Medications

UTI: Urinary tract infection. (Not to be confused with URI: upper respiratory infection). Last Editorial Review: 4/27/2011 5:27:15 PM Medical Author: Charles Patrick Davis, MD, PhD ...

Uterus, tipped - Medical

Uterus, tipped: A slight to dramatic placement of the uterus that orients it toward the back. A tipped uterus is common and usually causes no difficulty. In severe cases, it can affect choice of birth control method and cause pain in the pelv...

Uterus, prolapsed - Medical

Uterus, prolapsed: A uterus that has moved from its normal position in the abdominal cavity, usually into a lower position. Prolapsed uterus may occur because of underlying weak muscles, or simply as a result of repeated term pregnancies. It ...

Uterus, contraction of the - Medical

Uterus, contraction of the: The tightening and shortening of the uterine muscles. During labor, contractions accomplish two things: (1) they cause the cervix to thin and dilate (open); and (2) they help the baby to descend into the birth canal. ...

Uterus - Medical

Uterus: The uterus (womb) is a hollow, pear-shaped organ located in a woman's lower abdomen between the bladder and the rectum. The narrow, lower portion of the uterus is the cervix; the broader, upper part is the corpus. The corpus is made up ...

Uteroglobin - Medical

Uteroglobin: A protein that is induced by progesterone and binds it and that inhibits the enzyme phospholipase A2 (PLA2). Uteroglobin was first found to be secreted by the lining of the uterus in rabbits. The gene for uteroglobin is on chromosome 11 ...

Uterine tube - Medical

Uterine tube: Also called the Fallopian tube. There are two Fallopian tubes, one on each side. They transport the egg from the ovary to the uterus (the womb). The Fallopian tubes have small hair-like projections called cilia on the cells of t...

Uterine rupture - Medical

Uterine rupture: A tear of the uterus, an uncommon but very serious situation that may result in hysterectomy, urologic injury, a need for blood transfusion, maternal death, and perinatal complications including neurologic impairment or death of the...

Uterine retroversion - Medical

Uterine retroversion: A slight to dramatic placement of the uterus that orients it toward the back. A tipped uterus is common and usually causes no difficulty. In severe cases, it can affect choice of birth control method and cause pain in th...

Uterine lining - Medical

Uterine lining: The inner layer of the uterus (womb); the cells that line the womb; anatomically termed the endometrium. This tissue is normally shed monthly in response to the hormonal changes of the menstrual period. Last Editorial Review: 7/17/1...

Uterine fornix - Medical

Uterine fornix: The fornix of the uterus (known in medical Latin as the "fornix uteri") refers to the anterior (front) and posterior (back) recesses into which the upper vagina is divided. These vaultlike recesses are formed by protrusion of the cer...

Uterine contraction - Medical

Uterine contraction: The tightening and shortening of the uterine muscles. During labor, contractions accomplish two things: (1) they cause the cervix to thin and dilate (open); and (2) they help the baby to descend into the birth canal. Uterine co...

Uterine cancer - Medical

Uterine cancer: Cancer of the womb (the uterus). Also called endometrial cancer. Cancer of the uterus occurs most often in women between the ages of 55 and 70 years. It accounts for about 6% of cancer in women. Women at elevated risk for uterine canc...

ut dict. - Medical

ut dict.: Abbreviation meaning "as directed" (from the Latin "ut dictum", as directed). One of a number of hallowed abbreviations of Latin terms that have traditionally been used in prescriptions. Some others: a.c. = before meals (from "ante cibu...

USPHS (United States Public Health Service) - Medical

USPHS (United States Public Health Service): The agency responsible for the public health of the American people. The Public Health Service ( PHS) administers a number of critically important health agencies including the Food and Drug Administratio...

USP - Medical

USP: United States Pharmacopeia.Last Editorial Review: 12/7/2003 United States Pharmacopeia: Abbreviated USP. A publication, established in 1820, that contains legally recognized standards of identity, strength, quality, purity, packaging, and label...

USFDA - Medical

USFDA: The United States Food and Drug Administration (best known as the FDA) is an agency within the U.S. Public Health Service, which is a part of the Department of Health and Human Services. Background: The FDA regulates over $1 trillion worth...

USDA - Medical

USDA: US Department of Agriculture.Last Editorial Review: 5/25/2003...

US Department of Agriculture - Medical

US Department of Agriculture: A department of the executive branch of the US government founded in 1862 by President Abraham Lincoln -- he called it the "people's Department" -- that is devoted to agriculture in its broadest sense. The mission of th...

Urticaria pigmentosa - Medical

Urticaria pigmentosa: The most common form of mastocytosis consisting of small aggregations of mast cells within characteristic salmon-brown patches of ski which itch when stroked and be filled with fluid. The condition occurs occurring primarily in...

Urticaria - Medical

Urticaria: Another name for the hives. Raised, itchy areas of skin that are usually a sign of an allergic reaction. Hives can be rounded or flat-topped but are always elevated above the surrounding skin. They reflect circumscribed dermal edema (local...

Urothelium - Medical

Urothelium: The lining of the ureters, urinary bladder, and urethra. Last Editorial Review: 9/30/2001 2:36:00 PM Ureter: A tube that carries urine down from the kidney to the bladder. There are normally two kidneys so there are accordingly two ur...

Uroporphyrinogen decarboxylase deficiency - Medical

Uroporphyrinogen decarboxylase deficiency: See: UROD deficiency. Last Editorial Review: 3/6/2004 UROD deficiency: Lack of the enzyme uroporphyrinogen decarboxylase (UROD) which is the basic cause of porphyria cutanea tarda (PCT), the late skin fo...

Uroporphyrinogen decarboxylase - Medical

Uroporphyrinogen decarboxylase: See: UROD. Last Editorial Review: 3/6/2004 UROD: Uroporphyrinogen decarboxylase, an enzyme required for the synthesis of heme, a part of the hemoglobin molecule. UROD catalyses the decarboxylation of uroporphy...

Urologist - Medical

Urologist: A physician who specializes in diseases of the urinary organs in females and the urinary tract and sex organs in males. Also called a urological surgeon.Last Editorial Review: 4/27/2011 5:27:15 PM...

Urological surgeon - Medical

Urological surgeon: A physician who specializes in diseases of the urinary organs in females and the urinary tract and sex organs in males. Also called a urologist.Last Editorial Review: 6/7/2000...

Urolithiasis - Medical

Urolithiasis: The process of forming stones in the kidney, bladder, and/or urethra (urinary tract). Kidney stones are a common cause of blood in the urine and pain in the abdomen, flank, or groin. Kidney stones occur in 1 in 20 people at some...

Urography - Medical

Urography: A method for examining the structure and functionality of urinary system. A special dye is injected, and X-ray machines record its progress through the urinary tract. Urography is particularly useful for discovering cysts or other ...

Urogenital - Medical

Urogenital: Relating to both the urinary system, and to the interior and exterior genitalia. Last Editorial Review: 4/27/2011 5:27:15 PM...

Urogastrone - Medical

Urogastrone: See: EGF.Last Editorial Review: 5/2/2004 EGF: Epidermal growth factor. A polypeptide (small protein) that is a powerful mitogen. (It stimulates cells to enter mitosis, cell division. ) EGF promotes cell growth and differentiation, is e...