Kidney Infection Glossary of Terms

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Abdomen: The belly, that part of the body that contains all of the structures between the chest and the pelvis. The abdomen is separated anatomically from the chest by the diaphragm, the powerful muscle spanning the body cavity below the lungs.
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Abnormal: Not normal. Deviating from the usual structure, position, condition, or behavior. In referring to a growth, abnormal may mean that it is cancerous or premalignant (likely to become cancer).

Abscess: A local accumulation of pus anywhere in the body. The following are some examples of abscesses:

1. A skin abscess is better known as a common boil;
2. A peritonsillar abscess is a persistent collection of pus behind the tonsils; and
3. A perianal abscess is a pool of pus that forms next to the anus, often causing considerable tenderness and swelling in that area and pain on sitting down and on defecating.

Acute: Of abrupt onset, in reference to a disease. Acute often also connotes an illness that is of short duration, rapidly progressive, and in need of urgent care.
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Analysis: A psychology term for processes used to gain understanding of complex emotional or behavioral issues.

Anus: The opening of the rectum to the outside of the body.
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Back pain: Pain felt in the low or upper back. There are many causes of back pain.
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Bacteria: Single-celled microorganisms which can exist either as independent (free-living) organisms or as parasites (dependent upon another organism for life).
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Bacterial: Of or pertaining to bacteria. For example, a bacterial lung infection.

Bladder: Any pouch or other flexible enclosure that can hold liquids or gases but usually refers to the hollow organ in the lower abdomen that stores urine -- the urinary bladder. The kidneys filter waste from the blood and produce urine, which enters the bladder through two tubes called ureters. Urine leaves the bladder through another tube, the urethra. In women, the urethra is a short tube that opens just in front of the vagina. In men, it is longer, passing through the prostate gland and then the penis. Infection of the bladder is called cystitis.

Blood pressure: The blood pressure is the pressure of the blood within the arteries. It is produced primarily by the contraction of the heart muscle. It's measurement is recorded by two numbers. The first (systolic pressure) is measured after the heart contracts and is highest. The second (diastolic pressure) is measured before the heart contracts and lowest. A blood pressure cuff is used to measure the pressure. Elevation of blood pressure is called "hypertension".

Calcium: A mineral found mainly in the hard part of bones, where it is stored. Calcium is added to bones by cells called osteoblasts and is removed from bones by cells called osteoclasts. Calcium is essential for healthy bones. It is also important for muscle contraction, heart action, nervous system maintenance, and normal blood clotting. Food sources of calcium include dairy foods, some leafy green vegetables such as broccoli and collards, canned salmon, clams, oysters, calcium-fortified foods, and tofu. According to the National Academy of Sciences, adequate intake of calcium is 1,200 milligrams a day (four glasses of milk) for men and women 51 and older, 1,000 milligrams a day for adults 19 through 50, and 1,300 milligrams a day for children 9 through 18. The upper limit for calcium intake is 2.5 grams daily.

Catheter: A thin, flexible tube. For example, a catheter placed in a vein provides a pathway for giving drugs, nutrients, fluids, or blood products. Samples of blood can also be withdrawn through the catheter.
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Chills: feelings of coldness accompanied by shivering. Chills may develop after exposure to a cold environment or may accompany a fever.

Chronic: This important term in medicine comes from the Greek chronos, time and means lasting a long time.
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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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Dehydration: Excessive loss of body water. Diseases of the gastrointestinal tract that cause vomiting or diarrhea may, for example, lead to dehydration. There are a number of other causes of dehydration including heat exposure, prolonged vigorous exercise (e.g., in a marathon), kidney disease, and medications (diuretics).
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Diagnosis: 1 The nature of a disease; the identification of an illness. 2 A conclusion or decision reached by diagnosis. The diagnosis is rabies. 3 The identification of any problem. The diagnosis was a plugged IV.
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Drain: A device for removing fluid from a cavity or wound. A drain is typically a tube or wick. As a verb, to allow fluid to be released from a confined area.

Dysuria: Painful or difficult urination. This includes burning on urination. Dysuria is most commonly due to bacterial infection of the urinary tract causing inflammation of the bladder (cystitis) or kidney (pyelonephritis).
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Enterococcus: Bacteria normally found in the feces of people and many animals. Two types of enterococci -- Enterococcus faecalis and Enterococcus faecium --occasionally cause human disease, most commonly urinary tract infections and wound infections. Other infections, including those of the blood stream (bacteraemia), heart valves (endocarditis) and the brain (meningitis) can occur in severely ill patients in hospitals. Enterococci also often colonize open wounds and skin ulcers.
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Escherichia coli: Full term for E. coli, the colon bacillus.

Fatigue: A condition characterized by a lessened capacity for work and reduced efficiency of accomplishment, usually accompanied by a feeling of weariness and tiredness. Fatigue can be acute and come on suddenly or chronic and persist.
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Fever: Although a fever technically is any body temperature above the normal of 98.6 degrees F. (37 degrees C.), in practice a person is usually not considered to have a significant fever until the temperature is above 100.4 degrees F (38 degrees C.).
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Gastrointestinal: Adjective referring collectively to the stomach and small and large intestines.
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Gastrointestinal tract: The tube that extends from the mouth to the anus in which the movement of muscles and release of hormones and enzymes digest food. The gastrointestinal tract starts with the mouth and proceeds to the esophagus, stomach, duodenum, small intestine, large intestine (colon), rectum and, finally, the anus. Also called the alimentary canal, digestive tract and, perhaps most often in conversation, the GI tract.

Heart: The muscle that pumps blood received from veins into arteries throughout the body. It is positioned in the chest behind the sternum (breastbone; in front of the trachea, esophagus, and aorta; and above the diaphragm muscle that separates the chest and abdominal cavities. The normal heart is about the size of a closed fist, and weighs about 10.5 ounces. It is cone-shaped, with the point of the cone pointing down to the left. Two-thirds of the heart lies in the left side of the chest with the balance in the right chest.
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Heart rate: The number of heart beats per unit time, usually per minute. The heart rate is based on the number of contractions of the ventricles (the lower chambers of the heart). The heart rate may be too fast (tachycardia) or too slow (bradycardia). The pulse is bulge of an artery from the wave of blood coursing through the blood vessel as a result of the heart beat. The pulse is often taken at the wrist to estimate the heart rate.

Hygiene: The science of preventive medicine and the preservation of health. From the name of Hygeia, the daughter of Asklepios, the Greek god of medicine (whose staff with entwined snake is the symbol of medicine). Asklepios (known to the Romans as Aesculapius) had a number of children including not only Hygeia but also Panaceia, the patroness of clinical medicine. Hygeia also followed her father into medicine. As the patroness of health, Hygeia was charged with providing a healthy environment to prevent illness. In Greek, "hygieia" means health.

Infection: The growth of a parasitic organism within the body. (A parasitic organism is one that lives on or in another organism and draws its nourishment therefrom.) A person with an infection has another organism (a "germ") growing within him, drawing its nourishment from the person.
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Kidney: One of a pair of organs located in the right and left side of the abdomen which clear "poisons" from the blood, regulate acid concentration and maintain water balance in the body by excreting urine. The kidneys are part of the urinary tract. The urine then passes through connecting tubes called "ureters" into the bladder. The bladder stores the urine until it is released during urination.

Kidney infection in children: See: Urinary tract infection in children.

Klebsiella: A group of bacteria normally living in the intestinal tract and frequently the cause of nosocomial infections (infections acquired in the hospital). Named for Dr. Klebs.

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."

Macroscopic: Large enough to be seen with the naked eye, as opposed to microscopic. For example, a macroscopic tumor is big enough to be seen without the aid of a microscope. From the Greek macro- (large, long) + -scopic, from skopos (aim, mark).

Magnesium: A mineral involved in many processes in the body including nerve signaling, the building of healthy bones, and normal muscle contraction. About 350 enzymes are known to depend on magnesium.
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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.

Microscopic: So small it cannot be seen without the aid of microscope. As opposed to macroscopic (large enough to be seen with naked eye). A tiny tumor is microscopic while a big tumor is macroscopic.

MPH: Master of Public Health (a master's degree in this field of medicine).

Nausea: Nausea, is the urge to vomit. It can be brought by many causes including, systemic illnesses, such as influenza, medications, pain, and inner ear disease. When nausea and/or vomiting are persistent, or when they are accompanied by other severe symptoms such as abdominal pain, jaundice, fever, or bleeding, a physician should be consulted.

Nerve: A bundle of fibers that uses chemical and electrical signals to transmit sensory and motor information from one body part to another. See: Nervous system.

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

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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Paralysis: Loss of voluntary movement (motor function). Paralysis that affects only one muscle or limb is partial paralysis, also known as palsy; paralysis of all muscles is total paralysis, as may occur in cases of botulism.

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

Pelvic exam: An examination of the organs of the female reproductive system.
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Pelvis: The lower part of the abdomen located between the hip bones.

Potassium: The major positive ion (cation) found inside of cells. The chemical notation for potassium is K⁺.
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Predispose: To make more likely or render susceptible. Smoking predisposes to a number of diseases, including esophageal cancer.

Pregnancy: The state of carrying a developing embryo or fetus within the female body. This condition can be indicated by positive results on an over-the-counter urine test, and confirmed through a blood test, ultrasound, detection of fetal heartbeat, or an X-ray. Pregnancy lasts for about nine months, measured from the date of the woman's last menstrual period (LMP). It is conventionally divided into three trimesters, each roughly three months long.
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Pregnant: The state of carrying a developing fetus within the body.
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Prostate: A gland within the male reproductive system that is located just below the bladder. Chestnut shaped, the prostate surrounds the beginning of the urethra, the canal that empties the bladder.
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Pyelonephritis: Bacterial infection of the kidney. Pyelonephritis can be acute (sudden) or chronic (slow, subtle, and stubborn). It is most often due to the ascent of bacteria from the bladder up the ureters to infect the kidneys.
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Recurrent: Back again. A recurrent fever is a fever that has returned after an intermission: a recrudescent fever.

Reflux: The term used when liquid backs up into the esophagus from the stomach.

Remedy: Something that consistently helps treat or cure a disease. From the Latin "remedium" meaning that which heals again (and again).
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Renal: Having to do with the kidney. From the Latin renes (the kidneys), which gave the French les reins which mean both the kidneys and the lower back.

Rib: One of the 12 paired arches of bone which form the skeletal structure of the chest wall (the rib cage). The ribs attach to the building blocks of the spine (vertebrae) in the back. The 12 pairs of ribs consist of:

• True ribs: The first seven ribs attach to the sternum (the breast bone) in the front and are known as true ribs (or sternal ribs).
• False ribs: The lower five ribs do not directly connect to the sternum and are known as false ribs.

Rule out: A term much used in medicine, meaning to eliminate or exclude something from consideration. The ACB (albumin cobalt binding) test helps rule out a heart attack in the differential diagnosis of severe chest pain.

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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Sensation: In medicine and physiology, sensation refers to the registration of an incoming (afferent) nerve impulse in that part of the brain called the sensorium, which is capable of such perception. Therefore, the awareness of a stimulus as a result of its perception by sensory receptors. (Sensory is here synonymous with sensation.)
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Sensitivity: 1. In psychology, the quality of being sensitive. As, for example, sensitivity training, training in small groups to develop a sensitive awareness and understanding of oneself and of ones relationships with others. 2. In disease epidemiology, the ability of a system to detect epidemics and other changes in disease occurrence. 3. In screening for a disease, the proportion of persons with the disease who are correctly identified by a screening test. 4. In the definition of a disease, the proportion of persons with the disease who are correctly identified by defined criteria.

Sodium: The major positive ion (cation) in fluid outside of cells. The chemical notation for sodium is Na⁺. When combined with chloride, the resulting substance is table salt.
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Staphylococcus: A group of bacteria that cause a multitude of diseases. Under a microscope, Staphylococcus bacteria are round and bunched together. They can cause illness directly by infection, or indirectly through products they make, such as the toxins responsible for food poisoning and toxic shock syndrome. The best known member of the Staphylococcus family is Staphylococcus aureus. Staphylococcus are the main culprit in hospital-acquired infections, and cause thousands of deaths every year.

Supportive care: Treatment given to prevent, control, or relieve complications and side effects and to improve the patient's comfort and quality of life.

Therapy: The treatment of disease.
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Urethra: The transport tube leading from the bladder to discharge urine outside the body. In males, the urethra travels through the penis, and carries semen as well as urine. In females, the urethra is shorter than in the male and emerges above the vaginal opening, as indicated here:

Urinalysis: A test that determines the content of the urine. Because urine removes toxins and excess liquids from the body, it can contain important clues. Urinalysis can be used to detect some types of disease, particularly in the case of metabolic disorders and kidney disease. It can also be used to uncover evidence of drug abuse.
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Urinary: Having to do with the kidneys, ureters, and bladder. The urinary system represents the functional and anatomic aspects of the kidneys, ureters, and bladder.

Urinary tract: The organs of the body that produce and discharge urine. These include the kidneys, ureters, bladder, and urethra.

Urinary tract infection: Infection of the kidney, ureter, bladder, or urethra. Not everyone with a UTI has symptoms. Common symptoms include a frequent urge to urinate and a painful, burning when urinating. More females than males have UTIs. Underlying conditions that impair the normal urinary flow can lead to complicated UTIs.
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Urine: Liquid waste. The urine is a clear, transparent fluid. It normally has an amber color. The average amount of urine excreted in 24 hours is from 40 to 60 ounces (about 1,200 cubic centimeters). Chemically, the urine is mainly an aqueous (watery) solution of salt (sodium chloride) and substances called urea and uric acid. Normally, it contains about 960 parts of water to 40 parts of solid matter. Abnormally, it may contain sugar (in diabetes), albumen (a protein) (as in some forms of kidney disease), bile pigments (as in jaundice), or abnormal quantities of one or another of its normal components.

Urologist: A physician who specializes in diseases of the urinary organs in females and the urinary tract and sex organs in males. Also called a urological surgeon.

Uterus: The uterus (womb) is a hollow, pear-shaped organ located in a woman's lower abdomen between the bladder and the rectum. The narrow, lower portion of the uterus is the cervix; the broader, upper part is the corpus. The corpus is made up of two layers of tissue.

Vagina: The muscular canal extending from the cervix to the outside of the body. It is usually six to seven inches in length, and its walls are lined with mucus membrane. It includes two vaultlike structures, the anterior (front) vaginal fornix and the posterior (rear) vaginal fornix. The cervix protrudes slightly into the vagina, and it is through a tiny hole in the cervix (the os) that sperm make their way toward the internal reproductive organs. The vagina also includes numerous tiny glands that make vaginal secretions.
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