Growth Hormone Deficiency in Children 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...

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

Blood count: The calculated number of white or red blood cells (WBCs or RBCs) in a cubic m...

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

Chromosomes: The microscopically visible carriers of the genetic material. They are compos...

Complete blood count: A set values of the cellular (formed elements) of blood. These meas...

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

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

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

Family history: The family structure and relationships within the family, including inform...

FDA: Food and Drug Administration.

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

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.

Hypothyroid: Deficiency of thyroid hormone which is normally made by the thyroid gland wh...

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

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

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

Karyotype: A standard arrangement of the chromosome complement prepared for chromosome ana...

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

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

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

Pediatric: Pertaining to children.

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

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...

Proteins: Large molecules composed of one or more chains of amino acids in a specific orde...

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 ...

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

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

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

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

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.

Thyroid: 1. The thyroid gland. Also, pertaining to the thyroid gland. 2. A p...

Thyroid hormone: A chemical substance made by the thyroid gland for export into the bloods...

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

Trauma: A physical or emotional injury.

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

Turner syndrome: The most common sex chromosome disorder in females, characterized by shor...