Mononucleosis Glossary of Terms

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

Abdominal pain: Pain in the belly. Abdominal pain can be acute or chronic. It may reflect ...

Acetaminophen: A nonaspirin pain reliever or analgesic. Acetaminophen may be given alone t...

Airway: The path that air follows to get into and out of the lungs. The mouth and nose are...

Airway obstruction: Partial or complete blockage of the breathing passages to the lungs. C...

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

Antibody: An immunoglobulin, a specialized immune protein, produced because of the introdu...

Arms: An appendage in anatomy and in clinical trials. See: Arm.

Atypical: Unusual, or not fitting a single diagnostic
category.

Autoimmune: Pertaining to autoimmunity, a misdirected immune response that occurs when the...

Autoimmune hemolytic anemia: A condition in which the immune system attacks the red blood ...

Autoimmune process: A process in which the body's immune system attacks and destroys body ...

Bell's palsy: Paralysis of the nerve that supplies the facial muscles on one side of the f...

Blood count: The calculated number of white or red blood cells (WBCs or RBCs) in a cubic m...

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

Burkitt's lymphoma: See: Burkitt lymphoma.

Carcinoma: Cancer that begins in the skin or in tissues that line or cover body organs. Ex...

Cell: The basic structural and functional unit of any living thing. Each cell is a small c...

Chest: The area of the body located between the neck and the abdomen. The chest contains t...

Chest pain: Pain in the chest that can be a result of many things, including angina, heart...

Complete blood count: A set values of the cellular (formed elements) of blood. These meas...

Complication: In medicine, an unanticipated problem that arises following, and is a result...

Cranial: 1. Pertaining to the cranium or skull. 2. Toward the head. As oppo...

Dehydration: Excessive loss of body water. Diseases of the gastrointestinal tract that ca...

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

EBV: Epstein-Barr virus.

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

Enlarged spleen: Splenomegaly, or an enlargement of the spleen. This condition can occur w...

Enzyme: A protein (or protein-based molecule) that speeds up a chemical reaction in a livi...

Epstein-Barr virus: A virus in the herpes family that is best known as the cause of infect...

Fatigue: A condition characterized by a lessened capacity for work and reduced efficiency ...

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

Genital: Pertaining to the external and/or internal organs of reproduction.

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. ...

Hemolytic: Referring to hemolysis, the destruction of red blood cells which leads to the r...

Hemolytic anemia: Anemia due to the destruction, rather than underproduction, of red blood...

Hepatitis: Inflammation of the liver, irrespective of the cause. Hepatitis is caused by a ...

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

Hygiene: The science of preventive medicine and the preservation of health. Also commonly ...

Ibuprofen: A nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) that is commonly used to treat pa...

Immunity: The condition of being immune. Immunity can be innate'for example, humans are in...

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

Infectious mononucleosis: A specific viral infection (with the Epstein-Barr virus) in whic...

Jaundice: Yellow staining of the skin and sclerae (the whites of the eyes) by abnormally h...

Kissing disease: A name for infectious mononucleosis ("mono"), a very common il...

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

Liver: The largest solid organ in the body, situated in the upper part of the abdomen on t...

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

Lymph: The almost colorless fluid that travels through the lymphatic system, carrying cell...

Lymph node: One of many small, bean-shaped organs located throughout the lymphatic system....

Lymphoma: A tumor of the lymphoid tissue. The major types of lymphoma are Hodgkin's diseas...

Malaise: A vague feeling of discomfort, one that cannot be pinned down but is often sensed...

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

Mono: Popular name for infectious mononucleosis.

Mononucleosis: Infection with the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV, human herpesvirus 4, HHV-4) in...

Myelitis: Inflammation of the spinal cord, such as from infection or immune inflammation.

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

Node: Literally a knot, a node is a collection of tissue. For example a lymph node, is a ...

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

Onset: In medicine, the first appearance of the signs or symptoms of an illness as, for ex...

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

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

Palsy: Paralysis, generally partial, whereby a local body area is incapable of voluntary m...

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

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

Qualitative: Having to do with quality. In contrast to quantitative (which pertains to qua...

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...

Rupture: A break or tear in any organ (such as the spleen) or soft tissue (such as the ach...

Ruptured spleen: Rupture of the capsule of the spleen that is a potential catastrophe and ...

Saliva: a watery secretion in the mouth produced by the salivary glands that aids in the d...

Sore: 1. (adjective) A popular term for painful, such as a sore throat. 2. (...

Sore throat: Pain in the throat. Sore throat may be caused by many different causes, inclu...

Spleen: An organ that is located in the upper-left part of the abdomen, not far from the s...

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

Syndrome: A combination of symptoms and signs that together represent a disease process.

Temple: The area just behind and to the side of the forehead and the eye, above the side o...

Throat: The throat is the anterior (front) portion of the neck beginning at the back of th...

Thrombocytopenia: : A low platelet count. Platelets are irregular, disc-shaped element in ...

Tonsillitis: Inflammation of one or both tonsils, typically as a result of infection by a ...

Transverse: In anatomy, a horizontal plane passing through the standing body so that the t...

Transverse myelitis: A disease of the spinal cord in which there is demyelination (erosion...

Tylenol: See: Acetaminophen.

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

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

Viral: Of or pertaining to a virus. For example, if a person has a viral rash, the rash wa...

Viral infection: Infection caused by the presence of a virus in the body. Depending on...

Virus: A microorganism that is smaller than a bacterium that cannot grow or reproduce apar...

Viruses: Small living particles that can infect cells and change how the cells function. I...

White blood cell: One of the cells the body makes to help fight infections. There are seve...

White blood cell count (leukocyte count): The number of white blood cells (WBCs) in the b...