Listeria Glossary of Terms

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

Amniotic fluid: The fluid bathing a fetus within the uterus, which serves as a shock absor...

Antibiotic: A drug used to treat infections caused by bacteria and other microorganisms. ...

Asymptomatic: Without symptoms. For example, an asymptomatic infection is an infection wit...

Bacterium: The singular of bacteria.

Blood pressure: The blood pressure is the pressure of the blood within the arteries. It is...

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

Breathing: The process of respiration, during which air is inhaled into the lungs through ...

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

CDC: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the US agency charged with tracking a...

Cerebrospinal fluid: A watery fluid that is continuously produced and absorbed and that fl...

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

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

Cuts: Severed skin. Washing a cut or scrape with soap and water and keeping it clean and d...

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. ...

Encephalitis: Inflammation of the brain, which may be caused by a bacterium, a virus, or a...

Fetus: An unborn offspring, from the embryo stage (the end of the eighth week after concep...

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

Flu: Short for influenza. The flu is caused by viruses that infect the respiratory tract w...

Gastrointestinal: Adjective referring collectively to the stomach and small and large inte...

Gram-positive: Gram-positive bacteria retain the color of the crystal violet stain in the ...

Headache: A pain in the head with the pain being above the eyes or the ears, behind the he...

Heart: The muscle that pumps blood received from veins into arteries throughout the body. ...

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

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

Immunocompromised: Having an immune system that has been impaired by disease or medical tr...

Immunosuppressive: 1. Pertaining to immunosuppression, the suppression of the immun...

Incubation period: In medicine, the time from the moment of exposure to an infectious agen...

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

Joint: The area where two bones are attached for the purpose of permitting body parts to m...

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

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

Listeria: A group of bacteria capable of causing illness including potentially fata...

Listeriosis: A disease that is caused by eating food contaminated with the bacterium Liste...

Low blood pressure: Any blood pressure that is below the normal expected for an individua...

Lumbar: Referring to the five lumbar vertebrae, the disks below them, and the correspondin...

Lumbar puncture: A procedure in which cerebrospinal fluid is removed from the spinal canal...

Mechanical ventilation: Use of a machine called a ventilator or respirator to improve the ...

Meningitis: Inflammation of the meninges, the three membranes that envelop the brain and t...

Miscarriage: Inadvertent loss of a pregnancy before the fetus is viable. A considerable pr...

Morbidity: Illness, disease.

Mortality: A fatal outcome or, in one word, death. The word "mortality" is derived from "m...

Mortality rate: A death rate. There are a number of different types of mortality rates as,...

MRI: Magnetic resonance imaging.

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

Nausea: Stomach queasiness, the urge to vomit. Nausea can be brought on by many causes, in...

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

Placenta: A temporary organ that joins the mother and fetus, transferring oxygen and nutri...

Pneumonia: Inflammation of one or both lungs, with dense areas of lung inflammation. Pneum...

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

Pregnant: The state of carrying a developing fetus within the body.

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

Respiratory: Having to do with respiration.

Risk factor: Something that increases a person's chances of developing a disease. For exam...

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

Sepsis: The presence of bacteria (bacteremia), other infectious organisms, or toxins creat...

Spinal tap: Also known as a lumbar puncture or "LP", a spinal tap is a procedure whereby ...

Stillbirth: The birth of a dead baby, the delivery of a fetus that has died before birth f...

Stool: The solid matter that is discharged in a bowel movement.

Supportive care: Treatment given to prevent, control, or relieve complications and side ef...

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

Ubiquitous: Present everywhere. The small protein called ubiquitin was so-named because it...

Ventilation: The exchange of air between the lungs and the atmosphere so that oxygen can ...