Pain After Surgery Glossary of Terms

1. Slideshow: Surprising Reasons You're in Pain
2. Take the Pain Quiz!
3. Slideshow: Good and Bad Exercises for Low Back Pain

Abdomen: The belly, that part of the body that contains all of the structures between the...

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

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

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

Analgesia: The inability to feel pain.

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

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

Arthritis: Inflammation of a joint. When joints are inflamed they can develop stiffness, w...

Aspirin: Once the Bayer trademark for acetylsalicylic acid, now the common name for this a...

Blood clot: A mass of coagulated blood. A blood clot can block a major blood vessel, causi...

Bowel: The small and large intestine.

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

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...

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 ...

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

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

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

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 ...

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

Discharge: 1.The flow of fluid from part of the body, such as from the nose or vag...

Embolus: A blockage or plug that obstructs a blood 'vessel. Examples of emboli are detache...

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

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

Fistula: An abnormal passageway in the body. The fistula may go from the body surface int...

Gallbladder: A pear-shaped organ located below the liver that stores the bile secreted by ...

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

Heart attack: The death of heart muscle due to the loss of blood supply. The loss of bloo...

Hematoma: A localized swelling that is filled with blood caused by a break in the wall of ...

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

Ileus: Obstruction of the intestine due to its being paralyzed. The paralysis does not nee...

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

Infarction: The formation of an infarct, an area of tissue death, due to a local lack of o...

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

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

Lethargy: Abnormal drowsiness, stupor.

Lupus: A chronic inflammatory disease that is caused by autoimmunity. Patients with lupus ...

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

Morphine: A powerful narcotic agent that has strong analgesic (pain relief) action and oth...

Myocardial infarction: A heart attack. Abbreviated MI.

Nausea: Stomach queasiness, the urge to vomit. Nausea can be brought on by many causes, in...

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

NSAID: Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug, a medication that is commonly prescribed or pu...

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

Opiate: A medication or an illegal drug that is derived from the opium poppy or that mimic...

Oxycodone: Oxycodone is the active ingredient in OxyContin. Oxycodone is an opioid, a clos...

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

Pain management: The process of providing medical care that alleviates or reduces pain. Mi...

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

Pneumonia: Inflammation of one or both lungs, with dense areas of lung inflammation. Pneum...

Postop: Short for postoperative; after a surgical operation. The opposite of postop is pre...

Postoperative: After surgery. As opposed to preoperative, before surgery.

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...

Pulmonary: Having to do with the lungs.

Pulmonary embolus: A blood clot or foreign material that has been carried through the bloo...

Pus: A thick, whitish-yellow fluid that results from the accumulation of white blood cells...

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

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

Rheumatoid arthritis: An autoimmune disease characterized by chronic inflammation of joint...

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

Shortness of breath: Difficulty in breathing. Medically referred to as dyspnea. Shortness ...

Sleeplessness: Insomnia. See also Fatal familial insomnia.

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

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

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

Tylenol: See: Acetaminophen.

Weight loss: Weight loss is a decrease in body weight resulting from either voluntary (die...

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...

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