Peripheral Vascular Disease Glossary of Terms

1. Spider and Varicose Veins Slideshow Pictures
2. Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT) Slideshow Pictures

Acquired: Not inherited, or present at birth (congenital), but developing after birth. For...

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

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

Amputation: Removal of part or all of a body part that is enclosed by skin. Amputation can...

Anesthesia: Loss of feeling or awareness, as when an anesthetic is administered before sur...

Angiogram: An X-ray image of blood vessels. The vessels can be seen because a contrast dye...

Angiography: A procedure performed to view blood vessels after injecting them with a radio...

Angioplasty: Procedure with a balloon-tipped catheter to enlarge a narrowing in a coronary...

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

Anticoagulant: An agent that is used to prevent the formation of blood clots. Anticoagulan...

Arms: An appendage in anatomy and in clinical trials. See: Arm.

Arteriosclerosis: Hardening and thickening of the walls of the arteries. Arteriosclerosis ...

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

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

Atherectomy: A procedure to remove plaque (atheroma) from the inside of a blood vessel. At...

Atherosclerosis: A process of progressive thickening and hardening of the walls of medium-...

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

Autoimmune: Pertaining to autoimmunity, a misdirected immune response that occurs when the...

Bacteria: Single-celled microorganisms that can exist either as independent (free-living) ...

Balloon angioplasty: Coronary angioplasty is accomplished using a balloon-tipped catheter ...

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

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

Blood sugar: Blood glucose. See also: High blood sugar; Low blood sugar.

Brain: The portion of the central nervous system that is located within the skull. It func...

Bypass: An operation in which a new pathway is created for the transport of substances in ...

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

Capillaries: Capillaries are the smallest of blood vessels. They serve to distribute oxyge...

Cardiac: Having to do with the heart.

Cardiologist: A physician who specializes in treating heart disorders.

Cardiovascular: Relating to the circulatory system, which comprises the heart and blood ve...

Carotid: Pertaining to the carotid artery and the area near that key artery, which is loca...

Catheter: A thin, flexible tube.

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...

Circulatory: Having to do with circulation, the movement of fluid in a regular or circuito...

Circulatory system: The system that moves blood throughout the body. The circulatory syste...

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

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

Coronary arteries: The vessels that supply the heart muscle with blood rich in oxygen. The...

Coronary artery disease: Impedance or blockage of one or more arteries that supply blood t...

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

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

Dilate: To stretch or enlarge. Also known as dilatate.

Distal: The more (or most) distant of two (or more) things. For example, the distal end of...

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

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

Enoxaparin: A low-molecular-weight version of heparin that acts like heparin as an anticoa...

Exercise test: See exercise cardiac treadmill.

Family history: The family structure and relationships within the family, including inform...

Fats: Plural of the word "fat". See the definition of fat.

FDA: Food and Drug Administration.

Fetus: An unborn offspring, from the embryo stage (the end of the eighth week after concep...

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

Gangrene: Tissue death due to loss of adequate blood supply. Sometimes bacteria invade suc...

HDL: High density lipoprotein.

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

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 ...

Heparin: An anticoagulant (anti-clotting) medication. Heparin is useful in preventing thro...

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

High blood sugar: An elevated level of the sugar glucose in the blood. Also called hypergl...

Hypertension: High blood pressure, defined as a repeatedly elevated blood pressure exceedi...

Impotence: A common problem among men characterized by the consistent inability to sustai...

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

Indication: 1. In medicine, a condition which makes a particular treatment or proce...

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

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...

Intermittent claudication: An aching, crampy, tired, and sometimes burning pain in the leg...

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

Interventional: Pertaining to the act of intervening, interfering or interceding with the ...

Interventional radiologist: A radiologist who uses image guidance methods to gain access t...

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

Jaw: The movable junction of the bones below the mouth (the mandible) and the bone just ab...

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...

LDL cholesterol: Low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, commonly referred to as 'bad' choles...

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

Limb: An arm or a leg.

Lipids: Another word for "fats." (Please see the various meanings of Fat.) Lipids can be m...

Liver: The largest solid organ in the body, situated in the upper part of the abdomen on t...

Lungs: The lungs are a pair of breathing organs located with the chest which remove carbon...

Magnetic resonance imaging: A procedure that uses magnetism, radio waves, and a computer t...

Medical school: A school with a curriculum leading to a medical degree. The mission of eve...

MRI: Magnetic resonance imaging.

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

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

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

Operation: In medicine, a surgical procedure. Many operations are named after persons. The...

Organ: A relatively independent part of the body that carries out one or more special func...

Overweight: The term "overweight" is used in two different ways. In one sense it is a way ...

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

PA-C: Physician Assistant - Certified.

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...

Paralysis: Loss of voluntary movement (motor function). Paralysis that affects only one mu...

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

Peripheral: Situated away from the center, as opposed to centrally located.

Peripheral artery disease: A form of peripheral vascular disease in which there is partial...

Peripheral vascular disease: A disease of blood vessels outside the heart. Peripheral vasc...

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

Plaque: 1. An semi-hardened accumulation of substances from fluids that bathe an a...

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

Probe: (1) In surgery, a probe is a slender flexible rod with a blunt end used to e...

Proximal: Toward the beginning, the nearer of two (or more) items. For example, the proxim...

Pulse: The rhythmic dilation of an artery that results from beating of the heart. Pulse is...

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

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

Radiology: The medical specialty concerned with radiation for the diagnosis and treatment ...

Recurrent: Appearing or occurring again. For example, a recurrent fever is a fever that ha...

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

Renal: Having to do with the kidney. For example, renal cancer is cancer of the kidneys.

Restenosis: Renarrowing, as in restenosis of a coronary artery after angioplasty. From the...

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

Rule out: Term used in medicine, meaning to eliminate or exclude something from considera...

Salmonella: A group of bacteria that cause typhoid fever and a number of other illnesses...

Salmonellosis: Infection with bacteria belonging to the genus Salmonella. Salmonellosi...

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

Sore: 1. (adjective) A popular term for painful, such as a sore throat. 2. (...

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

Stent: A tube designed to be inserted into a vessel or passageway to keep it open. Stents ...

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

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...

Syphilis: A sexually transmitted disease caused by Treponema pallidum, a microscopic orga...

Takayasu disease: A chronic inflammatory disease of the aorta and its branch arteries. The...

Thrombosis: The formation or presence of a blood clot in a blood vessel. The vessel may be...

Thrombus: A clot in a blood vessel or within the heart.

Tiredness: See: Tired.

Treadmill: A machine with a moving strip on which one walks without moving forward. A trea...

Triglycerides: The major form of fat stored by the body. A triglyceride consists of three ...

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

Vascular: Relating to blood vessels. For example, the vascular system in the body includes...

Vasculitis: A general term for a group of uncommon diseases that feature inflammation of t...

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

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

Warfarin: An anticoagulant drug (brand names: Coumarin, Panwarfin, Sofarin) taken to prev...

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