Inability to Urinate Glossary of Terms

1. Urinary Incontinence in Women Slideshow Pictures
2. Urinary Incontinence in Men Slideshow Pictures
3. Food & Drinks That Make You Gotta Go Slideshow Pictures

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

Abdominal: Relating to the abdomen, the belly, that part of the body that contains all of ...

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

Allergy: A misguided reaction to foreign substances by the immune system, the body system ...

Anesthetic: A substance that causes lack of feeling or awareness, dulling pain to permit s...

Antidepressants: Anything, and especially a drug, used to prevent or treat depression.

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

Antihistamines: Drugs that combat the histamine released during an allergic reaction by bl...

Back pain: Pain felt in the low or upper back. Causes of pain in the low and upper back in...

Belly: That part of the body that contains all of the structures between the chest and t...

Benign: Not malignant. A benign tumor is one that does not invade surrounding tissue or sp...

Benign prostatic hypertrophy: See: Benign prostatic hyperplasia.

Bladder: A hollow organ in the lower abdomen that stores urine. The kidneys filter waste f...

Blood clot: A mass of coagulated blood. A blood clot can block a major blood vessel, causi...

Blood clots: Blood that has been converted from a liquid to a solid state. Also called a t...

BPH: Benign prostatic hyperplasia, benign prostatic hypertrophy.

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

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

Catheter: A thin, flexible tube.

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

Compress: Cloth or another material applied under pressure to an area of the skin and held...

Compression: 1. The act of pressing together. As in a compression fracture, nerve c...

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

Cystoscope: An optical instrument (a scope) that is inserted through the urethra into the...

Cystoscopy: A procedure in which a lighted optical instrument called a cystoscope is inser...

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...

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

Drain: A device for removing fluid from a cavity or wound. A drain is typically a tube or ...

Electrolyte: A substance that dissociates into ions in solution and acquires the capacity ...

Emergency department: The department of a hospital responsible for the provision of medica...

Essential: In medicine, of unknown cause, as in essential hypertension (high blood pressur...

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

Foley catheter: See: Catheter, Foley.

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

Herpes: A family of viruses. Herpes also refers to infection with one of the human herpesv...

Hypertrophy: Enlargement or overgrowth of an organ or part of the body due to the increase...

Incontinence: The inability to control excretions, to hold urine in the bladder, or to kee...

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 ...

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

Insertion: A chromosome abnormality that is due to insertion of a segment from one chromos...

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

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

Micturition: Urination; the act of urinating.

MPH: Master of public health, a degree designating successful training in analyzing past, ...

MRI: Magnetic resonance imaging.

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

Nasal: Having to do with the nose.

Neck: The part of the body joining the head to the shoulders. Also, any narrow or constric...

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

Neurogenic: Giving rise to or arising from the nerves or the nervous system. For example, ...

Obstruction: Blockage of a passageway. See, for example: Airway obstruction; Intestinal o...

Operation: In medicine, a surgical procedure. Many operations are named after persons. The...

Organ: A relatively independent part of the body that carries out one or more special func...

PA-C: Physician Assistant - Certified.

Pain: An unpleasant sensation that can range from mild, localized discomfort to agony. Pa...

Painful urination: See: Dysuria.

Pelvic: Having to do with the pelvis, the lower part of the abdomen, located between the h...

Pelvis: The lower part of the abdomen, located between the hip bones. Structures in the fe...

Penis: The external male sex organ. The penis contains two chambers, the corpora cavernosa...

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

Postoperative: After surgery. As opposed to preoperative, before surgery.

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

Prostate: A gland within the male reproductive system that is located just below the blad...

Prostate cancer: A malignant tumor of the prostate, the gland that produces some of the co...

Prostate enlargement: Most prostatic enlargement is due to benign prostatic hyperplasia (B...

Prostate gland: A gland in the male reproductive system that is located just below the bla...

Prostatitis: Inflammation of the prostate gland. Prostatitis can result from infection or ...

PSA: Prostate specific antigen. A test for PSA may be used to screen for cancer of the p...

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

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

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

Sensory: Relating to sensation, to the perception of a stimulus, to the voyage made by inc...

Spinal cord: The major column of nerve tissue that is connected to the brain and lies with...

Spinal cord compression: The act of exerting an abnormal amount of pressure on the spinal...

Spinal cord injury: Trauma or damage to the spinal cord, the major column of nerve tissue ...

Spine: 1) The column of bone known as the vertebral column, which surrounds and protects ...

Stricture: An abnormal narrowing of a body passage, especially a tube or a canal. The str...

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

Symptom: Any subjective evidence of disease. In contrast, a sign is objective. Blood comin...

Testosterone: A "male hormone" -- a sex hormone produced by the testes that encourages th...

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

Tubes: The "tubes" are medically known as the Fallopian tubes. There are two Fallopian tub...

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

Ultrasound: High-frequency sound waves. Ultra-sound waves can be bounced off tissues by us...

Ureter: One of the two tubes that carry urine from the kidneys to the bladder. Each ureter...

Urethra: The tube that leads from the bladder and transports and discharges urine outside ...

Urinary: Having to do with the function or anatomy of the kidneys, ureters, bladder, or ur...

Urinary incontinence: The unintentional loss of urine. Inability to hold urine in the blad...

Urinary tract: The organs of the body that produce, store, and discharge urine. These orga...

Urinary tract infection: An infection of the kidney, ureter, bladder, or urethra. Abbrevia...

Urine: Liquid waste produced by the kidneys. Urine is a clear, transparent fluid that norm...

Urologist: A physician who specializes in diseases of the urinary organs in females and th...

Vagina: The muscular canal that extends from the cervix to the outside of the body. It is ...

Vertebral column: The 33 vertebrae that fit together to form a flexible, yet extraordinari...

Yeast infection: Overgrowth of yeast can affect the skin (yeast rash), mouth (thrush), di...