Renal Artery Stenosis Glossary of Terms

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

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

Aldosterone: A hormone produced by the outer portion (cortex) of the adrenal gland. Aldost...

Aneurysm: A localized widening (dilatation) of an artery, a vein, or the heart. At the poi...

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...

Angiotensin: A family of peptides that constrict blood vessels. Narrowing the diameter of ...

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

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

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

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

Azotemia: A higher-than-normal blood level of urea or other nitrogen-containing compounds....

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...

Bruit: A sound heard over an artery or vascular channel, reflecting turbulence of flow. Mo...

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

Catheter: A thin, flexible tube.

Cholesterol: The most common type of steroid in the body. Cholesterol has a reputation for...

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...

Computerized tomography: Pictures of structures within the body created by a computer that...

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

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

Dysplasia: Abnormality in form or development. For example, retinal dysplasia is abnormal ...

End-stage renal disease: ESRD. Chronic irreversible renal failure. Also known as Chronic...

ESRD: End-stage renal disease.

Essential: In medicine, of unknown cause, as in essential hypertension (high blood pressur...

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

Femoral: Having to do with the femur.

Femoral artery: The continuation of the external iliac artery after it passes under the in...

Groin: The area where the thigh meets the hip.

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 ...

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

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

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

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

Lipid: Another word for "fat." (Please see the various meanings of Fat.) A lipid is more f...

Macula: A macula is a small spot. A macula on the skin is a small flat spot while the macu...

Malaise: A vague feeling of discomfort, one that cannot be pinned down but is often sensed...

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

Nephropathy: Any kidney disease.

Occlude: 1 To close, obstruct, or prevent the passage. To occlude an artery is to o...

Occlusion: The act of occluding. See: Occlude.

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

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

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

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

Renal artery stenosis: Narrowing of the major artery to the kidney that can lead to seriou...

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

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

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...

Tomography: The process for generating a tomogram, a two-dimensional image of a slice or s...

Tumor: An abnormal mass of tissue. Tumors are a classic sign of inflammation, and can be ...

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

Urinalysis: A test that is done in order to analyze urine. Because toxins and excess fluid...

Urine: Liquid waste produced by the kidneys. Urine is a clear, transparent fluid that norm...

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 ...