Hyphema (Bleeding in Eye) Glossary of Terms

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Acetaminophen: A pain reliever and fever reducer. Brand name: Tylenol. The exact mechanism of action of acetaminophen is not known. Acetaminophen relieves pain by elevating the pain threshold (that is, by requiring a greater amount of pain to develop before it is felt by a person). Acetaminophen reduces fever through its action on the heat-regulating center (the "thermostat") of the brain. Generic is available.

Aleve: See: Naproxen.

Anterior: The front, as opposed to the posterior. The anterior surface of the heart is toward the breast bone (the sternum).
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Anterior chamber: The space in the eye that is behind the cornea and in front of the iris.
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Aqueous humor: In medicine, humor refers to a fluid (or semifluid) substance. Thus, the aqueous humor is the fluid normally present in the front and rear chambers of the eye. It is a clear, watery fluid that flows between and nourishes the lens and the cornea; it is secreted by the ciliary processes.
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Arthritis: Inflammation of a joint. When joints are inflamed they can develop stiffness, warmth, swelling, redness and pain. There are over 100 types of arthritis. (see osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, psoriatic arthritis, lupus, gout, pseudogout).

Aspirin: A good example of a tradename that entered into the language, Aspirin was once the Bayer trademark for acetylsalicylic acid.
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Atropine: A drug obtained from belladonna that is administered via injection, eye drops, or in oral form to relax muscles by inhibiting nerve responses. Used to dilate the pupils and as an antispasmodic.
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Black eye: Bruising of the eyelid and/or under- eye area as a result of trauma to the eye. Colloquially called a shiner.

Blurred vision: Lack of sharpness of vision with, as a result, the inability to see fine detail. Blurred vision can occur when a person who wears corrective lens is without them. Blurred vision can also be an important clue to eye disease.

Cell: The basic structural and functional unit in people and all living things. Each cell is a small container of chemicals and water wrapped in a membrane.
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Cornea: The clear front window of the eye that transmits and focuses light into the eye.
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CT scan: Computerized tomography scan. Pictures of structures within the body created by a computer that takes the data from multiple X-ray images and turns them into pictures on a screen. CT stands for computerized tomography.
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Elbow: The juncture of the long bones in the middle portion of the arm. The bone of the upper arm (humerus) meets both the ulna (the inner bone of the forearm) and radius (the outer bone of the forearm) to form a hinge joint at the elbow. The radius and ulna also meet one another in the elbow to permit a small amount of rotation of the forearm. The elbow therefore functions to move the arm like a hinge (forward and backward) and in rotation (outward and inward). The biceps muscle is the major muscle that flexes the elbow hinge, and the triceps muscle is the major muscle that extends it. The primary stability of the elbow is provided by the ulnar collateral ligament, located on the medial (inner) side of the elbow. The outer bony prominence of the elbow is the lateral epicondyle, a part of the humerus bone. Tendons attached to this area can be injured, causing inflammation or tendonitis (lateral epicondylitis, or tennis elbow). The inner portion of the elbow is a bony prominence called the medial epicondyle of the humerus. Additional tendons from muscles attach here and can be injured, likewise causing inflammation or tendonitis (medial epicondylitis, or golfer's elbow). See also: Elbow bursitis; Elbow pain; Nursemaid's elbow.

Emergency department: The department of a hospital responsible for the provision of medical and surgical care to patients arriving at the hospital in need of immediate care. Emergency department personnel may also respond to certain situations within the hospital such cardiac arrests.
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Glaucoma: A common eye condition in which the fluid pressure inside the eyes rises because of slowed fluid drainage from the eye. If untreated, it may damage the optic nerve and other parts of the eye, causing the loss of vision or even blindness.
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Humor: In medicine, humor refers to a fluid (or semifluid) substance. Thus, the aqueous humor is the fluid normally present in the front and rear chambers of the eye. The humors ran through an ancient theory that held that health came from balance between the bodily liquids. These liquids were termed humors. Disease arose when there was imbalance between these humors.
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Ibuprofen: A non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) commonly used to treat pain, swelling, and fever. Common brand names for Ibuprofen include Advil, Motrin, and Nuprin.

Immunology: The study of all aspects of the immune system including its structure and function, disorders of the immune system, blood banking, immunization and organ transplantation.

Inflammation: A basic way in which the body reacts to infection, irritation or other injury, the key feature being redness, warmth, swelling and pain. Inflammation is now recognized as a type of nonspecific immune response.
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Injury: Harm or hurt. The term "injury" may be applied in medicine to damage inflicted upon oneself as in a hamstring injury or by an external agent on as in a cold injury. The injury may be accidental or deliberate, as with a needlestick injury. The term "injury" may be synonymous (depending on the context) with a wound or with trauma.

Intraocular: In the eye. The intraocular pressure is the pressure within the eye.

Intraocular pressure: The pressure created by the continual renewal of fluids within the eye. The intraocular pressure is increased in glaucoma.
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Iris: The iris is the circular, colored curtain of the eye. Its opening forms the pupil. The iris helps regulate the amount of light that enters the eye.
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Laboratory: A place for doing tests and research procedures and preparing chemicals, etc. Although "laboratory" looks very like the Latin "laboratorium" (a place to labor, a work place), the word "laboratory" came from the Latin "elaborare" (to work out, as a problem, and with great pains), as evidenced by the Old English spelling "elaboratory" designating "a place where learned effort was applied to the solution of scientific problems."

Medical school: A school with a curriculum leading to a medical degree. The mission of every medical school includes medical teaching, research, and patient care. All medical schools share the goal of preparing students in the art and science of medicine, and providing them with the background necessary to enter the period of graduate medical education. The years of medical school preceding graduate medical education are typically divided into a preclinical phase and a clinical phase.
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Microscope: An optical instrument that augments the power of the eye to see small objects. The name microscope was coined by Johannes Faber (1574-1629) who in 1628 borrowed from the Greek to combined micro-, small with skopein, to view. Although the first microscopes were simple microscopes, most (if not all) optical microscopes today are compound microscopes.

Naproxen: A non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) used for the management of mild to moderate pain, fever, and inflammation. Naproxen blocks the enzyme cyclooxygenase that makes prostaglandins, resulting in lower concentrations of prostaglandins. As a consequence, inflammation, pain and fever are reduced. Brand names for naproxen include Anaprox, Naprelan, Naprosyn, and Aleve.
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Nutrition: 1) The science or practice of taking in and utilizing foods. 2) A nourishing substance, such as nutritional solutions delivered to hospitalized patients via an IV or IG tube.

Ocular: Having to do with the eye.
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Ophthalmologist: An eye doctor. A physician practicing ophthalmology. An ophthalmologist is an M.D.

Ophthalmology: The art and science of eye medicine.

Pain: An unpleasant sensation that can range from mild, localized discomfort to agony. Pain has both physical and emotional components. The physical part of pain results from nerve stimulation. Pain may be contained to a discrete area, as in an injury, or it can be more diffuse, as in disorders like fibromyalgia. Pain is mediated by specific nerve fibers that carry the pain impulses to the brain where their conscious appreciation may be modified by many factors.
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Pharmacy: A location where prescription drugs are sold. A pharmacy is, by law, constantly supervised by a licensed pharmacist.

Posterior: The back or behind, as opposed to the anterior.
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Posterior chamber: The space in the eye behind the iris and in front of the lens. (The iris is the colored ring of tissue that regulates the amount of light entering the eye by adjusting the size of the pupil. The lens is the transparent biconvex body in the eye that refracts light. By "biconvex" is meant that it is convex, that it protrudes, on both sides.)
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Pupil: The opening of the iris. The pupil may appear to open (dilate) and close (constrict) but it is really the iris that is the prime mover; the pupil is merely the absence of iris. The pupil determines how much light is let into the eye. Both pupils are usually of equal size. If they are not, that is termed anisocoria (from "a-", not + "iso", equal + "kore", pupil = not equal pupils).
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Red blood cells: The blood cells that carry oxygen. Red cells contain hemoglobin and it is the hemoglobin which permits them to transport oxygen (and carbon dioxide). Hemoglobin, aside from being a transport molecule, is a pigment. It gives the cells their red color (and their name).
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Scan: As a noun, the data or image obtained from the examination of organs or regions of the body by gathering information with a sensing device.
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Sickle cell disease: A genetic blood disorder caused by the presence of an abnormal form of hemoglobin. These hemoglobin molecules tend to aggregate after unloading oxygen forming long, rod-like strictures that force the red cells to assume a sickle shape. Unlike normal red cells, which are usually smooth and malleable, the sickle red cells cannot squeeze through small blood vessels. When the sickle cells block small blood vessels, the organs are deprived of blood and oxygen. This leads to periodic episodes of pain and damages the vital organs. Sickle red cells die after only about 10 to 20 days. Instead of the usual 120 days or so. Because they cannot be replaced fast enough, the blood is chronically short of red cells, causing anemia. The gene for sickle cell anemia must be inherited from both parents for the illness to occur in children. A child with only one copy of the gene may have sickle-cell traits but no symptoms of illness.
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Steroid: A general class of chemical substances that are structurally related to one another and share the same chemical skeleton (a tetracyclic cyclopenta[a]phenanthrene skeleton).
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Surgery: The word "surgery" has multiple meanings. It is the branch of medicine concerned with diseases and conditions which require or are amenable to operative procedures. Surgery is the work done by a surgeon. By analogy, the work of an editor wielding his pen as a scalpel is s form of surgery. A surgery in England (and some other countries) is a physician's or dentist's office.
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Thalassemia: Not just one disease but rather a complex series of genetic (inherited) disorders all of which involve underproduction of hemoglobin, the indispensable molecule in red blood cells that carries oxygen. The globin part of hemoglobin is made up of 4 polypeptide chains (usually 2 chains of one type and 2 chains of another type of chain). In thalassemia, there is a mutation (change) in one of the types of globin chains. Depending upon which globin chain is affected, the mutation typically leads to underproduction (or absence) of that globin chain, a deficiency of hemoglobin, and anemia.

Trauma: Any injury, whether physically or emotionally inflicted. "Trauma" has both a medical and a psychiatric definition. Medically, "trauma" refers to a serious or critical bodily injury, wound, or shock. This definition is often associated with trauma medicine practiced in emergency rooms and represents a popular view of the term. In psychiatry, "trauma" has assumed a different meaning and refers to an experience that is emotionally painful, distressful, or shocking, which often results in lasting mental and physical effects.
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Tylenol: See: Acetaminophen.

Visual acuity: The clarity or clearness of the vision, a measure of how well a person sees. The ability to distinguish details and shapes of objects; also called central vision.
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Visual acuity test: This test measures how well you see at various distances. It is the familiar eye chart test.
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