Overactive Bladder Glossary of Terms

1. Urinary Incontinence in Women Slideshow Pictures
2. Urinary Incontinence in Men Slideshow Pictures
3. Food & Drinks That Make You Gotta Go Slideshow Pictures

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

Anticholinergic: Opposing the actions of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine. Anticholinerg...

Antidepressant: Anything, and especially a drug, used to prevent or treat depression.

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

Biofeedback: A method of treatment that uses a monitor to measure patients' physiologic in...

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

Bladder cancer: A common form of cancer that begins in the lining of the bladder. The most...

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

Caffeine: A stimulant compound found naturally in coffee, tea, cocoa (chocolate), and kola...

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

Catheter: A thin, flexible tube.

Connective tissue: A material made up of fibers forming a framework and support structure...

Constipation: Infrequent and frequently incomplete bowel movements. Constipation is the op...

Contraction: The tightening and shortening of a muscle.

Cymbalta: Brand name for duloxetine hydrochloride, a drug approved by the FDA to treat maj...

Cystitis: Inflammation of the bladder. Cystitis can be due for example to infection from ...

Cytology: The medical and scientific study of cells. Cytology refers to a branch of pathol...

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...

Diabetes: Refers to diabetes mellitus or, less often, to diabetes insipidus. Diabetes mell...

Diabetic neuropathy: Nerve damage caused by diabetes that leads to numbness and sometimes ...

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

Dry mouth: The condition of not having enough saliva to keep the mouth wet. This is due to...

Duloxetine: See: Cymbalta.

Dysfunction: Difficult function or abnormal function.

Estrogen: A female steroid hormone that is produced by the ovaries and, in lesser amounts,...

FDA: Food and Drug Administration.

Food and Drug Administration: An agency within the US Public Health Service that provides ...

Herbal: 1. An adjective, referring to herbs, as in an herbal tea.
2. A...

Homeopathic: Pertaining to homeopathy.

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

Idiopathic: Of unknown cause. Any disease that is of uncertain or unknown origin may be te...

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

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

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

Insertion: A chromosome abnormality that is due to insertion of a segment from one chromos...

Interstitial: Pertaining to being between things, especially between things that are norma...

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

Kegel exercises: Exercises designed to increase muscle strength and elasticity in the fema...

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

Medical history: 1. In clinical medicine, the patient's past and present which may ...

Metabolic: Relating to metabolism, the whole range of biochemical processes that occur wit...

Micturition: Urination; the act of urinating.

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

MPH: Master of public health, a degree designating successful training in analyzing past, ...

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...

Naturopathic: Pertaining to naturopathy.

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

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

Neuropathy: Any disease or malfunction of the nerves.

Nocturia: Excessive urinating at night. Nocturia can be normal and more common with aging....

Obesity: The state of being well above one's normal weight.

Overactive bladder: A sudden involuntary contraction of the muscular wall of the bladder c...

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

Parkinson's disease: A slowly progressive neurologic disease that is characterized by a fi...

Pelvic: Having to do with the pelvis, the lower part of the abdomen, located between the h...

Pelvic exam: An examination of the organs of the female reproductive system.

Pelvic pain: : Pain perceived in the area of the pelvis, the lower part of the abdomen loc...

Percutaneous: Through the skin. For example, a percutaneous biopsy is a biopsy that is obt...

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

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

Prevalence: The proportion of individuals in a population having a disease or characterist...

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

Prostate: A gland within the male reproductive system that is located just below the blad...

Quality of life: The patient's ability to enjoy normal life activities. Quality of life is...

Refractory: Not yielding, or not yielding readily, to treatment.

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

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

Sacral: Referring to the sacrum. For example, sacral agenesis is absence of all or part 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...

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

Stress: In a medical or biological context stress is a physical, mental, or emotional fact...

Stroke: The sudden death of brain cells due to lack of oxygen, caused by blockage of blood...

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...

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

Therapy: The treatment of disease. Therapy is synonymous with treatment.

Trigger: Something that either sets off a disease in people who are genetically predispose...

Ultrasound: High-frequency sound waves. Ultra-sound waves can be bounced off tissues by us...

Urethra: The tube that leads from the bladder and transports and discharges urine outside ...

Urinalysis: A test that is done in order to analyze urine. Because toxins and excess fluid...

Urinary: Having to do with the function or anatomy of the kidneys, ureters, bladder, or ur...

Urinary incontinence: The unintentional loss of urine. Inability to hold urine in the blad...

Urinary tract: The organs of the body that produce, store, and discharge urine. These orga...

Urinary tract infection: An infection of the kidney, ureter, bladder, or urethra. Abbrevia...

Urinary urgency: An immediate unstoppable urge to urinate, due to a sudden involuntary con...

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

Urologist: A physician who specializes in diseases of the urinary organs in females and th...