Medications

HS: Hereditary spherocytosis. HS also stands for half-strength, hamstrings, heart sounds, heparan sulfate, hernia sac, and house surgeon. Last Editorial Review: 4/27/2011 5:27:15 PM Hereditary spherocytosis: A genetic disorder of the red blood c...

HRT (hormone replacement therapy) - Medical

HRT (hormone replacement therapy, HT) The combination therapy of estrogen plus a progestogen. Formerly, hormone replacement therapy (HRT). Estrogen therapy (ET) is used to treat the symptoms of menopause. It reduces or stops the short-term...

HPV - Medical

HPV: See: Human papillomavirus.Last Editorial Review: 4/27/2011 5:27:15 PM Human papillomavirus: HPV. A family of over 100 viruses including those which cause warts and are transmitted by contact. Some types of HPV are associated with tumors of the...

HPS - Medical

HPS: 1. Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome. 2. Hermansky-Pudlak syndrome. Last Editorial Review: 4/27/2011 5:27:15 PM What is hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS)? Who is at risk of contracting HPS? Which rodents are known to be carrie...

HPIV - Medical

HPIV: Human parainfluenza virus.Last Editorial Review: 3/22/2004 Human parainfluenza virus: One in a group of four RNA viruses that rank second only to respiratory syncytial virus ( RSV) as a common cause of lower respiratory tract disease in young ...

HPE - Medical

HPE: Holoprosencephaly.Last Editorial Review: 3/6/2004 Holoprosencephaly: A relatively common birth defect of the brain, which often also affects facial features, causing closely spaced eyes, small head size, and sometimes clefts of the lip and roof...

Hox gene - Medical

Hox gene: One of a subgroup of homeobox genes that are found in clusters on the genes of vertebrates. These are referred to as Hox clusters in mammals. Hox clusters play a role in directing embryonic development. Last Editorial Review: 10/18/2007...

Howard Hughes Medical Institute - Medical

Howard Hughes Medical Institute: The largest private source of medical research funds in the United States. The Institute is one of the world's largest philanthropies. It has medical research laboratories across the US and grants programs throughout ...

Housemaid's knee - Medical

Housemaid's knee: See Prepatellar bursitis.Last Editorial Review: 4/27/2011 5:27:15 PM Prepatellar bursitis: Inflammation of the bursa that is positioned in front of the kneecap (patella). Prepatellar bursitis commonly occurs as a result of repe...

Housekeeping gene - Medical

Housekeeping gene: A gene involved in basic functions needed for the sustenance of the cell. Housekeeping genes are constitutively expressed (they are always turned ON). Last Editorial Review: 9/7/2003...

Houseboat carbon monoxide poisoning - Medical

Houseboat carbon monoxide poisoning: The invisible and potentially lethal danger of carbon monoxide on houseboats. Carbon monoxide poisoning is a danger when gasoline-powered engines are run in enclosed spaces. Severe carbon monoxide poisoning can al...

House surgeon - Medical

House surgeon: Literally, a surgeon in the house, the house being the hospital. The meaning of the term house surgeon varies significantly from country to country. For example, In the US, a house surgeon is a surgeon who works for a hospital and...

House staff - Medical

House staff: The resident physicians of a hospital who care for patients under the direction of the attending staff. House in this context refers to the hospital.Last Editorial Review: 11/27/2003 Resident: In medicine, a physician who has finished...

House officer - Medical

House officer: A resident physician and surgeon of a hospital (the "house") who is receives further training, usually in a medical or surgical specialty, while caring for patients under the direction of the attending staff. Last Editorial Review: 11...

House - Medical

House: Hospital. As in house officer, house staff, and house surgeon.Last Editorial Review: 11/27/2003 Hospital: It may seem unnecessary to define a "hospital" since everyone knows the nature of a hospital. A hospital began as a charitable insti...

Hounsfield, Godfrey - Medical

Hounsfield, Godfrey: (1919-2004) British electrical engineer whose contributions to the creation of the computerized axial tomography scanner (the CAT scan) won him a share of the 1979 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1979. Hounsfield shared ...

Hounsfield - Medical

Hounsfield: 1. Godfrey Hounsfield, a key contributor to the creation of the CAT scanner. 2. The unit measuring the brightness of images that appear on a CAT scanner. Last Editorial Review: 8/22/2004 Hounsfield, Godfrey: (1919-2004) British elect...

Hotel-Dieu - Medical

Hôtel-Dieu: A name often given to a hospital in France during the Middle Ages. Hotel-Dieu literally means the hotel (of) God. In Paris, the Hôtel-Dieu is a venerable and famed hospital. A hospital can also be a place to take care of ...

Hot flashes - Medical

Hot flashes: A sudden wave of mild or intense body heat caused by rushes of hormonal changes resulting from decreased levels of estrogen. Hot flashes can occur at any time and may last from a few seconds to a half-hour. They are due to bloo...

Host - Medical

Host: 1. The organism from which a parasite obtains its nutrition and/or shelter. 2. An organism or cell culture in which a virus can replicate itself. 3. The transplant recipient of a tissue or organ graft. Last Editorial Review: 2/4/2004 ...

Hospitalist - Medical

Hospitalist: A hospital-based general physician. Hospitalists assume the care of hospitalized patients in the place of patients' primary care physician. The term "hospitalist" was first introduced in 1996 by RM Wachter and L Goldman t...

Hospital-acquired infection - Medical

Hospital-acquired infection: An infection caught while hospitalized. The medical term for a hospital-acquired infection is "nosocomial." Most nosocomial infections are due to bacteria. Since antibiotics are frequently used within hospitals, the types...

Hospital gown - Medical

Hospital gown: A short collarless gown that ties in the back, worn by patients being examined or treated in a doctor's office, clinic, or hospital. Hospital gowns are generally disliked by patients as skimpy, ugly, ill-fitting garments often leaves o...

Hospital code - Medical

Hospital code: While there is no formal definition for a "Code," doctors often use the term as slang to refer to a patient in cardiopulmonary arrest , requiring a team of providers (sometimes called a "code team") to rush to the specific loca...

Hospital - Medical

Hospital: It may seem unnecessary to define a "hospital" since everyone knows the nature of a hospital. A hospital began as a charitable institution for the needy, aged, infirm, or young. The word "hospital" comes from the Latin "hospes" which ...

Horror autotoxicus - Medical

Horror autotoxicus: Literally, the horror of self-toxicity. A term coined by the great German bacteriologist and immunologist Paul Ehrlich (1854-1915) to describe the body's innate aversion to immunological self-destruction. However, as we now know, ...

Horripilation - Medical

Horripilation: Better known as goose bumps, a temporary local change in the skin when it becomes rougher due to erection of little muscles, as from cold, fear, or excitement. The chain of events leading to this skin change starts with a sti...

Hornet sting - Medical

Hornet sting: Stings from hornets and other large stinging insects such as bees, yellow jackets and wasps can trigger allergic reactions varying greatly in severity. Avoidance and prompt treatment are essential. In selected cases, allergy injectio...

Horner syndrome - Medical

Horner syndrome: A complex of abnormal findings, namely sinking in of one eyeball, ipsilateral ptosis (drooping of the upper eyelid on the same side) and miosis (constriction of the pupil of that eye) together with anhidrosis (lack of sweating) an...

Hormone,T4 - Medical

Hormone,T4: Thyroxine.Last Editorial Review: 12/10/2003 T4: Thyroxine, a thyroid hormone. The number 4 is sometimes in subscript.Last Editorial Review: 12/10/2003...