Psoriatic Arthritis Glossary of Terms

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

Allergy: A misguided reaction to foreign substances by the immune system, the body system ...

Antifungal: A medication that limits or prevents the growth of yeasts and other fungal org...

Antimalarial: A drug directed against malaria. The original antimalarial agent was quinin...

Antipsoriatic: Directed against psoriasis. Sunlight is antipsoriatic, as are a number of d...

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

Arthritis in children: Arthritis in children, usually in the form in the form of juvenile...

Arthritis mutilans: An extremely severe form of chronic rheumatoid or psoriatic arthritis ...

Arthropathy: Joint disease.

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

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

Autoimmune disease: An illness that occurs when the body tissues are attacked by its own i...

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

Calcipotriene: A synthetic form of vitamin D3 that can be applied to the skin to treat pso...

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

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

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

Clinical trials: Trials to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of medications or medical...

Compress: Cloth or another material applied under pressure to an area of the skin and held...

Conjunctivitis: Inflammation of the membrane covering the surface of the eyeball. It can b...

Cortisone: A naturally occurring adrenocorticoid hormone that is produced in minute amount...

CT scan: Computerized tomography scan. Pictures of structures within the body created by a...

Dactylitis: Inflammation of a finger or toe.

Dermatology: 1. The branch of medicine concerned with the diagnosis, treatment, and...

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

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

Dry skin: Abnormally dry skin. Can be caused by a dry climate, winter weather, deficiency...

Eskalith: See: Lithium.

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

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 ...

FDA: Food and Drug Administration.

Fungus: A single-celled or multicellular organism. Fungi can be true pathogens (such as hi...

Generic: 1. The chemical name of a drug. 2. A term referring to the chemical...

Generic drug: The term "generic" has several meanings as regards drugs:

1. The chemi...

Genetic: Having to do with genes and genetic
information.

Gout: Condition characterized by abnormally elevated levels of uric acid in the blood, rec...

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

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

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

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

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

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

Immune: Protected against infection, usually by the presence of antibodies.

Immune system: A complex system that is responsible for distinguishing a person from every...

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 ...

Injure: To harm, hurt, or wound. The word injure may be in physical or emotional sense. Fr...

Iris: The circular, colored curtain of the eye. The opening of the iris forms the pupil. T...

Iritis: Inflammation of the iris. The iris is the circular, colored curtain in the front o...

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...

Juvenile: Between infantile and adult. Used in medicine to indicate onset in childhood, as...

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

Lithium: A naturally occurring salt that, in purified form, is used to treat certain psych...

Lithobid: See: Lithium.

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

Lymphoma: A tumor of the lymphoid tissue. The major types of lymphoma are Hodgkin's diseas...

Malignancy: A tumor that is malignant (cancerous), that can invade and destroy nearby tiss...

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

MRI: Magnetic resonance imaging.

Nail: In medicine, there are two types of nails. One is just a plain old metal nail used t...

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

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

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

Ointment: An oil-based preparation that is applied to the skin. Whereas an ointment has an...

Oligoarthritis: Inflammation of four or fewer joints.

Onset: In medicine, the first appearance of the signs or symptoms of an illness as, for ex...

Onycholysis: Loosening of a nail from the nail bed, usually starting at the border of the ...

Osteoarthritis: A type of arthritis caused by inflammation, breakdown, and eventual loss ...

Outpatient: A patient who is not hospitalized, but instead comes to a physician?s office, ...

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

Paronychia: Inflammation of the folds of tissue surrounding the nail due to infection or i...

Pelvis: The lower part of the abdomen, located between the hip bones. Structures in the fe...

Phototherapy: Treatment with light. For example, a newborn with jaundice may be put under ...

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

Plaque psoriasis: The most common form of psoriasis -- about 80% of people with psoriasis ...

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

Pregnant: The state of carrying a developing fetus within the body.

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...

Psoralen: Any of a number of drugs and other substances containing chemicals that react wi...

Psoriasis: A reddish, scaly rash often located over the surfaces of the elbows, knees, sca...

Psoriatic arthritis: Joint inflammation that is associated with psoriasis. Psoriatic arthr...

Pustular psoriasis: A type of recurring psoriasis characterized by the appearance of pus-...

PUVA: PUVA stands for psoralen (P) and ultraviolet A (UVA) therapy in which the patient is...

Regimen: A plan or a regulated course, such as a diet, exercise, or treatment, that is des...

Registry: A collection of information. A registry is usually organized so that the data in...

Remission: Disappearance of the signs and symptoms of cancer or other disease. A remission...

Resistance: Opposition to something, or the ability to withstand something. For example, s...

Retinoid: 1. Vitamin A (retinol) or a naturally occurring or synthetic substance ch...

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

Rheumatologist: A specialist in the non-surgical treatment of rheumatic illnesses, espec...

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

Salicylic acid: A substance obtained from plants (white willow back and wintergreen leaves...

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

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

Sleep: The body's rest cycle.

Spine: 1) The column of bone known as the vertebral column, which surrounds and protects ...

Spondylitis: Inflammation of one or more of the vertebrae of the spine. Diffuse inflammati...

Steroid: One of a large group of chemical substances classified by a specific carbon struc...

Stomach: The digestive organ that is located in the upper abdomen, under the ribs. The upp...

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

Sunburn: Sunburn is an inflammation of the skin that develops in response to exposure to u...

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...

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

Systemic therapy: Treatment that reaches cells throughout the body by traveling through th...

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

Thigh: The thick, muscular portion of the leg that extends from the hip to the knee. The t...

Throat: The throat is the anterior (front) portion of the neck beginning at the back of th...

Tongue: A strong muscle that is anchored to the floor of the mouth. The tongue is covered ...

Topical: Pertaining to a particular surface area. For example, a topical agent is applied ...

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

Ultraviolet A: One of the three types of invisible light rays (together with ultraviolet ...

Ultraviolet B: One of the three types of invisible light rays (together with ultraviolet ...

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

Vertebrae: The preferred plural of vertebra. (The alternate plural is vertebras.) See also...

Vitamin D: A steroid vitamin which promotes the intestinal absorption and metabolism of ca...

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