Neck Strain Glossary of Terms

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

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

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

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

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

American College of Physicians: A medical society for internal medicine. The ACP motto is ...

Analysis: In psychology, a term for conversation-based therapeutic processes used to gain ...

Bladder: A hollow organ in the lower abdomen that stores urine. The kidneys filter waste f...

Bowel: The small and large intestine.

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 ...

Bursae: Plural of bursa.

Cartilage: Firm, rubbery tissue that cushions bones at joints. A flexible kind of cartilag...

Cervical: Having to do with any kind of neck, including the neck on which the head is perc...

Cervical vertebrae: The cervical (neck) vertebrae are the upper 7 vertebrae in the spinal ...

Chin: Medically, the mentum. The lower portion of the face below the lower lip including t...

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

Chronic pain: Pain (an unpleasant sense of discomfort) that persists or progresses over ...

Claustrophobia: An abnormal and persistent fear of closed spaces, of being closed in or be...

Compression: 1. The act of pressing together. As in a compression fracture, nerve c...

Contrast: Short for "contrast media." Contrast media are X-ray dyes used to provide contra...

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

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

Dizziness: Painless head discomfort with many possible causes including disturbances of ...

Dysfunction: Difficult function or abnormal function.

Emergency department: The department of a hospital responsible for the provision of medica...

Epidural: Outside the dura, the outermost, toughest, and most fibrous of the three membran...

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

Fracture: A break in bone or cartilage. Although usually a result of trauma, a fracture ca...

Frontal: In anatomy, pertaining to the forehead. As, for example, the frontal bone, fronta...

Gait: A manner of walking. Observation of gait can provide early diagnostic clues for a nu...

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

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

Herniation: Abnormal protrusion of tissue through an opening.

Hoarseness: Hoarseness is a term referring to abnormal voice changes. Hoarseness may be ma...

Hydrogen: The most plentiful element in the universe and one present in all organic compou...

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

Incidence: The frequency with which something, such as a disease or trait, appears in a pa...

Incontinence: The inability to control excretions, to hold urine in the bladder, or to kee...

Indicate: In medicine, to make a treatment or procedure advisable because of a particular ...

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

Internal fixation: A surgical procedure that stabilizes and joins the ends of fractured (b...

Intervention: The act of intervening, interfering or interceding with the intent of modify...

Intervertebral disk: A pad of cartilage between two vertebrae that acts as a shock absorbe...

Ischemia: Inadequate blood supply to a local area due to blockage of blood vessels leading...

Isotope: A form of a chemical element that has a different-from-normal atomic mass. Isotop...

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

Jugular: The principal vein in the front of either side of the neck. The word comes from t...

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

Labor: Childbirth, the process of delivering a baby and the placenta, membranes, and umbil...

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

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...

Metabolism: The whole range of biochemical processes that occur within a living organism. ...

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

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...

Neck pain: Neck pain is the sensation of discomfort in the neck area. Neck pain can result...

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

Neuromuscular: Pertaining to both nerves and muscles, as in neuromuscular blockade by an a...

Neurosurgeon: A physician who specializes in surgery on the brain and other parts of the n...

Nucleus: 1) In cell biology, the structure that houses the chromosomes. 2) In neuroanato...

Opioid: 1. A synthetic narcotic that resembles the naturally occurring opiates. 2. Any sub...

Orthopedist: An orthopedic surgeon, a physician who corrects congenital or functional abno...

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

Palpate: To touch or feel. For example, a physician may palpate the liver's edge when exam...

Peptic ulcer: An ulcer in the lining of the stomach, duodenum, or esophagus. Peptic ulcers...

Pharmacist: A professional who fills prescriptions and, in the case of a compounding pharm...

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

Physical therapist: A person who is trained and certified by a state or accrediting body t...

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

Prescription: A physician's order for the preparation and administration of a drug or dev...

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

Prosthetic: Referring to a prosthesis, an artificial substitute or replacement of a part o...

Radiate: To spread out from a central area. For example, sciatic pain may radiate outward ...

Radiation: 1. Rays of energy. Gamma rays and X-rays are two of the types of energy ...

Radioactive: Emitting energy waves due to decaying atomic nuclei. Radioactive substances a...

Radiography: The process of obtaining film records (radiographs) of internal structures of...

Radioisotope: A version of a chemical element that has an unstable nucleus and emits radia...

Radiologist: A physician specialized in radiology, the branch of medicine that uses ionizi...

Radionuclide: An unstable form of a chemical element that radioactively decays, resulting ...

Radiopaque: Opaque to one or another form of radiation, such as X-rays. Radiopaque objects...

Range of motion: The full movement potential of a joint, usually its range of flexion and ...

Referral: The recommendation of a medical or paramedical professional. If you get a refer...

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

Resolution: In genetics, the degree of molecular detail on a physical map of DNA. Resoluti...

Ringing in the ears: Medically called tinnitus, can be due to many causes including ear in...

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

Seat belt: A belt used to hold an individual in their seat.

Sensation: In medicine and physiology, sensation refers to the registration of an incoming...

Shoulder: A structure made up of two main bones: the scapula (shoulder blade) and the hume...

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 ...

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

Spinal cord injury: Trauma or damage to the spinal cord, the major column of nerve tissue ...

Spinal stenosis: Narrowing of the spinal canal. Spinal stenosis is most commonly caused by...

Spine: 1) The column of bone known as the vertebral column, which surrounds and protects ...

Sprain: An injury to a ligament that results from overuse or trauma. The treatment of a sp...

Stenosis: A narrowing. For example, aortic stenosis is a narrowing of the aortic valve in ...

Stethoscope: An instrument that is used to transmit low-volume sounds such as a heartbeat ...

Strain: 1. An injury to a tendon or muscle resulting from overuse or trauma. 2. A heredita...

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

Symptom: Any subjective evidence of disease. In contrast, a sign is objective. Blood comin...

Symptomatic: 1 With symptoms, as a symptomatic infection. 2 Characteristic o...

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

Tension: 1) The pressure within a vessel, such as blood pressure: the pressure within t...

Tinnitus: Ringing in the ears. Tinnitus has many causes, including some medications (inclu...

Torticollis: The most common of the focal dystonias, a state of excessive or inadequate mu...

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

Trachea: A tube-like portion of the respiratory tract that connects the larynx with the br...

Traction: In medicine, a procedure for manually pulling a part of the body to a beneficia...

Trauma: A physical or emotional injury.

Tremor: An abnormal, repetitive shaking movement of the body. Tremors have many causes and...

Tylenol: See: Acetaminophen.

Ulcer: A lesion that is eroding away the skin or mucous membrane. Ulcers can have various ...

Vertebrae: The preferred plural of vertebra. (The alternate plural is vertebras.) See also...

Vertigo: Aside from being the name of a classic 1958 Alfred Hitchcock film (with Jimmy St...

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

Vital: Necessary to maintain life. For example, breathing is a vital function.

Wry neck: Medically called spasmodic torticollis, or torticollis. The most common of the f...