Ciguatera Fish Poisoning (Ciguatera Toxin) Glossary of Terms

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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 ...

Absorb: 1. To take something in, as through the skin or the intestine.
2....

Activated charcoal: Charcoal that has been heated to increase its ability to absorb molecu...

Allodynia: Pain from stimuli which are not normally painful. The pain may occur other tha...

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

Antidote: A drug that counteracts a poison.

Antitoxin: An antibody capable of destroying microorganisms including viruses and bacteri...

Bradycardia: A slow heart rate, usually defined as less than 60 beats per minute.

Cardiac: Having to do with the heart.

Chills: feelings of coldness accompanied by shivering. Chills may develop after exposure t...

Ciguatera: Seafood poisoning due to ciguatoxin, a toxin acquired by eating fish that have ...

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

Dehydration: Excessive loss of body water. Diseases of the gastrointestinal tract that ca...

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

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

Elavil: See: Amitriptyline.

Endemic: Present in a community at all times but in relatively low frequency. Something t...

Endep: See: Amitriptyline.

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

Hypotension: Any blood pressure that is below the normal expected for an individual in a ...

Ipecac: A naturally occurring substance with multiple properties including the ability to ...

Itching: An uncomfortable sensation in the skin that feels as if something is crawling on ...

Lipid: Another word for "fat." (Please see the various meanings of Fat.) A lipid is more f...

Monoclonal: Derived from a single cell and cells identical to that cell.

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

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...

Neural: Having to do with nerve cells (neurons).

Neurological: Having to do with the nerves or the nervous system as, for example, a neurol...

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

Paralysis: Loss of voluntary movement (motor function). Paralysis that affects only one mu...

Poison: Any substance that can cause severe organ damage or death if ingested, breathed in...

Poisoning: Taking a substance that is injurious to health or can cause death. Poisoning i...

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

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

Shortness of breath: Difficulty in breathing. Medically referred to as dyspnea. Shortness ...

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

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

Toxin: A poison produced by certain animals, plants, or bacteria.

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

Tylenol: See: Acetaminophen.

Vertigo: Aside from being the name of a classic 1958 Alfred Hitchcock film (with Jimmy St...

Visceral: Referring to the viscera, the internal organs of the body, specifically those wi...