Syphilis Glossary of Terms

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

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

Acetaminophen: A nonaspirin pain reliever or analgesic. Acetaminophen may be given alone t...

Allergy: A misguided reaction to foreign substances by the immune system, the body system ...

Antibiotic: A drug used to treat infections caused by bacteria and other microorganisms. ...

Antibody: An immunoglobulin, a specialized immune protein, produced because of the introdu...

Anus: The opening of the rectum to the outside of the body.

Aspirin: Once the Bayer trademark for acetylsalicylic acid, now the common name for this a...

Assay: An assay is an analysis done to determine:

1. The presence of a substance an...

Bacteria: Single-celled microorganisms that can exist either as independent (free-living) ...

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

Cardiovascular: Relating to the circulatory system, which comprises the heart and blood ve...

Chancre: The classic painless ulcer of syphilis. The chancre forms in the first (primary) ...

Congenital: A condition that is present at birth, whether or not it is inherited.

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

Doxycycline: Brand name: Vibramycin. A synthetic broad-spectrum antibiotic derived from te...

Erythromycin: Erythromycin is a common antibiotic for treating bacterial infection. Sold...

Female genitalia: The genital organs of the female. These are usually separated by conven...

Fetus: An unborn offspring, from the embryo stage (the end of the eighth week after concep...

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

Genitalia: The male or female reproductive organs. The genitalia include internal and exte...

Hair loss: Hair loss is the thinning of hair on the scalp. The medical term for hair loss ...

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. ...

Ibuprofen: A nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) that is commonly used to treat pa...

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

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

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

Joint: The area where two bones are attached for the purpose of permitting body parts to m...

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

Latent: Hidden, dormant, inactive.

Lesion: An area of abnormal tissue change. Lesions vary in severity from harmless to serio...

Lues: Pronounced lou-ease. An old name for syphilis, a sexually transmitted disease (STD)...

Lymph: The almost colorless fluid that travels through the lymphatic system, carrying cell...

Microscope: An optical instrument that augments the power of the eye to see small objects....

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

Mucous: Pertaining to mucus, a thick fluid produced by the lining of some tissues of the b...

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

Neck: The part of the body joining the head to the shoulders. Also, any narrow or constric...

Neurosyphilis: Neurological complications in the third (tertiary) and final phase of syp...

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

Pallidum: Part of what are called the basal ganglia of the brain which consist of the glob...

Penicillin: The most famous of all antibiotics, named for the fungal mold Penicillium n...

Penis: The external male sex organ. The penis contains two chambers, the corpora cavernosa...

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

Plasma: The liquid part of the blood and lymphatic fluid, which makes up about half of the...

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

Pregnant: The state of carrying a developing fetus within the body.

Rash: Breaking out (eruption) of the skin. A rash can be caused by an underlying medical c...

Safe sex: Sexual practices that do not involve the exchange of bodily fluids, including bl...

Sexually transmitted disease: Any disease transmitted by sexual contact; caused by microo...

Sore: 1. (adjective) A popular term for painful, such as a sore throat. 2. (...

Sore throat: Pain in the throat. Sore throat may be caused by many different causes, inclu...

Stage: As regards cancer, the extent of a cancer, especially whether the disease has spre...

STD: Sexually transmitted disease.

Symptom: Any subjective evidence of disease. In contrast, a sign is objective. Blood comin...

Syphilis: A sexually transmitted disease caused by Treponema pallidum, a microscopic orga...

Tetracycline: A family of broad-spectrum antibiotics effective against a remarkably wide v...

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

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

Treponema pallidum: The cause of syphilis, a worm-like, spiral-shaped bacterium called a s...

Vagina: The muscular canal that extends from the cervix to the outside of the body. It is ...

Venereal: Having to do with sexual contact. For example, a venereal disease is a sexually ...

Venereal disease: A disease that is contracted and transmitted by sexual contact, caused ...

Womb: The womb (uterus) is a hollow, pear-shaped organ located in a woman's lower abdomen ...