Substance Abuse Glossary of Terms

1. OTC and Prescription Drug Abuse Slideshow Pictures
2. Health Risks of Alcohol Abuse Slideshow Pictures

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 ...

Addiction: An uncontrollable craving, seeking, and use of a substance such as alcohol or a...

Alcohol abuse: Use of alcoholic beverages to excess, either on individual occasions (binge...

Alcoholism: Physical dependence on alcohol to the extent that stopping alcohol use would b...

Amnesia: An impairment to or lack of memory. Antegrade amnesia refers to a lack of memory ...

Anesthetic: A substance that causes lack of feeling or awareness, dulling pain to permit s...

Anxiety: A feeling of apprehension and fear, characterized by physical symptoms such as pa...

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

Blurred vision: Lack of sharpness of vision with, as a result, the inability to see fine d...

Botulism: An uncommon but potentially very serious illness, a type of food poisoning, that...

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

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

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

Cannabis: Marijuana (Cannibis sativa), a drug derived from the family of plants that inclu...

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

Chest pain: Pain in the chest that can be a result of many things, including angina, heart...

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

Cocaine: A substance derived from the leaves of the coca plant that is a bitter, addictive...

Coma: A state of deep, unarousable unconsciousness. A coma may occur as a result of head t...

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

Delirium: A sudden state of severe confusion and rapid changes in brain function, sometime...

Delirium tremens: A central nervous system symptom of alcohol withdrawal that is seen in c...

Depression: An illness that involves the body, mood, and thoughts and that affects the way...

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. ...

Discharge: 1.The flow of fluid from part of the body, such as from the nose or vag...

Dizziness: Painless head discomfort with many possible causes including disturbances of ...

Ecstasy: 1. A state of rapture and trancelike elation.
2. A street nam...

Emergency department: The department of a hospital responsible for the provision of medica...

Emphysema: 1) A lung condition featuring an abnormal accumulation of air in the lung's ma...

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...

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

Hallucinogen: A drug that causes hallucinations (profound distortions in a person's percep...

Hallucinogenic: 1. As an adjective: Producing hallucinations. From hallucino- + -ge...

Headache: A pain in the head with the pain being above the eyes or the ears, behind the he...

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

Heart disease: Any disorder that affects the heart. Sometimes the term "heart disease" is ...

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

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

Hepatitis: Inflammation of the liver, irrespective of the cause. Hepatitis is caused by a ...

Hepatitis B: Inflammation of the liver due to the hepatitis B virus (HBV), once thought t...

Heroin: Semisynthetic drug derived from morphine. Discovered in 1874, it was introduced co...

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

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

Inhalant: 1. Generally, any breathable chemical vapor.
2. Specificall...

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

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

Jaundice: Yellow staining of the skin and sclerae (the whites of the eyes) by abnormally h...

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

Leg: In popular usage, the part of the body from the top of the thigh down to the foot, an...

Lightheadedness: A feeling you are "going to faint." Lightheadedness is medically distinc...

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

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

Lung cancer: Cancer of the major organ of respiration - the lung. Lung cancer kills more m...

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

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

Marijuana: A common street and recreational drug that comes from the marijuana plant: the ...

MDMA: Abbreviation for 3-4 methylenedioxymethamphetamine. See: Ecstasy.

Memory: 1. The ability to recover information about past events or knowledge. ...

Methadone: A synthetic opiate. The most common medical use for methadone is as a legal sub...

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

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

Narcotic: 1. A drug that causes insensibility or stupor. A narcotic induces narcosi...

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

Nerve: A bundle of fibers that uses electrical and chemical signals to transmit sensory an...

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

NIDA: Stands for the National Institute on Drug Abuse, one of the National Institutes of H...

NIH: National Institutes of Health.

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...

Pancreas: A spongy, tube-shaped organ that is about 6 inches long and is located in the ba...

PCP: Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia.

Peptic ulcer: An ulcer in the lining of the stomach, duodenum, or esophagus. Peptic ulcers...

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

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

Prescription: A physician's order for the preparation and administration of a drug or dev...

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

Psychosis: In the general sense, a mental illness that markedly interferes with a person'...

Public health: The approach to medicine that is concerned with the health of the community...

Recurrent: Appearing or occurring again. For example, a recurrent fever is a fever that ha...

Relapse: The return of signs and symptoms of a disease after a remission.

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

Rohypnol: The trade name for flunitrazepam, which has been abused as a 'date rape' drug. R...

Roofies: Street term for Rohypnol.

Sedative: A drug that calms a patient, easing agitation and permitting sleep. Sedatives ge...

Seizure: Uncontrolled electrical activity in the brain, which may produce a physical conv...

Sensation: In medicine and physiology, sensation refers to the registration of an incoming...

Sleep: The body's rest cycle.

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

Stroke: The sudden death of brain cells due to lack of oxygen, caused by blockage of blood...

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

Substance abuse: The excessive use of a substance, especially alcohol or a drug. (There is...

Suicidal: Pertaining to suicide. the taking of ones own life. As in a suicidal gesture, su...

Sweating: The act of secreting fluid from the skin by the sweat (sudoriferous) glands. The...

Testosterone: A "male hormone" -- a sex hormone produced by the testes that encourages th...

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

Tiredness: See: Tired.

Tobacco: A South American herb (Nicotiana tabacum) whose leaves contain 2 to 8 percent nic...

Trauma: A physical or emotional injury.

Tremor: An abnormal, repetitive shaking movement of the body. Tremors have many causes and...

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

Ulcer: A lesion that is eroding away the skin or mucous membrane. Ulcers can have various ...

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

Veterinary medicine: The medical science concerned with the diagnosis, treatment and preve...

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

Withdrawal symptoms: Abnormal physical or psychological features that follow the abrupt di...