Medications

Hyperglycemic response: A response resulting in a high blood sugar and specifically elevating the level of the sugar glucose in the blood. Hyperglycemia is often found in diabetes mellitus. It occurs when the body does not have enough insulin or ...

Hyperglycemia - Medical

Hyperglycemia: A high blood sugar. An elevated level specifically of the sugar glucose in the blood. Hyperglycemia is often found in diabetes mellitus. It occurs when the body does not have enough insulin or cannot use the insulin it has to t...

Hyperextensible - Medical

Hyperextensible: Unusually capable of being extended and stretched. Hyperextensible skin is a feature of Ehlers-Danlos syndrome. Last Editorial Review: 7/19/2004 Ehlers-Danlos syndrome: A heritable disorder of connective tissue with easy bruising, ...

Hyperemesis gravidarum - Medical

Hyperemesis gravidarum: Excessive vomiting in early pregnancy. Hyperemesis gravidarum, by definition, leads to the loss of 5% or more of the body weight of the woman. Hyperemesis gravidarum affects about one in every 300 pregnant women. It is...

Hyperekplexia - Medical

Hyperekplexia: A genetic disorder also known as hyperexplexia in which babies have an exaggerated startle reflex (reaction). This disorder was not recognized until 1962 when it was described by Drs. Kok and Bruyn as a disease with the onset at birth...

Hyperconscious - Medical

Hyperconscious: More conscious than usual. Extremely aware. People became hyperconscious of Parkinson disease after the actor Michael J. Fox developed it at a relatively young age. Last Editorial Review: 10/9/2004 Parkinson disease: A slowly progres...

Hypercoagulable state - Medical

Hypercoagulable state: A hypercoagulable state is the medical term for a condition in which there is an abnormally increased tendency toward blood clotting (coagulation). There are numerous hypercoagulable states. Each has different causes ...

Hypercoagulability, estrogen-associated - Medical

Hypercoagulability, estrogen-associated: Hypercoagulability (a supranormal tendency for blood to clot) occurs as an occasional but serious side effect of estrogen therapy. The blood clots in this situation are dose-related, that is, they occur more...

Hypercholesterolemia - Medical

Hypercholesterolemia: High blood cholesterol. This can be sporadic (occurring with no family history) or familial. Hypercholesterolemia is one form of hyperlipidemia. Familial hypercholesterolemia is the most common inherited type of hyperlipidemia ...

Hyperchloremia - Medical

Hyperchloremia: Elevated blood levels of chloride. Chloride is the major anion found in the fluid outside of cells and in blood. An anion is the negatively charged part of certain substances such as table salt (NaCl) when dissolved in liquid. Se...

Hypercarbia - Medical

Hypercarbia: More than the normal level of carbon dioxide in the blood. Hypercarbia is the opposite of hypocarbia.Last Editorial Review: 8/14/2004...

Hypercapnia - Medical

Hypercapnia: More than the normal level of carbon dioxide in the blood. Hypercapnia is as opposed to hypocapnia and acapnia. The origin of the suffix "-capnia" is curious. It comes from the Greek "kapnos" referring to carbon dioxide which is a pri...

Hypercalciuria - Medical

Hypercalciuria: Excess calcium in the urine.Last Editorial Review: 9/6/2003...

Hypercalcemia - Medical

Hypercalcemia: A higher-than-normal level of calcium in the blood. This can cause a number of nonspecific symptoms, including loss of appetite, nausea, thirst, fatigue, muscle weakness, restlessness, and confusion. Excessive intake of calcium may ...

Hyperbilirubinemia, neonatal - Medical

Hyperbilirubinemia, neonatal: Elevation of the bilirubin level in the blood of the newborn, which results in yellowish staining of the skin and whites of the newborn's eyes (sclerae) by pigment of bile (bilirubin). In newborn babies a degree...

Hyperbilirubinemia type I - Medical

Hyperbilirubinemia type I: Better known as Gilbert's disease, a common but harmless genetic condition in which a liver enzyme essential to the disposal of bilirubin (the chemical that results from the normal breakdown of hemoglobin from red blood c...

Hyperbilirubinemia - Medical

Hyperbilirubinemia: An elevated level of the pigment bilirubin in the blood. A sufficient elevation will produce jaundice. Some degree of hyperbilirubinemia is very common in babies right after birth, especially premies. Last Editorial Review: 4/27...

Hyperbaric - Medical

Hyperbaric: Pertaining to gas pressures greater than 1 atmosphere* of pressure. Also pertaining to solutions that are more dense than the medium to which they are added. The term "hyperbaric" is derived from Greek roots: "hyper-" meaning high, beyond...

Hyperaldosteronism - Medical

Hyperaldosteronism: Overproduction of the hormone aldosterone from the outer portion (cortex) of the adrenal gland or a tumor containing that type of tissue. Excess aldosterone (pronounced al-do-ster-one) results in low potassium levels (hypokalem...

Hyperadrenocorticism - Medical

Hyperadrenocorticism: Excess hormone called "cortisol". Often called Cushing's syndrome, it is an extremely complex condition that involves many areas of the body. It results from an excess of cortisol and its effects on the human body. ...

Hyperactivity - Medical

Hyperactivity: A higher than normal level of activity. An organ can be described as hyperactive if it is more active than usual. Behavior can also be hyperactive. People who are hyperactive always seem to be in motion. They can't sit still; they...

Hyper-IgD syndrome - Medical

Hyper-IgD syndrome: A genetic disorder characterized by recurring attacks of chills and fever that usually start before the first birthday and last for 4 to 6 days, usually accompanied by swollen glands in the neck and abdominal pain with vomiting or...

Hyper- - Medical

Hyper-: Prefix meaning "high, beyond, excessive, above normal" as in hypercalcemia (high calcium in the blood) and hypersensitivity. The opposite of hyper- is hypo-. See also: Super-.Last Editorial Review: 4/27/2011 5:27:15 PM Hypercalcemia: A hig...

Hyoglossus - Medical

Hyoglossus: The muscle that permits the tongue to be held on the floor of the mouth.Last Editorial Review: 4/27/2011 5:27:15 PM...

Hymen - Medical

Hymen: A thin membrane which completely or partially occludes the vaginal opening. The hymen is a fold of mucous membrane usually present at birth at the orifice of the vagina. It is also called the vaginal membrane (or, sometimes, the virginal...

Hygiene theory - Medical

Hygiene theory: See: Hygiene hypothesis.Last Editorial Review: 5/5/2004 Hygiene hypothesis: A hypothesis that states that exposure to allergens in the environment early in life reduces the risk of developing allergies by boosting immune system activ...

Hygiene hypothesis - Medical

Hygiene hypothesis: A hypothesis that states that exposure to allergens in the environment early in life reduces the risk of developing allergies by boosting immune system activity. Conversely, relatively clean environment in early life would sway th...

Hygiene - Medical

Hygiene: The science of preventive medicine and the preservation of health. From the name of Hygeia, the daughter of Asklepios, the Greek god of medicine (whose staff with entwined snake is the symbol of medicine). Asklepios (known to the Ro...

Hygieia - Medical

Hygieia: In Greek mythology, a goddess considered to be the guardian or personification of health. Hygieia was the daughter of Asclepius, the god of healing. In Greek, "hygieia" means health.Last Editorial Review: 6/26/2004 Asclepius: One of the ear...

Hydroxyurea - Medical

Hydroxyurea: A drug that inhibits the synthesis of DNA and so is classified as an antimetabolite. Hydroxyurea is used to treat a number of diseases, including chronic myeloid leukemia (CML), polycythemia vera, carcinoma of the head and neck, ovary, ...