Muscle Cramps Glossary of Terms

1. Least Effective Exercises Slideshow
2. Dehydration Slideshow
3. First Aid Care and Pain Relief for Minor Injuries

Adjacent: Lying nearby. Related terms include superjacent, subjacent, and circumjacent. Fr...

Aging: The process of becoming older, a process that is genetically determined and environ...

Angina: Chest pain due to an inadequate supply of oxygen to the heart muscle. The pain is ...

Ankle: The ankle joint is complex. It is made up of two joints: the true ankle joint and ...

Asthma: A common lung disorder in which inflammation causes the bronchi to swell and narro...

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

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...

Botox: A highly purified preparation of botulinum toxin A, a toxin produced by the bacteri...

Botulism: An uncommon but potentially very serious illness, a type of food poisoning, that...

Calcium: A mineral found mainly in the hard part of bones, where it is stored. Calcium is ...

Calf: The belly or fleshy hind part of the back of the leg below the knee. The calf is mad...

Charley horse: Slang for a cramp in a muscle in the leg, usually caused by a strain or inj...

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

Cholesterol: The most common type of steroid in the body. Cholesterol has a reputation for...

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

Circulation: In medicine, the movement of fluid through the body in a regular or circuitou...

Claudication: Limping. From the Latin claudicare, which means 'to limp.' The Roman emperor...

Contraction: The tightening and shortening of a muscle.

Cough: A rapid expulsion of air from the lungs, typically in order to clear the lung airwa...

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

Diuretic: Something that promotes the formation of urine by the kidney. All diuretics caus...

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

Electromyogram: A test that records the electrical activity of muscles. Normal muscles pro...

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

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

Extremity: An uttermost part of the body, such as a hand or a foot.

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

Groin: The area where the thigh meets the hip.

Hamstring: One of the prominent tendons at the back of the knee. The hamstrings are the si...

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

Heat cramps: Painful muscle spasms in the abdomen, arms, or legs following strenuous activ...

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

Hormone: A chemical substance produced in the body that controls and regulates the activit...

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

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

Internal medicine: The medical specialty dedicated to the diagnosis and medical treatment ...

Involuntary: Done other than in accordance with the conscious will of the individual. The ...

LDH: Lactate dehydrogenase.

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

Lipitor: See: Atorvastatin.

Magnesium: A mineral involved in many processes in the body including nerve signaling, the...

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

Muscle cramp: An involuntarily and forcibly contracted muscle that does not relax. When we...

Myasthenia gravis: An autoimmune neuromuscular disorder that is characterized by fatigue a...

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

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

Nutrition: 1) The science or practice of taking in and utilizing foods. 2) A nourishing ...

Osteoporosis: Thinning of the bones, with reduction in bone mass, due to depletion of calc...

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

Palpable: Something that can be felt. For example, a palpable growth is one that can be de...

Pantothenic acid: Pantothenic acid is vitamin B5, one of the less well known B vitamins, p...

Perspiration: 1) The secretion of fluid by the sweat (sudoriferous) glands. These small, ...

Phosphorus: An essential element in the diet and a major component of bone.

Poor circulation: An inadequacy of blood flow. Inadequate blood flow to a particular area ...

Postmenopausal: After menopause, the period of time after a woman has experienced 12 conse...

Posture: The carriage of the body as a whole, the attitude of the body, or the position of...

Potassium: The major positive ion (cation) found inside cells. The chemical notation for p...

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

Pyridoxine: One of the vitamin B6 group (which also includes pyridoxal and pyridoxamine) t...

Quinine: The original antimalarial agent, quinine took its name from the Peruvian Indian w...

Recur: To occur again; to return. For example, a symptom, sign, or disease can recur.

Rehydration: The process of restoring lost water (dehydration) to the body tissues and flu...

Shin: 1. The tibia, the larger of the two bones in the lower leg.
2. T...

Skeletal: Pertaining to the skeleton, the bones of the body that collectively provide the ...

Skeletal muscle: Along with smooth and cardiac muscle, one of the types of muscle tissue i...

Sodium: The major positive ion (cation) in the fluid surrounding cells in the body. The ch...

Spasm: A brief, automatic jerking movement. A muscle spasm can be quite painful, with the ...

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

Therapeutic: Relating to therapeutics, the branch of medicine that is concerned specifical...

Thiamine: Vitamin B1. Thiamine (vitamin B1) acts as a coenzyme in the metabolism of the bo...

Thyroid: 1. The thyroid gland. Also, pertaining to the thyroid gland. 2. A p...

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

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

Uterus: A hollow, pear-shaped organ that is located in a woman's lower abdomen, between th...

Vessel: A tube in the body that carries fluids. Examples of vessels are blood vessels and ...

Vitamins: The word "vitamin" was coined in 1911 by the Warsaw-born biochemist Casimir Funk...

Voluntary: Done in accordance with the conscious will of the individual. The opposite of i...

Writer's cramp: A dystonia that affects the muscles of the hand and sometimes the forearm ...

Dystonia, writer's cramp: A dystonia that affects the muscles of the hand and sometimes th...