Hepatitis B Treatment Glossary of Terms

1. Hepatitis Slideshow Pictures
2. Digestive Disease Myths Slideshow Pictures
3. Infectious Mononucleosis Slideshow Pictures

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

Acidosis: Too much acid in the body, a distinctly abnormal condition resulting from the ac...

Acute: Of abrupt onset, in reference to a disease. Acute often also connotes an illness th...

Allergic reaction: The hypersensitive response of the immune system of an allergic indiv...

Anemia: The condition of having a lower-than-normal number of red blood cells or quantity ...

Antibody: An immunoglobulin, a specialized immune protein, produced because of the introdu...

Antigen: A substance that the immune system perceives as being foreign or dangerous. The b...

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

Autoimmune: Pertaining to autoimmunity, a misdirected immune response that occurs when the...

Autoimmune hepatitis: A disease in which the body's immune system attacks liver cells, cau...

B virus: An infectious agent commonly found among macaque monkeys, including rhesus macaqu...

Breastfeeding: Feeding a child human breast milk. According to the American Academy of Ped...

Buffalo hump: a layman's term for the deposition of fat in the area behind the base of the...

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

Carcinoma: Cancer that begins in the skin or in tissues that line or cover body organs. Ex...

Cardiology: The study and treatment of heart disorders.

Cascade: A sequence of successive activation reactions involving enzymes (enzyme cascade) ...

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

Cell: The basic structural and functional unit of any living thing. Each cell is a small c...

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

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

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

Cirrhosis: Liver disease characterized by irreversible scarring. Alcohol and viral hepatit...

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

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

Diabetes: Refers to diabetes mellitus or, less often, to diabetes insipidus. Diabetes mell...

Diabetes mellitus: Better known just as "diabetes" -- a chronic disease associated with ab...

DNA: Deoxyribonucleic acid. One of two types of molecules that encode genetic information...

Dysfunction: Difficult function or abnormal function.

ENGERIX-B: A vaccine against the hepatitis B virus. ENGERIX-B stimulates the body's immune...

Enlarged liver: A liver that is greater in size than normal. Enlarged liver is also known ...

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

Fatigue: A condition characterized by a lessened capacity for work and reduced efficiency ...

FDA: Food and Drug Administration.

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

Hair loss: Hair loss is the thinning of hair on the scalp. The medical term for hair loss ...

HBV: Hepatitis B virus. A virus which primarily causes inflammation of the liver. The hepa...

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. ...

Hemodialysis: A medical procedure that uses a special machine (a dialysis machine) to fil...

Hepatitis: Inflammation of the liver, irrespective of the cause. Hepatitis is caused by a ...

Hepatitis B: Inflammation of the liver due to the hepatitis B virus (HBV), once thought t...

Hepatitis E: A rare form of liver inflammation caused by infection with the hepatitis E vi...

Hepatocellular carcinoma: A cancer arising from the liver cells (hepatocytes). Liver damag...

HIV: Acronym for the Human Immunodeficiency Virus, the cause of AIDS (acquired immunodefi...

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

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

Immunodeficiency: The inability to form a normal immune response. Immunodeficiency can be ...

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 ...

Insomnia: The perception or complaint of inadequate or poor-quality sleep due to a number ...

Interferon: A naturally occurring substance that interferes with the ability of viruses t...

Intron: Part of a gene that is initially transcribed into the primary RNA transcript but i...

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...

Lactic acidosis: Acidosis (too much acid in the body) due to the buildup of lactic acid in...

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

Metabolic: Relating to metabolism, the whole range of biochemical processes that occur wit...

Methadone: A synthetic opiate. The most common medical use for methadone is as a legal sub...

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...

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

Pharmacist: A professional who fills prescriptions and, in the case of a compounding pharm...

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

Platelet: An irregular, disc-shaped element in the blood that assists in blood clotting....

Pregnant: The state of carrying a developing fetus within the body.

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

Psychiatric: Pertaining to or within the purview of psychiatry, the medical specialty conc...

Rebound: The reversal of response upon withdrawal of a stimulus.

RECOMBIVAX-HB: A vaccine against hepatitis B (hep B) to stimulate the body's immune system...

Recur: To occur again; to return. For example, a symptom, sign, or disease can recur.

Red cells: Short for red blood cells, the oxygen/carbon dioxide carrying cells in blood. A...

Reproduction: The production of offspring. Reproduction need not be sexual; for example, y...

Resident: In medicine, a physician who has finished medical school and is receiving traini...

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

Semen: The fluid that is released through the penis during orgasm. Semen is made up of flu...

Subcutaneous: Under the skin. For example, a subcutaneous injection is an injection in whi...

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

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

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

Vaccination: Injection of a killed microbe in order to stimulate the immune system against...

Vaccines: Microbial preparations of killed or modified microorganisms that can stimulate a...

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

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...

Vital: Necessary to maintain life. For example, breathing is a vital function.

White blood cell: One of the cells the body makes to help fight infections. There are seve...