Giardiasis 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...

American Academy of Pediatrics: AAP. Its member pediatricians "dedicate their efforts and ...

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...

Aspiration: Removal of a sample of fluid and cells through a needle. Aspiration also re...

Assay: An assay is an analysis done to determine:

1. The presence of a substance an...

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

Biopsy: The removal of a sample of tissue for examination under a microscope to check for ...

Bowel: The small and large intestine.

Caffeine: A stimulant compound found naturally in coffee, tea, cocoa (chocolate), and kola...

Capsule: Capsule has many meanings in medicine including the following:

1. In medici...

Cheek: The side of the face, which forms the side wall of the mouth. The cheekbone is part...

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

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

Constipation: Infrequent and frequently incomplete bowel movements. Constipation is the op...

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

Cysts: Cysts are abnormal, closed sac-like structures within a tissue that contain a liqui...

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. ...

Dry mouth: The condition of not having enough saliva to keep the mouth wet. This is due to...

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...

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

Giardia lamblia: A parasite responsible for a contagious form of diarrhea. The parasite i...

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...

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

Heart rate: The number of heartbeats per unit of time, usually per minute. The heart rate ...

Homosexual: A person sexually attracted to persons of the same sex. Homosexuals include m...

Hygiene: The science of preventive medicine and the preservation of health. Also commonly ...

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...

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

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...

Malnutrition: A term used to refer to any condition in which the body does not receive eno...

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.

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...

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...

Parasitic: Having to do with a parasite, as in a parasitic infection; or acting like a par...

Pediatrics: The field of medicine that is concerned with the health of infants, children, ...

Prescription: A physician's order for the preparation and administration of a drug or dev...

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...

Pus: A thick, whitish-yellow fluid that results from the accumulation of white blood cells...

Quinacrine: An antimalarial drug and, in cytogenetics, a fluorescent dye used to stain chr...

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

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

Small bowel: Another name for the small intestine.

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

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...

Taste: A perception that results from stimulation of a gustatory nerve. Taste belongs to t...

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

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

Transplant: The grafting of a tissue from one place to another, just as in botany a bu...

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

Trimester: In obstetrics, one of the three divisions of three months each during pregnancy...

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

Vitamins: The word "vitamin" was coined in 1911 by the Warsaw-born biochemist Casimir Funk...

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