Mercury Poisoning Glossary of Terms

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Abnormal: Outside the expected norm, or uncharacteristic of a particular patient.

Acrodynia: Pain in the extremities (the hands and feet).

Activated charcoal: Charcoal that has been heated to increase its ability to absorb molecu...

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

Amalgam: In dentistry, an alloy of mercury, silver, tin, etc. used in dental restorations....

Anemia: The condition of having a lower-than-normal number of red blood cells or quantity ...

Anxiety: A feeling of apprehension and fear, characterized by physical symptoms such as pa...

Arsenic: A metallic element that forms a number of poisonous compounds, arsenic is found i...

Atrophy: A wasting away or diminution. Muscle atrophy is a decrease in muscle mass, often ...

Bile: Bile is a yellow-green fluid that is made by the liver, stored in the gallbladder a...

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...

Breastfeeding: Feeding a child human breast milk. According to the American Academy of Ped...

Cathartic: A laxative.

Cation: In chemistry, a positively charged ion. Pronounced cat-I-on.

CBC: A commonly used abbreviation in medicine that stands for complete blood count, a set...

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

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

Cognitive: Having to do with thought, judgment, or knowledge.

Colitis: Inflammation of the large intestine (the colon). There are many forms of coliti...

Dementia: Significant loss of intellectual abilities, such as memory capacity, that is sev...

Depression: An illness that involves the body, mood, and thoughts and that affects the way...

Dermatitis: Inflammation of the skin, either due to direct contact with an irritating sub...

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

Dialysis: The process of cleansing the blood by passing it through a special machine. Dial...

Diarrhea: A common condition that involves unusually frequent and liquid bowel movements. ...

Diverticulitis: Inflammation of the diverticula (small outpouchings) along the wall of th...

Endometriosis: The presence of tissue that normally grows inside the uterus (womb) in an ...

Environmental Protection Agency: The US government agency founded to "protect human health...

Enzymes: Proteins that act as a catalysts in mediating and speeding a specific chemical re...

FDA: Food and Drug Administration.

Fecal: Relating to the feces, the stool. The excrement discharged from the intestines.

Feces: The excrement discharged from the 'intestines.

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...

Gastric: Having to do with the stomach.

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

Gastrointestinal tract: The stomach and intestines. Abbreviated GI tract.

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

High blood pressure: A repeatedly elevated blood pressure exceeding 140 over 90 mmHg. Chro...

Infant: A young baby, from birth to 12 months of age.

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

Influenza: The flu is caused by viruses that infect the respiratory tract which are divide...

Insomnia: The perception or complaint of inadequate or poor-quality sleep due to a number ...

Intubation: The process of putting a tube into a hollow organ or passageway, often into th...

Iron: An essential mineral. Iron is necessary for the transport of oxygen (via hemoglobin ...

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...

Lateral: 1. In anatomy, the side of the body or a body part that is farther from th...

Lavage: Washing out. Gastric lavage, for example, is the washing out of the stomach to rem...

Laxative: Something that promotes emptying of the bowels. Laxatives are used to combat con...

Lungs: The lungs are a pair of breathing organs located with the chest which remove carbon...

Memory: 1. The ability to recover information about past events or knowledge. ...

Mercury poisoning: The metallic element mercury is poisonous to humans. Mercury poisoning ...

Methylmercury: An organic form of mercury that is highly toxic and is the main culprit in ...

Motor: Something that produces or refers to motion. For example, a motor neuron is a nerve...

Mouth: 1. The upper opening of the digestive tract, beginning with the lips and con...

MRI: Magnetic resonance imaging.

Multiple sclerosis: A disease that is characterized by loss of myelin (demyelinization). A...

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

Neonate: A newborn baby, specifically a baby in the first 4 weeks after birth. After a mon...

Neurological: Having to do with the nerves or the nervous system as, for example, a neurol...

Neurologist: A physician who specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of disorders of th...

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

Organic: 1. A chemical compound that contains carbon.
2. Related to a...

OSHA: The Occupational Safety and Health Administration, an agency of the US government un...

Peripheral: Situated away from the center, as opposed to centrally located.

Peripheral vision: Side vision. The ability to see objects and movement outside of the di...

Plasma: The liquid part of the blood and lymphatic fluid, which makes up about half of the...

Poison: Any substance that can cause severe organ damage or death if ingested, breathed in...

Poison control center: A special information center set up to inform people about how to r...

Poisoning: Taking a substance that is injurious to health or can cause death. Poisoning i...

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...

Proteins: Large molecules composed of one or more chains of amino acids in a specific orde...

Rash: Breaking out (eruption) of the skin. A rash can be caused by an underlying medical c...

Red blood cells: The blood cells that carry oxygen. Red cells contain hemoglobin and it is...

Red cells: Short for red blood cells, the oxygen/carbon dioxide carrying cells in blood. A...

Rehabilitation: The process of helping a person who has suffered an illness or injury rest...

Renal: Having to do with the kidney. For example, renal cancer is cancer of the kidneys.

Residual: Something left behind. With residual disease, the disease has not been eradicate...

Respiratory: Having to do with respiration.

Respiratory failure: Inability of the lungs to perform their basic task of gas exchange, t...

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

Sclerosis: Localized hardening of skin. Sclerosis is generally caused by underlying diseas...

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

Splenomegaly: Abnormal enlargement of the spleen. Splenomegaly is a sign of an underlying ...

Stomach: The digestive organ that is located in the upper abdomen, under the ribs. The upp...

Surgeon: A physician who treats disease, injury, or deformity via operative or manual meth...

Systemic: Affecting the entire body. A systemic disease such as diabetes can affect the wh...

Thermometer: A device used to measure the temperature of gaseous, liquid or solid matter ...

Thimerosal: A mercury-containing preservative used in some vaccines and other products sin...

Toxicity: The degree to which a substance (a toxin or poison) can harm humans or animals. ...

Toxicology: The study of the nature, effects, and detection of poisons (toxins) and the tr...

Toxin: A poison produced by certain animals, plants, or bacteria.

Twitching: : Involuntary contractions of groups of muscle fibers. Also known as fasciculat...

Ulcerative colitis: A bowel disease that is characterized by inflammation with ulcer forma...

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

Vaccines: Microbial preparations of killed or modified microorganisms that can stimulate a...

X-ray: High-energy radiation with waves shorter than those of visible light. X-ray is used...