Sexual Assault Glossary of Terms

Birth control: Birth control is the use of any practices, methods, or devices to prevent pregnancy from occurring in a sexually active woman. Also referred to as family planning, pregnancy prevention, fertility control, or contraception; birth control methods are designed either to prevent fertilization of an egg or implantation of a fertilized egg in the uterus.
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Consultant: An individual to whom one refers for expert advice or services. The use of consultants is common in medicine.
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Date rape: Rape of a woman by a man with whom she is acquainted. The rapist is usually the woman's "date" (escort).
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DNA: Deoxyribonucleic acid. One of two types of molecules that encode genetic information. (The other is RNA. In humans DNA is the genetic material; RNA is transcribed from it. In some other organisms, RNA is the genetic material and, in reverse fashion, the DNA is transcribed from it.)
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Douching: Using water or a medicated solution to clean the vagina. Vaginal douching has been done for many, many years. However, there is currently concern that it may sometimes cause problems. It may mask, or even worsen, conditions such as bacterial or yeast infection of the vagina. Even more seriously, douching is associated with an increased risk of pelvic inflammatory disease (PID). It is also associated with an increased risk of an ectopic pregnancy (probably due to PID). The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) recommends against douching.
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Emergency contraception: The prevention of pregnancy after unprotected vaginal intercourse. Emergency contraception may use drugs related to the female hormones estrogen and progesterone. These "morning-after pill" are similar to birth control pills but generally contain higher hormone doses. Another form of emergency contraception uses an intrauterine device (IUD) inserted by a physician within 5 days after intercourse.
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Engagement: This term in obstetrics refers to the sensation that a pregnant woman feels when the baby drops. This is the time when the presenting (the lowermost) part of the fetus descends and is engaged in the mother's pelvis.
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Genetics: The scientific study of heredity. Genetics pertains to humans and all other organisms. So, for example, there is human genetics, mouse genetics, fruitfly genetics, etc.
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Genital: Pertaining to the external and internal organs of reproduction. (Not to be confused with genetic.)

Genitalia: The male and female reproductive organs. The genitalia include internal structures such as the ovary, and external structures such as the penis. See also: Female organs of reproduction; Male organs of reproduction.

Gynecology: The branch of medicine particularly concerned with the health of the female organs of reproduction and diseases thereof.
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Hepatitis: Inflammation of the liver from any cause.
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Hepatitis B: Inflammation of the liver due to the hepatitis B virus (HBV), once thought to be passed only through blood products. It is now known that hepatitis B can also be transmitted via needle sticks, body piercing and tattooing using un sterilized instruments, the dialysis process, sexual and even less intimate close contact, and childbirth. Symptoms include fatigue, jaundice, nausea, vomiting, dark urine, light stools. Diagnosis is by blood test. Treatment is via anti-viral drugs and/or hepatitis B immunoglobulin (HBIG).
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HIV: Acronym for the Human Immunodeficiency Virus, the cause of AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome). HIV has also been called the human lymphotropic virus type III, the lymphadenopathy-associated virus and the lymphadenopathy virus. No matter what name is applied, it is a retrovirus. (A retrovirus has an RNA genome and a reverse transcriptase enzyme. Using the reverse transcriptase, the virus uses its RNA as a template for making complementary DNA which can integrate into the DNA of the host organism).
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HIV test: A test for the human immunodeficiency virus, the cause of AIDS. HIV tests are designed to detect antibodies to the HIV virus or the HIV virus itself.
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Incest: Sexual activity between individuals so closely related that marriage is prohibited. Incest involving a child is a form of child abuse.

Incidence: The frequency with which something, such as a disease, appears in a particular population or area. In disease epidemiology, the incidence is the number of newly diagnosed cases during a specific time period. The incidence is distinct from the prevalence which refers to the number of cases alive on a certain date.

Indicate: In medicine, to make a treatment or procedure advisable because of a particular condition or circumstance. For example, certain medications are indicated for the treatment of hypertension during pregnancy while others are contraindicated.

Indication: 1. In medicine, a condition which makes a particular treatment or procedure advisable. CML (chronic myeloid leukemia) is an indication for the use of Gleevec (imatinib mesylate). 2. A sign or a circumstance which points to or shows the cause, pathology, treatment, or outcome of an attack of disease. The presence of the Philadelphia chromosome in peripheral blood cells is an indication of a relapse in CML.

Infection: The growth of a parasitic organism within the body. (A parasitic organism is one that lives on or in another organism and draws its nourishment therefrom.) A person with an infection has another organism (a "germ") growing within him, drawing its nourishment from the person.
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Injury: Harm or hurt. The term "injury" may be applied in medicine to damage inflicted upon oneself as in a hamstring injury or by an external agent on as in a cold injury. The injury may be accidental or deliberate, as with a needlestick injury. The term "injury" may be synonymous (depending on the context) with a wound or with trauma.

Involuntary: Done other than in accordance with the conscious will of the individual. The opposite of voluntary.
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Memory: 1. The ability to recover information about past events or knowledge. 2. The process of recovering information about past events or knowledge. 3. Cognitive reconstruction. The brain engages in a remarkable reshuffling process in an attempt to extract what is general and what is particular about each passing moment.
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Obstetrics: The art and science of managing pregnancy, labor and the puerperium (the time after delivery).

Pain: An unpleasant sensation that can range from mild, localized discomfort to agony. Pain has both physical and emotional components. The physical part of pain results from nerve stimulation. Pain may be contained to a discrete area, as in an injury, or it can be more diffuse, as in disorders like fibromyalgia. Pain is mediated by specific nerve fibers that carry the pain impulses to the brain where their conscious appreciation may be modified by many factors.
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Pediatric: Pertaining to children.

Pediatrics: "Pediatrics is concerned with the health of infants, children and adolescents, their growth and development, and their opportunity to achieve full potential as adults." (Richard E.Behrman in Nelson's Textbook of Pediatrics)
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Penis: The external male sex organ used to copulate and ejaculate semen and to convey urine outside the body.
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Perineal: Of or relating to the perineum.

Pharmacy: A location where prescription drugs are sold. A pharmacy is, by law, constantly supervised by a licensed pharmacist.

Pregnancy: The state of carrying a developing embryo or fetus within the female body. This condition can be indicated by positive results on an over-the-counter urine test, and confirmed through a blood test, ultrasound, detection of fetal heartbeat, or an X-ray. Pregnancy lasts for about nine months, measured from the date of the woman's last menstrual period (LMP). It is conventionally divided into three trimesters, each roughly three months long.
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Rape: Forced sexual intercourse; sexual assault; sexual intercourse between an adult and a minor. Rape may be heterosexual (involving members of opposite sexes) or homosexual (involving members of the same sex). Rape involves insertion of an erect penis or an inanimate object into the female vagina or the male anus. Legal definitions of rape may also include forced oral sex and other sexual acts.
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Recipient: In medicine, a recipient is someone who receives something like a blood transfusion or an organ transplant. The recipient is beholden to the donor.

Resistance: Opposition to something, or the ability to withstand it. For example, some forms of staphylococcus are resistant to treatment with antibiotics.

Rule out: A term much used in medicine, meaning to eliminate or exclude something from consideration. The ACB (albumin cobalt binding) test helps rule out a heart attack in the differential diagnosis of severe chest pain.

Statutory rape: A legal term describing sexual intercourse between an adult and a minor. The adult can be found guilty of statutory rape in courts of law even if the minor was a willing partner.
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Stress: Forces from the outside world impinging on the individual. Stress is a normal part of life that can help us learn and grow. Conversely, stress can cause us significant problems.
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Toluidine: A chemical compound implicated, along with aniline, in the causation of bladder cancer.
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Trauma: Any injury, whether physically or emotionally inflicted. "Trauma" has both a medical and a psychiatric definition. Medically, "trauma" refers to a serious or critical bodily injury, wound, or shock. This definition is often associated with trauma medicine practiced in emergency rooms and represents a popular view of the term. In psychiatry, "trauma" has assumed a different meaning and refers to an experience that is emotionally painful, distressful, or shocking, which often results in lasting mental and physical effects.
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Unconscious: 1. Interruption of awareness of oneself and one's surroundings, lack of the ability to notice or respond to stimuli in the environment. A person may become unconscious due to oxygen deprivation, shock, central nervous system depressants such as alcohol and drugs, or injury.
2. In psychology, that part of thought and emotion that happens outside everyday awareness.

Vagina: The muscular canal extending from the cervix to the outside of the body. It is usually six to seven inches in length, and its walls are lined with mucus membrane. It includes two vaultlike structures, the anterior (front) vaginal fornix and the posterior (rear) vaginal fornix. The cervix protrudes slightly into the vagina, and it is through a tiny hole in the cervix (the os) that sperm make their way toward the internal reproductive organs. The vagina also includes numerous tiny glands that make vaginal secretions.
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Voluntary: Done in accordance with the conscious will of the individual. The opposite of involuntary.
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Voyeurism ("Peeping Tom"): Voyeurism is a disorder that involves achieving sexual arousal by observing an unsuspecting and non-consenting person who is undressing or unclothed, and/or engaged in sexual activity. This behavior may conclude with masturbation by the voyeur. The voyeur does not seek sexual contact with the person he is observing. Other names for this behavior are "peeping" or "peeping Tom."

Youth: The time between childhood and maturity. (Unfortunately, as the songwriter Sammy Cahn noted, "youth is wasted on the young.")