Medications

Anaplasmosis: A tick-borne disease of cattle, sheep, and related ruminants caused by a microorganism called Anaplasma marginale and characterized by anemia and jaundice. Also called gallsickness and gall sickness. Last Editorial Review: 5/24/20...

Anaphylaxis - Medical

Anaphylaxis: Allergic reaction. In severe cases, this can include potentially deadly anaphylactic shock.Last Editorial Review: 4/27/2011 5:27:15 PM Medical Author: Jerry R. Balentine, DO, FACEP ...

Anaphylactoid purpura - Medical

Anaphylactoid purpura: See: Schonlein-Henoch purpura.Last Editorial Review: 4/27/2011 5:27:15 PM Schönlein-Henoch purpura: A form of blood vessel inflammation ( vasculitis) that typically affects small arterial vessels (capillaries) in the sk...

Anaphylactic shock - Medical

Anaphylactic shock: A widespread and very serious allergic reaction. Symptoms include dizziness, loss of consciousness, labored breathing, swelling of the tongue and breathing tubes, blueness of the skin, low blood pressure, heart failure, and...

Anaphia - Medical

Anaphia: The inability to feel touch. From the Greek prefix an, not + Greek haphe, touch = inability to (feel) touch. A person with anaphia is said to be anaptic.Last Editorial Review: 11/17/1999 8:29:00 PM...

Analytic specificity - Medical

Analytic specificity: How well an assay detects only a specific substance and does not detect closely related substances. Last Editorial Review: 12/3/2003 Assay: An assay is an analysis done to determine: The presence of a substance and the am...

Analytic sensitivity - Medical

Analytic sensitivity: The lowest level of a substance that can be detected by an analytic method. Last Editorial Review: 12/3/2003...

Analysis, linkage - Medical

Analysis, linkage: Study aimed at establishing linkage between genes. Today linkage analysis serves as a way of gene-hunting and genetic testing. Linkage is the tendency for genes and other genetic markers to be inherited together because of their l...

Analysis - Medical

Analysis: A psychology term for processes used to gain understanding of complex emotional or behavioral issues. Last Editorial Review: 4/27/2011 5:27:15 PM...

Analogous - Medical

Analogous: In anatomy, similar in appearance or function but otherwise different. Two structures may be analogous if they serve the same purpose but differ evolutionary in origin as, for example, human and insect legs. As compared to homologous. Las...

Analog - Medical

Analog: In biochemistry, a substance that is similar, but not identical, to another. Last Editorial Review: 10/14/2003...

Analgesic drug - Medical

Analgesic drug: A drug designed to control pain. Analgesic comes from the Greek an-, without + algesis, sense of pain = without a sense of pain.Last Editorial Review: 11/13/2004...

Analgesic - Medical

Analgesic: A drug or medicine given to reduce pain without resulting in loss of consciousness. Analgesics are sometimes referred to as painkiller medications. There are many different types of analgesic medications available in both prescriptio...

Analgesia - Medical

Analgesia: The inability to feel pain while still conscious. From the Greek an-, without + algesis, sense of pain. Last Editorial Review: 4/27/2011 5:27:15 PM...

Analbuminemia - Medical

Analbuminemia: 1. Properly, an absence of albumin from the blood. 2. More loosely, a low level of albumin in the blood. Synonymous in this usage with hypoalbuminemia. Last Editorial Review: 2/18/2004 Albumin: The main protein in human blood and...

Anal papillae - Medical

Anal papillae: The plural of anal papilla. See: Anal papilla.Last Editorial Review: 11/5/2003 Anal papilla: A skin tag that projects up from the junction between the skin and the inside lining of the anus. Anal papillae tend to occur with anal fissu...

Anal papilla - Medical

Anal papilla: A skin tag that projects up from the junction between the skin and the inside lining of the anus. Anal papillae tend to occur with anal fissures and may be detected on a digital examination of the anus or with a scope. Removal is only n...

Anal itching - Medical

Anal itching: Irritation of the skin around the anus accompanied by a desire to scratch. The intensity of itching increases with moisture, pressure, and sitting. At its most intense, anal itching causes intolerable discomfort described as burning and...

Anal incontinence - Medical

Anal incontinence: Inability to hold feces in the rectum. This is due to failure of voluntary control over the anal sphincters. This failure results in the untimely passage of feces and gas. There are many causes of anal incontinence, including c...

Anal fistula - Medical

Anal fistula: An opening in the skin near the anus that leads into a blind pouch or may connect through a tunnel with the rectal canal. Last Editorial Review: 8/23/2003 Anus: The opening of the rectum to the outside of the body. The word "anus" com...

Anal fissure - Medical

Anal fissure: Common tear in the anal canal. Anal fissure is a common cause of red blood in the stool.Last Editorial Review: 4/27/2011 5:27:15 PM Medical Author: Thomas P. Sokol, MD, FACS, FASCRS ...

Anal atresia - Medical

Anal atresia: Congenital absence of an opening at the bottom end of the intestinal tract. Also called imperforate anus. Occurs in about 1 in 5,000 births. It is corrected by surgery. Atresia refers here to the absence of a normal opening. Last Ed...

Anaesthesia - Medical

Anaesthesia: See: Anesthesia.Last Editorial Review: 9/12/2004 Anesthesia: Loss of feeling or awareness. A general anesthetic puts the person to sleep. A local anesthetic causes loss of feeling in a part of the body such as a tooth or an area of skin...

Anaerobic - Medical

Anaerobic: Not requiring oxygen. Anaerobic bacteria do not need oxygen to grow; in fact, oxygen is usually toxic to them. An anaerobic environment lacks oxygen. Last Editorial Review: 4/27/2011 5:27:15 PM...

ANA - Medical

ANA: Antinuclear antibody, an unusual antibody directed against structures within the nucleus of the cell. ANAs are found in patients whose immune system is predisposed to cause inflammation against their own body tissues. Antibodies that are di...

AN - Medical

AN: The military designation for hydrogen cyanide. See: Cyanide. Last Editorial Review: 5/24/2003 Cyanide: Poisoning with cyanide, a rapidly acting, potentially deadly chemical that can exist as a colorless gas, such as hydrogen cyanide (HCN)...

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis 8 - Medical

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis 8: ALS8. A form of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) inherited in an autosomal dominant manner due to mutation in a gene on chromosome 20ptel. Last Editorial Review: 7/12/2004 What is amyotrophic lateral sclerosis...

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis 7 - Medical

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis 7: ALS7. A form of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) inherited in an autosomal dominant manner due to mutation in a gene on chromosome 20ptel. Last Editorial Review: 7/12/2004 What is amyotrophic lateral sclerosis...

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis 6 - Medical

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis 6: ALS6. A form of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) inherited in an autosomal dominant manner due to mutation in a gene on chromosome 16q12. Last Editorial Review: 7/12/2004 What is amyotrophic lateral sclerosis?...

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis 5 - Medical

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis 5: ALS5. A form of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) inherited in an autosomal recessive manner due to mutation in a gene on chromosome 15q15.1-q21.1. Last Editorial Review: 7/12/2004 What is amyotrophic lateral ...