Short Stature in Children Glossary of Terms

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

Bioinformatics: The sum of the computational approaches to analyze, manage, and store biol...

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

Brain: The portion of the central nervous system that is located within the skull. It func...

Brain tumor: A benign or malignant growth in the brain. Primary brain tumors initially for...

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

Chronic disease: A disease that persists for a long time. A chronic disease is one lasting...

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

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

DNA: Deoxyribonucleic acid. One of two types of molecules that encode genetic information...

Down syndrome: A common birth defect that is usually due to an extra chromosome 21 (trisom...

Endocrine: Pertaining to hormones and the glands that make and secrete them into the blood...

Endocrinology: The study of the medical aspects of hormones, including diseases and condit...

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

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

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

Genetic: Having to do with genes and genetic
information.

Growth hormone: A hormone made in the pituitary gland that stimulates the release of anoth...

Hormone: A chemical substance produced in the body that controls and regulates the activit...

Hormone therapy: Treatment of disease or symptoms with synthetic or naturally derived horm...

Human growth: See: Normal growth.

Hypothyroid: Deficiency of thyroid hormone which is normally made by the thyroid gland wh...

Informatics: The application of computers and statistics to the management of information....

Internal medicine: The medical specialty dedicated to the diagnosis and medical treatment ...

Karyotype: A standard arrangement of the chromosome complement prepared for chromosome ana...

Malnutrition: A term used to refer to any condition in which the body does not receive eno...

Menstrual: Pertaining to menstruation (the menses), as in last menstrual period, menstrua...

Menstrual spotting: The presence of apparent menstrual blood during the wrong parts of th...

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

Normal growth rate: The speed with which normal growth occurs in length before birth and i...

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

Pediatric: Pertaining to children.

Pediatrics: The field of medicine that is concerned with the health of infants, children, ...

Pharmacy: A location where prescription medications are sold. A pharmacy is constantly sup...

Prognosis: The forecast of the probable outcome or course of a disease; the patient's chan...

Puberty: Adolescence, the period in which the human body first becomes capable of reproduc...

Recombinant: A person with a new combination of genes, a combination not present in either...

Somatotropin: A growth hormone that is produced by the anterior pituitary (the front part ...

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...

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

Testes: Plural of testis.

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

Thyroid: 1. The thyroid gland. Also, pertaining to the thyroid gland. 2. A p...

Thyroid hormone: A chemical substance made by the thyroid gland for export into the bloods...

Thyroxine: A hormone that is made by the thyroid gland and is one of the most important th...

TSH: Thyroid stimulating hormone.

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

Turner syndrome: The most common sex chromosome disorder in females, characterized by shor...

Weight loss: Weight loss is a decrease in body weight resulting from either voluntary (die...

Wrist: The part of the hand that is nearest the forearm and consists of the carpal bones a...

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