Tubal Ligation (Tubal Sterilization) Glossary of Terms

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Abdomen: The belly, that part of the body that contains all of the structures between the...

Anesthesia: Loss of feeling or awareness, as when an anesthetic is administered before sur...

Bilateral: Affecting both sides. For example, bilateral arthritis affects joints on both t...

Birth control: Birth control is the use of any practices, methods, or devices to prevent p...

Catheter: A thin, flexible tube.

Complication: In medicine, an unanticipated problem that arises following, and is a result...

Cuts: Severed skin. Washing a cut or scrape with soap and water and keeping it clean and d...

Ectopic: In the wrong place, out of place. For example, an ectopic kidney is a kidney that...

Ectopic pregnancy: A pregnancy that is not in the uterus. The fertilized egg settles and g...

Elective: In medicine, something chosen (elected). An elective procedure is one that is ch...

Fallopian tube: One of the two Fallopian tubes that transport the egg from the ovary to th...

Fertilization: The process of combining the male gamete, or sperm, with the female gamete,...

Food and Drug Administration: An agency within the US Public Health Service that provides ...

Gynecology: The branch of medicine that is particularly concerned with the health of the f...

Hysteroscopy: A procedure to see inside the uterus (the womb) using a viewing scope that i...

Implant: 1. To embed; to set in firmly. In embryology, the fertilized egg implants ...

Incision: A cut through skin or other tissue performed by a health care professional.

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...

Laparoscope: An instrument through which structures within the abdomen and pelvis can be s...

Laparoscopic: 1. Pertaining to the procedure of laparoscopy.
2. Pert...

Laparoscopy: A type of surgery in which small incisions are made in the abdominal wall thr...

Navel: The umbilicus, the former site of attachment of the umbilical cord, usually found i...

Obstetrics: The art and science of managing pregnancy, labor, and the puerperium (the time...

Operation: In medicine, a surgical procedure. Many operations are named after persons. The...

Outpatient: A patient who is not hospitalized, but instead comes to a physician?s office, ...

Ovary: The female gonad, one of a pair of reproductive glands in women. The ovaries are lo...

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

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.

Sperm: A sperm is the male "gamete" or sex cell. It combines with the female &qu...

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

Tubes: The "tubes" are medically known as the Fallopian tubes. There are two Fallopian tub...

Uterus: A hollow, pear-shaped organ that is located in a woman's lower abdomen, between th...

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

Vasectomy: A surgical procedure designed to make a man sterile by cutting or blocking both...

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