GERD and Heartburn Medications Glossary of Terms

1. Heartburn: Foods to Eat, Foods to Avoid Slideshow Pictures
2. Digestive Disease Myths Slideshow Pictures
3. Take the GERD Quiz

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

Acid reflux: A common condition and an abnormal one in which acid in the stomach rises up...

Adenocarcinoma: A cancer that develops in the lining or inner surface of an organ and usua...

Allergic reaction: The hypersensitive response of the immune system of an allergic indiv...

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

Aluminum: A naturally occurring element that makes up about 8% of the surface of the earth...

Amitriptyline: An antidepressant medication. In some patients with depression, abnormal l...

Antidepressants: Anything, and especially a drug, used to prevent or treat depression.

Barrett esophagus: A complication of chronic severe gastrointestinal reflux disease (GERD)...

Barrett's esophagus: A complication of severe chronic GERD (gastrointestinal reflux dise...

Bicarbonate: In medicine, bicarbonate usually refers to bicarbonate of soda (sodium bicarb...

Bile: Bile is a yellow-green fluid that is made by the liver, stored in the gallbladder a...

Caffeine: A stimulant compound found naturally in coffee, tea, cocoa (chocolate), and kola...

Calcium: A mineral found mainly in the hard part of bones, where it is stored. Calcium is ...

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

Capsule: Capsule has many meanings in medicine including the following:

1. In medici...

Cardiac: Having to do with the heart.

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

Constipation: Infrequent and frequently incomplete bowel movements. Constipation is the op...

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

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

Diarrhea: A common condition that involves unusually frequent and liquid bowel movements. ...

Duodenal: Pertaining to the duodenum, part of the small intestine. As in duodenal ulcer or...

Dysfunction: Difficult function or abnormal function.

Esophageal: Related to the esophagus.

Esophageal cancer: A malignant tumor of the esophagus. The risk of cancer of the esophagus...

Esophagitis: Inflammation of the esophagus.

Esophagus: The tube that connects the pharynx (throat) with the stomach. The esophagus lie...

Fracture: A break in bone or cartilage. Although usually a result of trauma, a fracture ca...

Gastric: Having to do with the stomach.

Gastroesophageal: Pertaining to both the stomach and the esophagus, as in the gastroesopha...

Gastroesophageal reflux: The return of stomach contents back up into the esophagus This fr...

Gastrointestinal: Adjective referring collectively to the stomach and small and large inte...

Generic: 1. The chemical name of a drug. 2. A term referring to the chemical...

GERD: Gastroesophageal reflux disease.

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. ...

Heartburn: An uncomfortable feeling of burning and warmth occurring in waves rising up be...

Hernia: A general term referring to a protrusion of a tissue through the wall of the cavit...

Hiatal: Pertaining to an hiatus, an opening.

Hiatal hernia: An anatomical abnormality in which part of the stomach protrudes up through...

Hip fracture: Broken bone in the hip, a key health problem among the elderly, usually due ...

Hoarseness: Hoarseness is a term referring to abnormal voice changes. Hoarseness may be ma...

Homeostasis: A property of cells, tissues, and organisms that allows the maintenance and r...

Hypercalcemia: A higher-than-normal level of calcium in the blood. Hypercalcemia can be a ...

Incidence: The frequency with which something, such as a disease or trait, appears in a pa...

Inflammation: A localized reaction that produces redness, warmth, swelling, and pain as a ...

Insomnia: The perception or complaint of inadequate or poor-quality sleep due to a number ...

Iron: An essential mineral. Iron is necessary for the transport of oxygen (via hemoglobin ...

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

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

Magnesium: A mineral involved in many processes in the body including nerve signaling, the...

Metabolic: Relating to metabolism, the whole range of biochemical processes that occur wit...

Metabolism: The whole range of biochemical processes that occur within a living organism. ...

Morbidity: Illness, disease.

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...

Obesity: The state of being well above one's normal weight.

Obstruction: Blockage of a passageway. See, for example: Airway obstruction; Intestinal o...

Osteoporosis: Thinning of the bones, with reduction in bone mass, due to depletion of calc...

Overweight: The term "overweight" is used in two different ways. In one sense it is a way ...

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

Palpitations: Unpleasant sensations of irregular and/or forceful beating of the heart. In ...

Pancreatic: Having to do with the pancreas.

Pharmacist: A professional who fills prescriptions and, in the case of a compounding pharm...

Phosphate: A form of phosphoric acid. Calcium phosphate makes bones and teeth hard.

Platelet: An irregular, disc-shaped element in the blood that assists in blood clotting....

Postmenopausal: After menopause, the period of time after a woman has experienced 12 conse...

Predispose: To make more likely or render susceptible. Smoking predisposes to a number of ...

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

Prematurity: Historically, the definition of prematurity was 2500 grams (about 5 1/2 pound...

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

Prevalence: The proportion of individuals in a population having a disease or characterist...

Proteins: Large molecules composed of one or more chains of amino acids in a specific orde...

Receptor: 1. In cell biology, a structure on the surface of a cell (or inside a cel...

Reflux: The term used when liquid backs up into the esophagus from the stomach.

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

Seizure disorders: One of a great many medical conditions that are characterized by epis...

Sodium: The major positive ion (cation) in the fluid surrounding cells in the body. The ch...

Spine: 1) The column of bone known as the vertebral column, which surrounds and protects ...

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

Stool: The solid matter that is discharged in a bowel movement.

Stricture: An abnormal narrowing of a body passage, especially a tube or a canal. The str...

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

Sumycin: See: Tetracycline.

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

Tablespoon: An old-fashioned but convenient household measure of capacity that is equal to...

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...

Tongue: A strong muscle that is anchored to the floor of the mouth. The tongue is covered ...

Toxicity: The degree to which a substance (a toxin or poison) can harm humans or animals. ...

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

Tricyclic antidepressants: One of a class of medications used to treat depression. The tri...

Twitching: : Involuntary contractions of groups of muscle fibers. Also known as fasciculat...

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

Vitamins: The word "vitamin" was coined in 1911 by the Warsaw-born biochemist Casimir Funk...

Warfarin: An anticoagulant drug (brand names: Coumarin, Panwarfin, Sofarin) taken to prev...

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