Pericarditis Glossary of Terms

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

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

Adenovirus: One of a group of viruses that can cause infections of the lung, stomach, inte...

Analgesic: A drug that relieves pain.

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

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

Aorta: The largest artery in the body, the aorta arises from the left ventricle of the he...

Aortic: Pertaining to the aorta, the largest artery in the body.

Aortic dissection: A progressive tear in the aorta. The inner lining (intima) of the aorta...

Artery: A vessel that carries blood high in oxygen content away from the heart to the far...

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...

Atherosclerotic: Pertaining to atherosclerosis, the process of progressive thickening and ...

Bacterial: Of or pertaining to bacteria, as in a bacterial lung infection.

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

Blood pressure: The blood pressure is the pressure of the blood within the arteries. It is...

Breast cancer: Breast cancer is diagnosed with self- and physician-examination of the brea...

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

C-reactive protein: An acute-phase plasma protein whose blood concentration reflects the p...

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

Cancer causes: In most individual cases of cancer, the exact cause of cancer is unknown. T...

Cardiac: Having to do with the heart.

Cardiac tamponade: A life-threatening situation in which there is such a large amount of f...

CBC: A commonly used abbreviation in medicine that stands for complete blood count, a set...

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

Chemotherapy: 1. In the original sense, a chemical that binds to and specifically k...

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 ...

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

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

Constrictive pericarditis: Scarring of the pericardial sac. This limits the ability of the...

Contusion: Another name for a bruise. What is a bruise ? A bruise, or contusion, is caused...

CRP: C-reactive protein.

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 ...

Dialysis: The process of cleansing the blood by passing it through a special machine. Dial...

Dilating: The widening and opening of an opening, such as the cervix or esophagus. For exa...

Dissection: The process of cutting apart or separating tissue as, for example, in the stud...

Distention: The state of being distended, enlarged, swollen from internal pressure.

Edema: The swelling of soft tissues as a result of excess fluid accumulation. Edema is oft...

Effusion: Too much fluid, an outpouring of fluid. For example, a pleural effusion is an ab...

Electrocardiogram: A recording of the electrical activity of the heart. Abbreviated ECG an...

Embolism: The obstruction of a blood vessel by a foreign substance or a blood clot that tr...

Endocarditis: an inflammation of one or more of the heart valves and lining tissues of the...

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

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

Erythrocyte: A cell that contains hemoglobin and can carry oxygen to the body. Also called...

Esophagitis: Inflammation of the esophagus.

Esophagus: The tube that connects the pharynx (throat) with the stomach. The esophagus lie...

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

Fungi: Plural of fungus.

Gastritis: Inflammation of the stomach.

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...

Heart disease: Any disorder that affects the heart. Sometimes the term "heart disease" is ...

Heart muscle: A type of muscle with unique features only found in the heart. The heart mus...

Heart rate: The number of heartbeats per unit of time, usually per minute. The heart rate ...

Heart valves: There are four heart valves. All are one-way valves. Blood entering the ...

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

HIV: Acronym for the Human Immunodeficiency Virus, the cause of AIDS (acquired immunodefi...

Human immunodeficiency virus: HIV, the cause of AIDS. HIV has also been called the human...

Hypothyroid: Deficiency of thyroid hormone which is normally made by the thyroid gland wh...

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

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

Immunodeficiency: The inability to form a normal immune response. Immunodeficiency can be ...

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...

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

Influenza: The flu is caused by viruses that infect the respiratory tract which are divide...

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

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

Jugular vein: The jugular veins are in the neck and drain blood from the head, brain, face...

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

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

Leukemia: Cancer of the blood cells. Strictly speaking, leukemia should refer only to canc...

Low blood pressure: Any blood pressure that is below the normal expected for an individua...

Lung cancer: Cancer of the major organ of respiration - the lung. Lung cancer kills more m...

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

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...

Measles: An acute and highly contagious viral disease characterized by fever, runny nose,...

Membrane: A very thin layer of tissue that covers a 'surface.

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

MRI: Magnetic resonance imaging.

Mumps: An acute (sudden, shortlived) viral illness that usually presents with inflammation...

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

Myocarditis: Inflammation of the myocardium, the heart muscle.

Myoglobin: The pigment in muscle that carries oxygen.

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

Oxygen: The odorless gas that is present in the air and necessary to maintain life. Oxygen...

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

Parietal: Adjective from the Latin "parietalis" meaning "belonging to the wall" that the a...

Pericardial: Referring to the pericardium, the sac of fibrous tissue that surrounds the he...

Pericardial effusion: Too much fluid within the pericardium, which normally contains a sma...

Pericardial sac: A conical sac of fibrous tissue which surrounds the heart and the roots o...

Pericardial tamponade: A life-threatening situation in which there is such a large amount...

Pericarditis: Inflammation of the lining around the heart (the pericardium) that causes ch...

Pericardium: The conical sac of fibrous tissue that surrounds the heart and the roots of ...

Pleural: Pertaining to the pleura, the thin covering that protects the lungs. The term "pl...

Pleural effusion: Excess fluid between the two membranes that cover the lungs (the viscera...

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

Protein: One of the three nutrients used as energy sources (calories) by the body. Protein...

Pulmonary: Having to do with the lungs.

Pulmonary artery: One of the two vessels which are formed as terminal branches of the pulm...

Pulmonary vein: One of four vessels that carry aerated blood from the lungs to the left at...

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 ...

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

Recurrence: The return of a sign, symptom, or disease after a remission. The reappearance ...

Respiratory: Having to do with respiration.

Respiratory rate: The number of breaths per minute or, more formally, the number of moveme...

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

Sarcoidosis: A disease of unknown origin that causes small lumps (granulomas) due to chron...

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

Scleroderma: A disease of connective tissue that causes scar tissue (fibrosis) to form in ...

Sedimentation rate: A blood test that detects and monitors inflammation in the body. Abbre...

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

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

Smallpox: A highly contagious and frequently fatal viral disease that is characterized by ...

Smallpox vaccine: A vaccine that contains a live virus called vaccinia that is used to pre...

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

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

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

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...

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

Syncope: Partial or complete loss of consciousness with interruption of awareness of one...

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

Systemic: Affecting the entire body. A systemic disease such as diabetes can affect the wh...

Tachycardia: A rapid heart rate, usually defined as greater than 100 beats per minute.

Tachypnea: Abnormally fast breathing.

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

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

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

Trauma: A physical or emotional injury.

Tuberculin: A protein extracted from Mycobacterium tuberculosis that is used in a skin tes...

Tuberculosis: A highly contagious infection caused by the bacterium called Mycobacterium ...

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

Urea: A nitrogen-containing substance normally cleared from the blood by the kidney into t...

Uremia: The presence of excessive amounts of urea in the blood, which may be a sign of ki...

Vein: A blood vessel that carries blood that is low in oxygen content from the body back t...

Vena cava: The superior vena cava is the large vein which returns blood to the heart from ...

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

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...

Visceral: Referring to the viscera, the internal organs of the body, specifically those wi...

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

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...