

Contraction: The tightening and shortening of a muscle.

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...

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. ...

Duct: A walled passageway, such as a lymph duct, that carries fluid from one place to anot...

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

Endoscope: A lighted optical instrument that is used to get a deep look inside the body. A...

Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography: Abbreviated ERCP. A procedure done to diag...

Enzymes: Proteins that act as a catalysts in mediating and speeding a specific chemical re...

ERCP: Endoscopic retrograde cholangio-pancreatography, a diagnostic procedure used to exam...

ESWL: Extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy.

Extracorporeal: Outside the body, in the anatomic sense. As in extracorporeal circulation,...

Extracorporeal shockwave lithotripsy: See: Extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy.

Fasting: : going without food or drink. Patients may be advised to fast for a certain peri...

Fats: Plural of the word "fat". See the definition of fat.

Fetus: An unborn offspring, from the embryo stage (the end of the eighth week after concep...

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

Gallbladder: A pear-shaped organ located below the liver that stores the bile secreted by ...

Gallstones: Stones that form when substances in the bile harden. Gallstones can be as smal...

HDL: High density lipoprotein.

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

Heart attack: The death of heart muscle due to the loss of blood supply. The loss of bloo...

Heart disease: Any disorder that affects the heart. Sometimes the term "heart disease" is ...

Hormone: A chemical substance produced in the body that controls and regulates the activit...

Hypercholesterolemia: High blood cholesterol. This can be sporadic (occurring with no fami...

Incision: A cut through skin or other tissue performed by a health care professional.

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 ...

Intestine: The long, tubelike organ in the abdomen that completes the process of digestion...

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

Kidney: One of a pair of organs located in the right and left side of the abdomen. The kid...

Laparoscopic: 1. Pertaining to the procedure of laparoscopy.
2. Pert...

Laparoscopic cholecystectomy: Removal of the gallbladder (cholecystectomy) by laparoscopy.

Lipid: Another word for "fat." (Please see the various meanings of Fat.) A lipid is more f...

Lipid profile: A pattern of lipids in the blood. A lipid profile usually includes the leve...

Lipoprotein: A molecule that is a combination of lipid and protein. Lipids do not travel i...

Lipoproteins: Complexes of lipid and protein, the way lipids travel in the blood.

Lithotripsy: A procedure to break a stone into small particles that can be passed in the u...

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

Liver disease: Liver disease refers to any disorder of the liver. The liver is a large org...

Marker: A piece of DNA that lies on a chromosome so close to a gene that the marker and t...

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

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...

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

Operating room: A facility that is equipped for performing surgery. Abbreviated OR.

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

Oral cholecystogram: Abbreviated OCG. An x-ray procedure for diagnosing gallstones. The p...

Organ: A relatively independent part of the body that carries out one or more special func...

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

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

Pancreas: A spongy, tube-shaped organ that is about 6 inches long and is located in the ba...

Pancreatitis: Inflammation of the pancreas. Of the many causes of pancreatitis, the most c...

Pigment: A substance that gives color to tissue. Pigments are responsible for the colors o...

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

Polygenic: Pertaining to two or more genes. As opposed to monogenic.

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...

Radiate: To spread out from a central area. For example, sciatic pain may radiate outward ...

Radiation: 1. Rays of energy. Gamma rays and X-rays are two of the types of energy ...

Radioactive: Emitting energy waves due to decaying atomic nuclei. Radioactive substances a...

Residual: Something left behind. With residual disease, the disease has not been eradicate...

Rib: One of the 12 paired arches of bone that form the skeletal structure of the chest wal...

Rib cage: The structure formed by the thoracic vertebrae and ribs, the sternum (breastbone...

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

Rule out: Term used in medicine, meaning to eliminate or exclude something from considera...

Saturated fat: A fat that contains only saturated fatty acids, is solid at room temperatur...

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

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

Shock: In medicine, a critical condition that is brought on by a sudden drop in blood flow...

Shoulder: A structure made up of two main bones: the scapula (shoulder blade) and the hume...

Sleep: The body's rest cycle.

Small intestine: The part of the digestive tract that extends from the stomach to the larg...

Statins: A class of drugs that lower cholesterol.

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

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...

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

Symptomatic: 1 With symptoms, as a symptomatic infection. 2 Characteristic o...

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

Triglycerides: The major form of fat stored by the body. A triglyceride consists of three ...

Tylenol: See: Acetaminophen.

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

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

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