Hyperthyroidism Glossary of Terms

1. Hyperthyroidism Slideshow Pictures
2. Take the Thyroid Disorder Quiz
3. Thyroid Symptoms and Solutions Slideshow Pictures

Ablation: Removal or excision. Ablation is usually carried out surgically. For example, su...

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

Adenoma: A benign tumor that arises in or resembles glandular tissue. If an adenoma become...

Agranulocytosis: A marked decrease in the number of granulocytes. Granulocytes are a type...

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...

Baseline: Information or data gathered at the beginning of a period from which variations ...

Beta adrenergic blocking agents: A class of drugs, also called beta blockers, that block b...

Bilateral: Affecting both sides. For example, bilateral arthritis affects joints on both t...

Bioactive: Having an effect upon a living organism, tissue, or cell. Biologically active....

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

Bowel: The small and large intestine.

Breast milk: Milk from the breast. Human milk contains a balance of nutrients that close...

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

Calcium: A mineral found mainly in the hard part of bones, where it is stored. Calcium is ...

Cardiac: Having to do with the heart.

Circulation: In medicine, the movement of fluid through the body in a regular or circuitou...

Contrast: Short for "contrast media." Contrast media are X-ray dyes used to provide contra...

Dehydration: Excessive loss of body water. Diseases of the gastrointestinal tract that ca...

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

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. ...

Diffuse toxic goiter: Graves disease, the most common cause of hyperthyroidism (overactivi...

Diplopia: A condition in which a single object appears as two objects. Also known as doubl...

Dysfunction: Difficult function or abnormal function.

Endocrine: Pertaining to hormones and the glands that make and secrete them into the blood...

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

Enlarged thyroid: see goiter.

Enzyme: A protein (or protein-based molecule) that speeds up a chemical reaction in a livi...

Estrogen: A female steroid hormone that is produced by the ovaries and, in lesser amounts,...

Euthyroid: The state of having normal thyroid gland function. As opposed to hyperthyroid ...

Exophthalmos: A condition in which the patient has protruding eyeballs, as in Graves disea...

False positive: A result that indicates that a given condition is present when it is not. ...

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

FDA: Food and Drug Administration.

Fertility: The ability to conceive and bear children, the ability to become pregnant throu...

Fine needle aspiration: The use of a thin needle to withdraw material from the body for an...

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

Goiter: A noncancerous enlargement of the thyroid gland. With a goiter, the levels of thyr...

Graves' disease: Generalized diffuse overactivity ("toxicity") of the entire thyroid gland...

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 ...

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

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

Hypertension: High blood pressure, defined as a repeatedly elevated blood pressure exceedi...

Hyperthyroid: Having an excessive amount of thyroid hormone resulting from an overactive t...

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

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

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

Indicate: In medicine, to make a treatment or procedure advisable because of a particular ...

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 ...

Iodine: An element in the diet that is essential for the manufacture of hormones by the th...

Isotope: A form of a chemical element that has a different-from-normal atomic mass. Isotop...

Laboratory: A place for doing tests and research procedures, and for preparing chemicals a...

Leg: In popular usage, the part of the body from the top of the thigh down to the foot, an...

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

Lobectomy: An operation to remove an entire lobe of the lung.

Lower leg: The lower leg is the bottom segment of the leg: the part below the knee.

Menstrual: Pertaining to menstruation (the menses), as in last menstrual period, menstrua...

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

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

Nerve: A bundle of fibers that uses electrical and chemical signals to transmit sensory an...

Nodular: Bumpy.

Nodule: A small collection of tissue that is palpable (can be felt) at any level of the sk...

Nutrition: 1) The science or practice of taking in and utilizing foods. 2) A nourishing ...

Palpitations: Unpleasant sensations of irregular and/or forceful beating of the heart. In ...

Paralysis: Loss of voluntary movement (motor function). Paralysis that affects only one mu...

Photophobia: Painful oversensitivity to light. For example, photophobia is often seen in m...

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

Plummer's disease: Toxic multinodular goiter. Also called Parry's disease.

Postpartum: The period just after delivery, as with postpartum depression. Postpartum refe...

Prealbumin: One of several plasma proteins such as transthyretin that migrate faster than ...

Pregnancy: The state of carrying a developing embryo or fetus within the female body. Thi...

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

PTU: Propylthiouracil, an antithyroid medication, a drug that blocks the production of thy...

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

Radioactive iodine: An isotope of the chemical element iodine that is radioactive. Radioa...

Radioimmunoassay: A very sensitive, specific laboratory test (assay) that uses radiolabele...

Radioiodine: An isotope of the chemical element iodine that is radioactive. Radioiodine is...

Radiology: The medical specialty concerned with radiation for the diagnosis and treatment ...

Receptor: 1. In cell biology, a structure on the surface of a cell (or inside a cel...

Recurrent: Appearing or occurring again. For example, a recurrent fever is a fever that ha...

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...

Sensitivity: 1. In psychology, the quality of being sensitive. As, for example, sen...

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

Shin: 1. The tibia, the larger of the two bones in the lower leg.
2. T...

Shortness of breath: Difficulty in breathing. Medically referred to as dyspnea. Shortness ...

Sleep: The body's rest cycle.

Subacute: Rather recent onset or somewhat rapid change. In contrast, acute indicates very ...

Surgery: The branch of medicine that employs operations in the treatment of disease or inj...

Sweating: The act of secreting fluid from the skin by the sweat (sudoriferous) glands. The...

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

Symptomatic treatment: Therapy that eases the symptoms without addressing the basic cause ...

Systolic: The blood pressure when the heart is contracting. It is specifically the maximum...

Tachycardia: A rapid heart rate, usually defined as greater than 100 beats per minute.

Tenormin: See: Atenolol.

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 gland: A gland that makes and stores hormones that help regulate the heart rate, b...

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

Thyroid hormones: Chemical substances made by the thyroid gland, which is located in the...

Thyroid scan: An image taken of a patient's thyroid gland after the patient swallows radio...

Thyroid stimulating hormone: A hormone produced by the pituitary gland at the base of the...

Thyroidectomy: Surgery to remove part or all of the thyroid gland. Thyroidectomy might be ...

Thyroiditis: Inflammation of the thyroid gland which is located in front of the neck:

Thyroxine: A hormone that is made by the thyroid gland and is one of the most important th...

Toxic multinodular goiter: A condition in which the thyroid gland contains multiple lumps ...

Tremor: An abnormal, repetitive shaking movement of the body. Tremors have many causes and...

Triiodothyronine: A hormone that is made by the thyroid gland. Triiodothyronine has three ...

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

TSH: Thyroid stimulating hormone.

TSH receptor: The receptor for thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH), which is also called thy...

TSI: Thyroid stimulating immunoglobulin.

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

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

Viral infection: Infection caused by the presence of a virus in the body. Depending on...

Voice box: The voice box, or larynx, is the portion of the respiratory (breathing) tract ...

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