Polycythemia Glossary of Terms

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

Abdominal pain: Pain in the belly. Abdominal pain can be acute or chronic. It may reflect ...

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

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

Adenocarcinoma: A cancer that develops in the lining or inner surface of an organ and usua...

Adenoma: A benign tumor that arises in or resembles glandular tissue. If an adenoma become...

Affinity: In immunology, the strength of binding interaction between antigen and antibody ...

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

Apnea: The absence of breathing (respiration).

Aspiration: Removal of a sample of fluid and cells through a needle. Aspiration also re...

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

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

Biopsy: The removal of a sample of tissue for examination under a microscope to check for ...

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

Blood clots: Blood that has been converted from a liquid to a solid state. Also called a t...

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

Bone marrow: The soft blood-forming tissue that fills the cavities of bones and contains f...

Bone marrow aspiration: The removal of a small amount of liquid bone marrow through a need...

Bronchitis: Inflammation and swelling of the bronchi. Bronchitis can be acute or chronic.

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

Carbon dioxide: A gas which is the byproduct of cellular metabolism and which collects in ...

Carcinoma: Cancer that begins in the skin or in tissues that line or cover body organs. Ex...

Cardiologist: A physician who specializes in treating heart disorders.

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

Cardiovascular disease: Disease affecting the heart or blood vessels.

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...

Chest: The area of the body located between the neck and the abdomen. The chest contains t...

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

Chronic bronchitis: Inflammation and swelling of the lining of the airways, leading to nar...

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: COPD. Any disorder that persistently obstructs bron...

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

Congenital: A condition that is present at birth, whether or not it is inherited.

Congestive heart failure: Inability of the heart to keep up with the demands on it, with f...

COPD: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Any disorder that persistently obstructs bron...

Cyanosis: A bluish color of the skin and the mucous membranes due to insufficient oxygen i...

Cysts: Cysts are abnormal, closed sac-like structures within a tissue that contain a liqui...

Deep vein thrombosis: A blood clot within a deep vein, typically in the thigh or leg. The ...

Dehydration: Excessive loss of body water. Diseases of the gastrointestinal tract that ca...

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

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

ECG: Electrocardiogram.

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

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

Emphysema: 1) A lung condition featuring an abnormal accumulation of air in the lung's ma...

Enlarged spleen: Splenomegaly, or an enlargement of the spleen. This condition can occur w...

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

Familial: A condition that tends to occur more often in family members than is expected by...

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

Fatigue: A condition characterized by a lessened capacity for work and reduced efficiency ...

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

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

Gene: The basic biological unit of heredity. A segment of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) need...

Genes: The basic biological units of heredity. Segments of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) nee...

Genetic: Having to do with genes and genetic
information.

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

Heart failure: Inability of the heart to keep up with the demands on it and, specifically...

Hematocrit: The proportion of the blood that consists of packed red blood cells. The hema...

Hemoglobin: The oxygen-carrying pigment and predominant protein in the red blood cells. He...

Hemorrhage: Bleeding or the abnormal flow of blood.

Hepatocellular carcinoma: A cancer arising from the liver cells (hepatocytes). Liver damag...

Hip pain: Hip pain is the sensation of discomfort in or around the hip joint, where the up...

Hydroxyurea: A drug that inhibits the synthesis of DNA and so is classified as an antimeta...

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

Hypoventilation: The state in which a reduced amount of air enters the alveoli in the lung...

Hypoxia: A lower-than-normal concentration of oxygen in arterial blood, as opposed to anox...

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

Intrauterine: In the uterus.

Iron: An essential mineral. Iron is necessary for the transport of oxygen (via hemoglobin ...

Itching: An uncomfortable sensation in the skin that feels as if something is crawling on ...

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

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

Kidney cancer: Malignancy of the kidney, the organ that is primarily responsible for the r...

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...

Leukocytosis: A condition in which the number of white blood cells is higher than normal.

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...

Marrow: The bone marrow.

Maternal: 1. Pertaining to the mother as, for example, the maternal mortality rate....

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...

Molecule: The smallest unit of a substance that can exist alone and retain the character o...

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

Mutation: A permanent change, a structural alteration, in the DNA or RNA. In humans and m...

Myelofibrosis: Spontaneous scarring (fibrosis) of the bone marrow that disrupts the normal...

Neonatal: Pertaining to the newborn period, specifically the first 4 weeks after birth.

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

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA): Sleep apnea is a breathing disorder characterized by brief ...

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...

Phlebotomy: Obtaining blood from a vein. In the old days, this was done by incising (cutt...

Placenta: A temporary organ that joins the mother and fetus, transferring oxygen and nutri...

Plasma: The liquid part of the blood and lymphatic fluid, which makes up about half of the...

Platelet: An irregular, disc-shaped element in the blood that assists in blood clotting....

Platelet count: The calculated number of platelets in a volume of blood, usually expressed...

Polycythemia: Too many red blood cells. The opposite of anemia. polycythemia formally exis...

Primary care: A patient's main source for regular medical care, ideally providing continui...

Pruritus: Itching. Pruritus can result from drug reaction, food allergy, kidney or liver...

Pulmonary: Having to do with the lungs.

Pulmonary hypertension: High blood pressure in the pulmonary arteries. This elevated blood...

RBC: Short for red blood cells, the cells that carry oxygen and carbon dioxide through the...

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

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

Red cells: Short for red blood cells, the oxygen/carbon dioxide carrying cells in blood. A...

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

Renal cell carcinoma: Cancer that develops in the lining of the renal tubules, which filte...

Rib: One of the 12 paired arches of bone that form the skeletal structure of the chest wal...

Rupture: A break or tear in any organ (such as the spleen) or soft tissue (such as the ach...

Sensitivity: 1. In psychology, the quality of being sensitive. As, for example, sen...

Sleep: The body's rest cycle.

Sleep apnea: The temporary stoppage of breathing during sleep, often resulting in daytime ...

Spleen: An organ that is located in the upper-left part of the abdomen, not far from the s...

Splenomegaly: Abnormal enlargement of the spleen. Splenomegaly is a sign of an underlying ...

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

Sweating: The act of secreting fluid from the skin by the sweat (sudoriferous) glands. The...

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

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

Thrombocytopenia: : A low platelet count. Platelets are irregular, disc-shaped element in ...

Thrombocytosis: See thrombocythemia.

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

Uterine cancer: A malignant tumor of the uterus (womb), which occurs most often in women b...

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