Ricin Glossary of Terms

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 ...

Absorption: Uptake. For example, intestinal absorption is the uptake of food (or other sub...

Aerosol: A fine spray or mist. Medications in aerosol form can be administered via a nebul...

Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry: An agency of the U.S. Department of Heal...

Antidote: A drug that counteracts a poison.

ATSDR: The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, a part of the U.S. Department...

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

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

CDC: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the US agency charged with tracking a...

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: The US agency charged with tracking and invest...

Chemical terrorism: Terrorism using chemical agents. These chemical agents are poisonous g...

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

Chest X-ray: A type of X-ray commonly used to detect abnormalities in the lungs. A chest X...

Cluster: In epidemiology, an aggregation of cases of a disease or another health-related c...

Congestion: An abnormal or excessive accumulation of a body fluid. The term is used broadl...

Cough: A rapid expulsion of air from the lungs, typically in order to clear the lung airwa...

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

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

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

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

Food poisoning: A common flu-like illness typically characterized by nausea, vomiting and...

Gastric: Having to do with the stomach.

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

GI tract: Short for gastrointestinal tract. See: Gastrointestinal tract.

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

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

Immunization: Vaccination. Immunizations work by stimulating the immune system, the natur...

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

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

Intubation: The process of putting a tube into a hollow organ or passageway, often into th...

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

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

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

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

Nicotine: An alkaloid (a nitrogen-containing chemical) made by the tobacco plant or produc...

Nose: The external midline projection from the face. The purpose of the nose is to warm, c...

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

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

Poison: Any substance that can cause severe organ damage or death if ingested, breathed in...

Poisoning: Taking a substance that is injurious to health or can cause death. Poisoning i...

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...

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

Respiratory: Having to do with respiration.

Ricin: A potent protein toxin made from the waste left over from processing castor beans. ...

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

Substance: 1. Material with particular features.
2. The material that...

Surgery: The branch of medicine that employs operations in the treatment of disease or inj...

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

Tetanus: An often fatal infectious disease that is caused by the bacterium Clostridium tet...

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

Toxicity: The degree to which a substance (a toxin or poison) can harm humans or animals. ...

Toxin: A poison produced by certain animals, plants, or bacteria.

Vaccines: Microbial preparations of killed or modified microorganisms that can stimulate a...

Ventilator: A machine that mechanically assists a patient in the exchange of oxygen and ca...

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