Medications

Intestinal parasite: A parasite (an organism that lives in or on and takes its nourishment from another organism) in the intestinal tract. Intestinal parasites include both helminths and protozoa. Helminths are worms such as tapeworms, pinworms...

Intestinal obstruction - Medical

Intestinal obstruction: Blockage of the intestine by infolding (intussusception), malformation, tumor, digestive problems, a foreign body, or inflammation. Symptoms can include crampy abdominal pain, lack of ability to eliminate normal feces, a...

Intestinal gas - Medical

Intestinal gas: The complaint referred to as "intestinal gas" is a common one and the discomfort can be quite significant. Everyone has gas and eliminates it by burping or passing it through the rectum. In many instances people think they ...

Intervertebral foramen - Medical

Intervertebral foramen: An opening between vertebrae through which nerves leave the spine and extend to other parts of the body. Also called a neural foramen.Last Editorial Review: 8/23/2003...

Intervertebral disk - Medical

Intervertebral disk: A pad of cartilage between two vertebrae that acts as a shock absorber.Last Editorial Review: 8/23/2003...

Interventricular septum - Medical

Interventricular septum: The stout wall separating the lower chambers (the ventricles) of the heart from one another. A hole in the interventricular septum is termed a ventricular septal defect (VSD).Last Editorial Review: 4/27/2011 5:27:15 PM ...

Interventricular foramen - Medical

Interventricular foramen: An opening between the lateral and third ventricles in a system of four communicating cavities within the brain that are continuous with the central canal of the spinal cord. The four ventricles consist of the two lateral v...

Interventional radiology (IR) - Medical

Interventional radiology: Interventional radiologists employ image guidance methods to gain access to the deep interstices of most organs and organ systems. Through a galaxy of techniques, they can treat certain conditions percutaneously (through t...

Interventional radiologist - Medical

Interventional radiologist: A radiologist who uses image guidance methods to gain access to vessels and organs. Interventional radiologists can treat certain conditions through the skin (percutaneously) that might otherwise require surgery. The tec...

Interventional - Medical

Interventional: Pertaining to the act of intervening, interfering or interceding with the intent of modifying the outcome. As, for example, an interventional radiologist. Last Editorial Review: 7/17/2004 Interventional radiologist: A radiolog...

Intervention - Medical

Intervention: The act of intervening, interfering or interceding with the intent of modifying the outcome. In medicine, an intervention is usually undertaken to help treat or cure a condition. For example, early intervention may help children with au...

Intervening sequence - Medical

Intervening sequence: Part of a gene that is initially transcribed from the DNA into the primary RNA transcript but then is excised (removed) from it when the so-called exxon sequences on either side of it are spliced together. Intervening se...

Interval malignancy - Medical

Interval malignancy: In mammography, a malignancy that becomes evident during the period between annual screening mammograms. The finding of an interval malignancy indicates that it either went undetected on the prior breast imaging scan or that it ...

Intertrigo - Medical

Intertrigo: A superficial skin disorder involving any area of the body where opposing skin surfaces may touch and rub, such as the creases of the neck, the skin folds of the groin, axilla (armpit) and breasts (especially if large and pendulous) and b...

Interstitial radiation therapy - Medical

Interstitial radiation therapy: Radiation treatment given by placing radioactive material directly into the target, often a tumor. For example, in treating prostate cancer, radioactive seeds are implanted in the prostate gland. The seeds might be t...

Interstitial radiation - Medical

Interstitial radiation: Radiation therapy in which a radioactive material is placed directly into a tumor. Last Editorial Review: 4/27/2011 5:27:15 PM Medical Author: William C. Shiel Jr., MD, FACP, FACR ...

Interstitial cystitis (IC) - Medical

Interstitial cystitis (IC): Disease that involves inflammation or irritation of the bladder wall. This inflammation can lead to scarring and stiffening of the bladder, and even ulcerations and bleeding. Diagnosis is based on symptoms, findings on cy...

Interstitial - Medical

Interstitial: Pertaining to being between things, especially between things that are normally closely spaced. The word "interstitial" comes from the Latin "interstitium" which was derived from "inter" meaning "between" + "sistere" meaning "to stand'...

Interstice - Medical

Interstice: A small space between things, especially between things that are usually closely spaced, such as cells. Interstices are the cracks and crevices, the breaks, the gaps. The word "interstice" comes from the Latin "interstitium" which was de...

Intersexual genitalia - Medical

Intersexual genitalia: Genitalia that are neither typically female nor typically male. Known in clinical medicine as ambiguous genitalia. See: Ambiguous genitalia.Last Editorial Review: 6/27/2004 Genitalia: The male and female reproductive orga...

Intersex - Medical

Intersex: A group of conditions sometimes referred to as disorders of sexual development (DSDs) in which there is a discrepancy between the appearance of the external genitalia and the type of internal ( testes and ovaries) genitalia. The condi...

Interphase - Medical

Interphase: The interval in the cell cycle between two cell divisions when the individual chromosomes cannot be distinguished, interphase was once thought to be in resting phase but it is far from a time of rest for the cell. It is the time when D...

Interpersonal therapy - Medical

Interpersonal therapy: A form of psychotherapy in which the focus is on a patient's relationships with peers and family members and the way they see themselves. Interpersonal psychotherapy (IPT) is based on exploring issues in relationships with othe...

Internist - Medical

Internist: A physician who specializes in the diagnosis and medical treatment of adults. This specialty, called internal medicine, is dedicated to adult medicine. A minimum of seven years of medical school and postgraduate training are focused on ...

Interneuron - Medical

Interneuron: A neuron that exclusively signals another neuron.Last Editorial Review: 5/7/2003 Neuron: A nerve cell that sends and receives electrical signals over long distances within the body. A neuron may send electrical output signals to muscle ...

International unit (IU) - Medical

International unit (IU): An international unit (IU) is an internationally accepted amount of a substance. This type of measure is used for the fat-soluble vitamins (such as vitamins A, D and E) and certain hormones, enzymes, and biologicals (such a...

International normalized ratio - Medical

International normalized ratio: A system, commonly called the INR, established by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Committee on Thrombosis and Hemostasis for reporting the results of blood coagulation (clotting) tests. All re...

International AIDS Vaccine Initiative - Medical

International AIDS Vaccine Initiative: See: IAVI.Last Editorial Review: 7/11/2004 IAVI: International AIDS Vaccine Initiative. A remarkable example of a global not-for-profit organization working to improve world health. IAVI's mission is to speed t...

Internal radiation therapy - Medical

Internal radiation therapy: Radiation therapy in which radioactive material is placed in or near a tumor.Last Editorial Review: 4/27/2011 5:27:15 PM Medical Author: William C. Shiel Jr., MD, FACP, FACR ...

Internal pacemaker - Medical

Internal pacemaker: A device that uses electrical impulses to regulate the heart rhythm or to reproduce that rhythm. An internal pacemaker is one in which the electrodes into the heart, the electronic circuitry and the power supply are implanted (i...