Medications

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis 4 - Medical

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis 4: ALS4. A juvenile-onset form of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) with no bulbar involvement, inherited in an autosomal dominant manner and caused by mutation in a gene on chromosome 9q34. Last Editorial Review: 7/...

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis 3 - Medical

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis 3: ALS3. An adult-onset form of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) inherited in an autosomal dominant manner and caused by mutation in a gene on chromosome 18q21. Last Editorial Review: 7/12/2004 What is amyotro...

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis 2 - Medical

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis 2: ALS2. A juvenile-onset form of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) inherited in an autosomal recessive manner and caused by mutation in the gene encoding alsin on chromosome 2q33. Last Editorial Review: 7/12...

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis 1 - Medical

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis 1: ALS1. A form of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) inherited in an autosomal dominant manner and caused by mutation in the superoxide dismutase-1 gene (SOD1) on chromosome 21q22.1. About 15 to 20% of familial ALS is ...

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) - Medical

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS): A classic motor neuron disease. Motor neuron diseases are progressive chronic diseases of the nerves that come from the spinal cord responsible for supplying electrical stimulation to the muscles. This stimu...

Amyloidosis, secondary - Medical

Amyloidosis, secondary : One of a group of diseases (called amyloidosis) in which protein deposits (amyloid) accumulate in one or more organ systems in the body, secondary amyloid is caused by a chronic infection or inflammatory disease such as rheum...

Amyloidosis, primary - Medical

Amyloidosis, primary: A disorder of plasma cells (special white blood cells that produce antibodies), this is one of a group of diseases (called amyloidosis) in which protein deposits (amyloid) accumulate in one or more organ systems in the body. Pri...

Amyloidosis, hereditary - Medical

Amyloidosis, hereditary: A familial (inherited) disorder in which protein deposits (amyloid) accumulate in one or more organ systems in the body. Hereditary amyloidosis is a relatively uncommon cause of amyloidosis. The more common forms of amyloido...

Amyloidosis - Medical

Amyloidosis: A disorder that results from the abnormal deposition of a particular protein, called amyloid, in various tissues of the body. Amyloid protein can be deposited in a localized area, and not be harmful, or in can cause serious changes...

Amyloid - Medical

Amyloid: Any of a number of complex proteins that are deposited in tissues and that share selected laboratory features such as a change in the fluorescence intensity of certain aromatic dyes like Congo Red. The deposition of amyloid occurs in a numb...

Amylo- - Medical

Amylo-: (Amyl- before a vowel.) A prefix pertaining to starch. From the Greek amylon, meaning starch. Last Editorial Review: 8/8/2004...

Amylase - Medical

Amylase: An enzyme produced in the pancreas and salivary glands that helps in the digestion of starches. Elevation of blood amylase is common in pancreatitis. Last Editorial Review: 6/3/2002 Pancreatitis facts* What is pancreatitis? What ...

Amyl- - Medical

Amyl-: (Amylo- before a consonant.) A prefix pertaining to starch. From the Greek amylon, meaning starch. Last Editorial Review: 8/8/2004...

Amygdaloid nucleus - Medical

Amygdaloid nucleus: A small oval structure in the temporal lobe of the brain that is closely connected to the hypothalamus, the hippocampus, and the cingulate gyrus. The amygdaloid nucleus is part of the olefactory and limbic systems and plays a ro...

Amygdaloid complex - Medical

Amygdaloid complex: See: Amygdaloid nucleus. Last Editorial Review: 9/19/2004 Amygdaloid nucleus: A small oval structure in the temporal lobe of the brain that is closely connected to the hypothalamus, the hippocampus, and the cingulate gy...

Amygdaloid body - Medical

Amygdaloid body: See: Amygdaloid nucleus. Last Editorial Review: 9/19/2004 Amygdaloid nucleus: A small oval structure in the temporal lobe of the brain that is closely connected to the hypothalamus, the hippocampus, and the cingulate gyrus...

Amygdaloid - Medical

Amygdaloid: Like an almond. Almond-shaped. As the amygdaloid nucleus in the brain, a structure that anatomists thought resembled an almond. Amygdaloid is pronounced in three syllables: amyg da loid. From the Greek amydale (almond) + the Greek eidos (...

Amygdala - Medical

Amygdala: 1. The amygdaloid nucleus in the brain. 2. The tonsils. These structures were so named because they appeared to be shaped like an almond. From the Greek amydale (almond) + the Greek eidos (like). Last Editorial Review: 4/27/2011 ...

Amusia - Medical

Amusia: The inability to recognize musical tones or to reproduce them. Amusia can be congenital (present at birth) or be acquired sometime later in life (as from brain damage). Amusia is composed of a- + -musia and literally means the lack of mus...

Amuck - Medical

Amuck: See: Amok.Last Editorial Review: 5/26/2003 Amok: A syndrome first reported in the Malay people, usually male, consisting of a period of brooding followed by a sudden outburst of indiscriminate murderous frenzy, sometimes provoked by an insul...

Amsler grid - Medical

Amsler grid: While conducting an eye examination, the eye care professional may ask the patient to look at an Amsler grid. This grid is a pattern that resembles a checkerboard. The patient covers one eye and stares at a black dot in the cente...

AMS (atypical measles syndrome) - Medical

AMS (atypical measles syndrome):An altered expression of measles, AMS begins suddenly with high fever, headache, cough, and abdominal pain. The rash may appear 1 to 2 days later, often beginning on the limbs. Swelling ( edema) of the hands ...

AMS (acute mountain sickness) - Medical

AMS (acute mountain sickness): Acute mountain sickness (AMS) is the effect on the body of being in a high altitude environment. AMS is common at high altitudes, that is above 8,000 feet (2,440 meters). Three-quarters of people have mild sympt...

Amputation - Medical

Amputation: Removal of part or all of a body part enclosed by skin. For example, removal of part of a finger or an entire finger would be termed an amputation. Removal of an appendix, on the other hand, would not be termed amputation. A person who ha...

Ampullary carcinoma - Medical

Ampullary carcinoma: Cancer of a structure called the ampulla of Vater, a small muscle located at the junction where the common bile duct (carrying bile from the liver and secretions from the pancreas) empties into the duodenum (upper small intestine...

Ampulla of Vater - Medical

Ampulla of Vater: An enlargement of the ducts from the liver and pancreas at the point where they enter the small intestine. Bile from the liver and secretions from the pancreas come through the ampulla of Vater to mix with food in the duodenum and...

Ampulla - Medical

Ampulla: In anatomy, a sac-like enlargement of a canal or duct. The ampulla of Vater is the enlargement of the ducts from the liver and pancreas at the point where they enter the small intestine. Ampulla in Latin means flask. An ampulla was a fl...

Amplification, DNA - Medical

Amplification, DNA: The production of multiple copies of a sequence of DNA. Repeated copying of a piece of DNA. DNA amplification plays a role in cancer cells. A tumor cell amplifies, or copies, DNA segments as a result of cell signals and sometim...

Amplification - Medical

Amplification: Making multiple copies of a gene or of any sequence of DNA. Repeated copying of a piece of DNA. In amplification there is an increase in the number of copies of any particular piece of DNA. Gene amplification plays a role in cancer ...

Amphetamine - Medical

Amphetamine: A drug with a stimulant effect on the central nervous system that can be both physically and psychologically addictive when overused. This drug has been much abused recreationally. The street term "speed" refers to stimulant drugs such a...