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May 18, 2013


Inability to Urinate Glossary of Terms

The following are health and medical definitions of terms that appear in the Inability to Urinate article.

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

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

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

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

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

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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...

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

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

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

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

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Benign prostatic hypertrophy: See: Benign prostatic hyperplasia.

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

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

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

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BPH: Benign prostatic hyperplasia, benign prostatic hypertrophy.

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

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

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Catheter: A thin, flexible tube.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Foley catheter: See: Catheter, Foley.

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

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

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

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

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

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Infection: The invasion and multiplication of microorganisms such as bacteria, viruses, an...

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Inflammation: A localized reaction that produces redness, warmth, swelling, and pain as a ...

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

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

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

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

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Micturition: Urination; the act of urinating.

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

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MRI: Magnetic resonance imaging.

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

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Nasal: Having to do with the nose.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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PA-C: Physician Assistant - Certified.

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

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Painful urination: See: Dysuria.

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

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

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

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

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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...

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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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...

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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