Growth Hormone Deficiency Glossary of Terms

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

Acquired: Not inherited, or present at birth (congenital), but developing after birth. For...

Aging: The process of becoming older, a process that is genetically determined and environ...

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

Bioinformatics: The sum of the computational approaches to analyze, manage, and store biol...

Blood sugar: Blood glucose. See also: High blood sugar; Low blood sugar.

Bone density: Bone density is the amount of bone tissue in a certain volume of bone. It ca...

Brain: The portion of the central nervous system that is located within the skull. It func...

Cardiovascular: Relating to the circulatory system, which comprises the heart and blood ve...

Cardiovascular disease: Disease affecting the heart or blood vessels.

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

Congenital: A condition that is present at birth, whether or not it is inherited.

Consultant: An individual to whom one refers for expert advice or services. The use of con...

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

Depression: An illness that involves the body, mood, and thoughts and that affects the way...

DEXA: Dual energy X-ray absorptometry. See: DXA.

Dry skin: Abnormally dry skin. Can be caused by a dry climate, winter weather, deficiency...

Endocrinology: The study of the medical aspects of hormones, including diseases and condit...

Gland: A group of cells that secrete a substance for use in the body. For example, the thy...

Glucose: The simple sugar that is the chief source of energy. Glucose is found in the bloo...

Growth hormone: A hormone made in the pituitary gland that stimulates the release of anoth...

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

Hormone therapy: Treatment of disease or symptoms with synthetic or naturally derived horm...

Human growth: See: Normal growth.

Informatics: The application of computers and statistics to the management of information....

Injury: Harm or hurt. To harm, hurt, or wound. The word injure may be in physical or emot...

Insulin: A natural hormone made by the pancreas that controls the level of the sugar gluco...

Insulin resistance: The diminished ability of cells to respond to the action of insulin in...

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

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

Metabolism: The whole range of biochemical processes that occur within a living organism. ...

MRI: Magnetic resonance imaging.

Muscle: Muscle is the tissue of the body which primarily functions as a source of power. T...

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

Onset: In medicine, the first appearance of the signs or symptoms of an illness as, for ex...

Osteoporosis: Thinning of the bones, with reduction in bone mass, due to depletion of calc...

Pediatric: Pertaining to children.

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

Pituitary: 1. As an adjective, pertaining to the pituitary gland or its hormonal se...

Pituitary gland: The main endocrine gland. It is a small structure in the head. It is ca...

Plasma: The liquid part of the blood and lymphatic fluid, which makes up about half of the...

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

Puberty: Adolescence, the period in which the human body first becomes capable of reproduc...

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

Radiation therapy: The use of high-energy rays to damage cancer cells, stopping them from ...

Resistance: Opposition to something, or the ability to withstand something. For example, s...

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

Sleep: The body's rest cycle.

Somatotropin: A growth hormone that is produced by the anterior pituitary (the front part ...

Somatropin: Growth hormone made by the pituitary gland or a synthetic version of that horm...

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

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.

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

Tiredness: See: Tired.

Tooth: One of the structures within the mouth that allow for biting and chewing. Teeth hav...

Tumor: An abnormal mass of tissue. Tumors are a classic sign of inflammation, and can be ...