Medical Terminology
Frequently asked questions
Also called “arrhythmia” - when the electrical signals that coordinate the heart's beats don't work properly. The faulty signaling causes the heart to beat too fast (tachycardia), too slow (bradycardia) or irregularly.
Source: Mayo Clinic
The act or process of allowing someone to enter a hospital for a period typically 24hrs or longer to receive medical care.
Source: Cambridge Dictionary
The care and treatment of a person after an operation, delivery, or convalescence from an illness.
Source: Medical Dictionary
A feeling of worry and fear along with muscle tension. Anxiety may be considered normal in some instances such as public speaking or before making important decisions. Anxiety may become a disorder when it prevents one’s ability to function normally.
Source: Psychiatry.org
An arterial line is a thin, flexible tube that is placed into an artery, commonly in the wrist or the groin. It helps your doctors and nurses check your blood pressure and take blood samples. It is used in operating rooms and intensive care units (ICUs). You may hear it called an "art-line" or "A-line."
Source: My Health
When something enters your airway or lungs by accident. It may be food, liquid, or some other material.
Source: Cedars Sinai
Gathering information concerning a hospitalized person’s individual physiological, psychological, sociological, and spiritual needs. It is the first step in the successful evaluation of a person requiring health care.
Source: NCBI
Class of depressant drugs prescribed to treat conditions such as anxiety disorders, insomnia, and seizures, can also be used for sedation in the ICU, and as part of anesthesia for surgery.
An abnormal body structure or function that develops before a baby is born. A birth defect is also called a Congenital Disorder or Congenital Abnormality.
A pattern of attraction toward both males and females, or to more than one sex or gender. A bisexual identity does not necessarily equate to equal sexual attraction to both sexes; commonly, people who have a distinct but not exclusive sexual preference for one sex over the other also identify themselves as bisexual.
Located in the lower abdomen, the bladder is a hollow organ, much like a balloon, that stores urine, until you’re able to go to the bathroom.
A semi-solid mass of blood cells and other substances that form in your blood vessels. Blood clots protect you from bleeding too much if you’re injured or have surgery. However, you may develop blood clots for other reasons, such as having certain medical conditions. When that happens, blood clots may cause symptoms and can be life-threatening.
The fluid pressure generated by the heart squeezing blood into your arteries, making blood flow continuously in a forward direction through the arteries in your body, thereby delivering oxygen and nutrients to your organs. It is normal for your blood pressure to vary throughout the day and with activity.
Transfusable substances derived from human blood such as whole blood, red blood cells, platelets, plasma and cryoprecipitate.
Also a central venous catheter; a catheter placed into a large vein as a form of venous access. Placement of larger catheters in more centrally located veins is often needed in critically ill people, or in those requiring prolonged treatment. These catheters are commonly placed in veins in the neck (internal jugular vein), chest (subclavian vein or axillary vein), groin (femoral vein), or through veins in the arms (also known as a PICC line, or peripherally inserted central catheters).
services performed by a certified clergy member who provides spiritual care for individuals in a non-religious organization, rather than a church congregation. Chaplains can work in healthcare, hospice, or government facilities.
Chaplains are spiritual and pastoral counselors who work with people and their families to access spiritual strength and resources. Chaplains offer care and support when people and their families search for meaning in the midst of illness and hospitalization.
Resources to assist with any recent act or failure to act on the part of a parent or caretaker which results in death, serious physical or emotional harm, sexual abuse or exploitation"; or "An act or failure to act which presents an imminent risk of serious harm."
This definition of child abuse and neglect refers to parents and other caregivers. A "child" under this definition means a person who is younger than age 18 or who is not an emancipated minor. Federal law has created guidance. State or territory laws have further delineation.
Designed to help women access accurate and up to date information about childbirth and make informed decisions about their care. Exposure to evidence-based information about maternity care practices should assist women to make informed decisions that are based on that evidence.
Their purpose is to reduce fear of the unknown and let couples focus on the joy of the birth experience. Though you can't 'control' birth, taking classes will help you feel prepared and supported to make your treasured memories of the birth experience.
Conditions that last 1 year or more and require ongoing medical attention or limit activities of daily living or both.
A chronic illness is a long-term health condition that may not have a cure. Examples of chronic illnesses are: Alzheimer disease and dementia, arthritis, asthma, cancer, COPD, Crohn’s disease, cystic fibrosis, diabetes, endometriosis, epilepsy, fibromyalgia, heart disease, high blood pressure (hypertension), HIV/AIDS, migraine, mood disorders (bipolar, cyclothymic, and depression), multiple sclerosis, narcolepsy, Parkinson disease.
The surgical removal of the skin covering the tip of the penis; this is fairly common for newborn boys in certain parts of the world, including the United States; for some families, circumcision is a religious ritual, but can also be a matter of family tradition, personal hygiene or preventive health care.
An extreme fear of enclosed spaces that prevents one’s ability to function or perform daily activities.
Also called a medical ethicist. A consultant who assesses the use of ethics in health care settings, such as hospitals and private medical practices. Their role is often to aid in understanding and communication between health care providers and people seeking care in the health care system.
Cognitive refers to intellect: people with cognitive differences often take longer to complete academic tasks than people with typical cognitive function and can have difficulty focusing.
Behavioral refers to how a person acts, due to their emotions; in this case differences refers to people whose actions may be harmful to themselves or people around them without support or assistance.
A surgical operation in which a piece of the colon (large intestine) is diverted to an artificial opening in the abdominal wall so as to bypass a damaged part of the colon and allow solid waste to leave the body.
An unfavorable result of a disease, health condition, or treatment that generally involves a worsening of the disease or the development of new signs, symptoms, or negative changes that may become widespread throughout the body and affect additional organ systems.
The blood from the baby that is left in the umbilical cord and placenta after birth; it contains special cells called stem cells that can be used to treat some types of diseases.
A term coined by health insurers to describe a handful of the most common health situations that result in prolonged hospitalization or ICU care. “Critical-illness plans often cover diseases like cancer, organ transplant, heart attack, stroke, renal failure, and paralysis, among others. There is no coverage if you're diagnosed with a disease that isn't on the specific list for your plan, and the list of covered illnesses varies from one plan to another.”
An umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups. Culture is often originated from or attributed to a specific region or location.
It can include the customary beliefs, social forms, and material traits of a racial, religious, or social group. also: the characteristic features of everyday existence (such as diversions or a way of life) shared by people in a place or time.
Also End-of-Life Doula; a person who provides companionship, comfort, and guidance to those facing a terminal illness or death, and offers resources to help the dying person, along with their family and loved ones, make informed decisions in a supportive environment.
Administering a controlled electric shock to the chest in order to allow restoration of the normal heart rhythm.
A medical illness that causes feelings of sadness, loss of interest in enjoyable activities, and can decrease one’s ability to function at work and at home.
A condition that occurs when glucose (blood sugar) rises too high. Diabetes results from the body not making enough insulin or being unable to use insulin properly. Over a long period of time untreated diabetes leads to kidney disease, heart disease, blindness, and death.
This is a general term referring to several processes of balancing the body’s normal chemistry and removing toxins from the blood. Usually the kidneys do this job, but when they stop working, either temporarily or permanently, there are devices that can clean the blood and balance the body’s chemistry.
Hemodialysis is the process of removing blood from the body and running it through a machine that works like a kidney (cleans/balances) and then returns the blood back into the body through IV tubes.
Peritoneal dialysis is a process where the abdomen is filled with fluid through a surgically implanted tube. The fluid works slowly to absorb toxins and balance the body’s chemistry, and after a period of time (6 to 8 hours) is drained back out of the abdomen.
Any of these processes must be repeated every one to two days until either a person’s kidneys start working again or a new kidney is surgically implanted. Without working kidneys or dialysis toxins build up, usually resulting in death within two weeks.
When your stools are loose and watery. You may also need to go to the bathroom more often. Short-term (acute) diarrhea lasts 1 or 2 days. Long-term (chronic) diarrhea lasts several weeks.
Describes the point at which inpatient hospital care ends, with ongoing care transferred to other primary, community or home environments. Generally, it is not an end point, but rather one of multiple transitions within a person’s care journey.
A disorder of structure or function in a human, animal, or plant, especially one that has a known cause and a distinctive group of symptoms, signs, or anatomical changes.
A person trained to provide physical, emotional, and informational support to pregnant people throughout their pregnancy. Doulas adhere to DONA International’s Standards of Practice and Code of Ethics to ensure a safe and healthy pregnancy, birth, and postpartum experience.
Extra-corporeal Membrane Oxygenation; a machine or series of machines that removes blood from a person’s body through large tubes entering and exiting the body, that removes carbon dioxide, and adds oxygen, then returns the blood to the person.
This process is only used when a person’s heart and/or lungs are unable to do the normal work of breathing and/or pumping blood to get oxygen to all of your organs and tissue, typically when a person is near death.
The period when body systems shut down and death is imminent—typically lasts from a matter of days to a couple of weeks.
A small cut made by an obstetrician (doctor who specializes in the delivery of babies) in the lower part of the vagina to allow a baby to be born more easily. Recent research suggests episiotomies may do more harm than good and have become less common.
A service that supports informed, deliberative decision making on the part of people receiving care, families, physicians, and the health care team.
By helping to clarify ethical issues and values, facilitating discussion, and providing expertise and educational resources, ethics consultants promote respect for the values, needs, and interests of all participants, especially when there is disagreement or uncertainty about treatment decisions.
A treatment that uses man-made heart and lung machines to support the body when a person's own organs are too sick to do the job.
Sexual fluidity is one or more changes in sexuality or sexual identity. Sexual orientation is stable and unchanging for the vast majority of people, but some research indicates that some people may experience change in their sexual orientation, and this is slightly more likely for women than for men.
A form of assisted vaginal delivery that involves a provider using forceps (which look like tongs) to grasp a baby’s head and pull while the mother pushes. Forceps may also be used to reposition a baby’s head to assist in the delivery process.
Is a system in which a minor has been placed into a ward, group home, or private home of a state-certified caregiver, referred to as a "foster parent", or with a family member approved by the state.
The placement of a "foster child" is normally arranged through the government or a social service agency.
Means that if a person’s heart stopped beating and/or they stopped breathing, all resuscitation procedures will be provided to keep them alive.
Typically reflects a person's gender identity(their internal sense of their own gender), but this is not always the case. Gender expression is separate and independent both from sexual orientation and sex assigned at birth.
Gender expression is how a person publicly presents their gender. This can include behavior and outward appearance such as dress, hair, make-up, body language and voice. A person's chosen name and pronoun are also common ways of expressing gender.
Medicine given before and during surgery through a breathing mask or IV catheter that causes a person to go into a sleep-like state and prevents awareness or memory, or the feeling of pain.
A blood pressure reading above 130/80 millimeters of mercury (mm HG). A millimeter of mercury is measurement of pressure. High blood pressure is also known as Hypertension (HTN) and means that the heart is working harder to pump blood than it should.
Care focused on the comfort and quality of life of a person with a serious illness who is approaching the end of life.
A lack of physical or mental/cognitive ability that results in a person's inability to manage their own personal care, property, or finances.
When viruses, bacteria, or other microbes enter your body and begin to multiply. Disease, which typically happens in a small number of infected people, occurs when the cells in your body are damaged as a result of this process, and signs and symptoms of an illness appear.
A place for people in their last phase of life, when treatment in a hospital is not necessary and care at home or in a nursing home is not possible. The central aims of this service are the relief of suffering and achieving the best possible quality of life until death, as well as bereavement support for your family.
Intensive therapy program, physician supervision, and coordinated care from your doctors and therapists, including physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech-language pathology delivered in a facility following serious illness or injury.
Condition in which a person is born with a reproductive or sexual anatomy that doesn’t seem to fit the typical definitions of female or male.
Physical, sexual, or psychological abuse of a person by their partner or spouse.It can refer to both current and former spouses and dating partners. IPV can vary in how often it happens and how severe it is.
It is one of the most common forms of violence against women and includes physical, sexual, and emotional abuse and controlling behaviors by an intimate partner.
Using medicines or other methods (such as rupturing the amniotic sac or “breaking your water”) to speed up the process of childbirth.
A battery-operated, mechanical pump, which then helps the left ventricle (main pumping chamber of the heart) pump blood to the rest of the body; used for people who have reached end-stage heart failure, either as a tool to help until they can get a heart transplant, or as an extreme effort to support heart function in the hopes of improved function over time.
A test used to diagnose certain health conditions. It's performed in your lower back: a needle is inserted into the space between two lumbar bones (vertebrae) to remove a sample of fluid from around your spinal cord, called cerebrospinal fluid or CSF.
In Native Hawaiian and Tahitian cultures are third gender people with traditional spiritual and social roles within the culture, similar to Tongan fakaleiti and Samoan fa'afafine.
Historically the term Māhū referred to people assigned male at birth (AMAB), but in modern usage Māhū can refer to a variety of genders and sexual orientations
Mechanical ventilation is a type of therapy that helps you breathe or breathes for you when you can’t breathe on your own. You might be on a ventilator during surgery or if your lungs aren’t working properly.
Mechanical ventilation keeps your airways open, delivers oxygen and removes carbon dioxide.
Describes a person's ability to a make a decision. In a medical context, capacity refers to the ability to utilize information about an illness and proposed treatment options to make a choice that is congruent with one's own values and preferences. Capacity is defined around a specific medical decision; individuals may have capacity in one clinical context but not in another and vice versa. It is the ability for one to make his/her own decisions by being able to understand all the information needed to make that decision, use or think about that information, remember that information, and communicate the decision to someone else.
The capacity to make one's own decisions is fundamental to the ethical principle of respect for autonomy and is a key component of informed consent to medical treatment. Determining whether an individual has adequate capacity to make decisions is therefore an inherent aspect of all conversations between a person and their health care provider.
The main determinant of capacity is the ability to think clearly and rationally, and any condition or treatment that affects this may potentially impair decision-making capacity. In the presence of cognitive impairment from any cause, determining whether someone has adequate capacity is critical to striking the proper balance between respecting their autonomy and acting in a person’s best interest. A skillful capacity assessment can also help determine the severity of a person’s cognitive impairments and improve the effectiveness of conversations with people and their families.
Natural death is one that occurs due to an internal factor that causes the body to shut down, such as cancer, heart disease or diabetes.
Institutions certified by a state to offer 24-hour medical and skilled nursing care, rehabilitation, or health-related services to individuals who do not require hospital care. Nursing facility services are mandatory benefits that must be covered by all state Medicaid programs.
Nursing facility services are the second-largest category of Medicaid spending (after hospital services), and Medicaid is the primary payer for nursing facility care in the country.
States have broad flexibility to determine payments to nursing facilities. Federal rules do not prescribe how nursing facilities should be paid or how much they should be paid, but require that Medicaid payment policies should promote efficiency, economy, quality, access, and safeguard against unnecessary utilization.
Organ failure is when one (or several) of your vital organs stops functioning. It can be a gradual (chronic) or sudden (acute) process. Your vital organs are the ones you can't live without.
A surgical procedure in which an organ/s, tissue or group of cells are removed from one person (the donor) and transplanted into another person (the recipient), or moved from one site to another in the same person. Many different types of organs, tissue, and cells can be transplanted.
A person who receives medical treatment without being admitted to a hospital.
Medical treatment, for people who are expected to live six months or less, to keep you as comfortable as possible while you’re still able to live at home with your family. A doctor decides if you qualify for this care service and how often you need treatment.
A plan to reduce or relieve pain. Pain management plans may include medications, injections, physical therapy, and exercise.
Commonly used tools help determine the severity, type, and duration of a person’s pain, and help to make an accurate diagnosis, determine a treatment plan, and evaluate the effectiveness of treatment.
Specialized medical care for people living with a serious illness, meant to enhance a person's current care by focusing on quality of life for them and their family.
Pansexuality is sexual, romantic, or emotional attraction towards people of all genders, or regardless of their sex or gender identity. Pansexual people might refer to themselves as gender-blind, asserting that gender and sex are not determining factors in their romantic or sexual attraction to others.
A needle or small tube is inserted into the abdominal cavity on the outside of the digestive tract and fluid is removed to diagnose or treat a problem, and evaluate for cancer or infection.
A person to help you navigate the healthcare system. They ask questions, write down information, and speak up for you. They help you get the care and resources you need. Hospital patient advocates can help you understand your bill, apply for financial assistance, and access medical records.
Non-medical liaisons who advocate open communication among people receiving care, their families and the entire health care team. They help people and families in a variety of ways, including answering questions or requests, explaining hospital policies, and communicating and resolving hospital-related concerns.
A small, soft plastic tube that drains urine from the kidney. The tube starts at your kidney and comes out the side of your lower back. You may need this tube placed if you have a blockage that prevents urine from draining out of the kidney.
The tube relieves pressure from urine that has backed up into the kidney, which can cause pain or damage to the kidney if it is not relieved.
The structure that provides oxygen and nutrients to a growing baby. It also removes waste products from the baby's blood. The placenta attaches to the wall of the uterus, and the baby's umbilical cord arises from it.
Encompassing or characterized by many different kinds of sexuality"; sexual attraction to many, but not all, genders. Those who use the term may be doing so as a replacement for the term bisexual.
Major monotheistic religions generally prohibit polysexual activity, but some religions incorporate it into their practices. It is also considered to be another word for bisexuality however unlike bisexuals, polysexuals aren't necessarily attracted to people of the same gender.
Services that address post-intensive care syndrome, or PICS. (PICS is made up of health problems that remain after critical illness has resolved. They are often present when someone is in the ICU and may persist after the person returns home. These problems can involve the person’s body, thoughts, feelings, or mind and may affect the family.
A plan to reduce or relive pain caused by a surgical procedure. This may include discomfort in the back and neck due to laying on the operating table or pain directly related to an incision site. Treatments for post-surgical pain may include medications and other approaches such as using heat, ice, guided imagery, and relaxation.
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a real disorder that develops when a person has experienced or witnessed a scary, shocking, terrifying, or dangerous event. These stressful or traumatic events usually involve a situation where someone’s life has been threatened or severe injury has occurred.
Symptoms may include: Flashbacks, or feeling like the event is happening again, trouble sleeping or nightmares, feeling alone or detached from others, losing interest in activities, having angry outbursts or other extreme reactions, feeling worried, guilty, or sad, frightening thoughts, having trouble concentrating, having physical pain like headaches or stomach aches, avoidance of memories, thoughts, or feelings about what closely associated with traumatic events, problems remembering, negative beliefs about themselves or others, irritability, feeling very vigilant, startling easily.
Also called “pressure ulcers” or “bed sores” - Injury to skin and underlying tissue resulting from prolonged pressure on the skin. People most at risk are those with a condition that limits their ability to change positions.
Bed sores often develop on the heels, ankles, hips, and tailbone. They can develop quickly. Bed sores can be difficult to treat. Treatment includes cleaning and dressing the wound along with reducing pressure on the sore by frequent changes in position.
The regular beating of the heart, especially when it is felt at the wrist or side of the neck.
Pupils dilate (get larger) when room light is dimmed. Pupils are round and equal in size, in both bright and dim light.
Pupils quickly and symmetrically constrict to a bright light directed into either of the eyes and when the bright light swings between the two eyes.
Typically a hospital or hospital-affiliated center where a person is treated with at least three hours of therapy five days a week to help you regain your independence after a life changing injury or illness.
The clinical and administrative systems, processes, and reports employed to detect, monitor, assess, mitigate, and prevent risks, to proactively and systematically safeguard your safety as well as the organization’s.
When the medical team as a group visits each person admitted to the hospital to review that person’s status and care plan. In most care environments this takes place daily, in the morning.
A burst of uncontrolled electrical activity in the brain that causes changes in behaviors, movements, and levels of consciousness.
A condition following illness or injury that causes a person to be in an unconscious state (other than normal sleep) for 6 hours or more, or a post-traumatic amnesia of 24 hours or more.
Sexual and gender minority (SGM) populations include, but are not limited to, individuals who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, asexual, transgender, Two-Spirit, queer, and/or intersex. Individuals with same-sex or -gender attractions or behaviors and those with a difference in sex development are also included.
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Refers to one's self-perception in terms of romantic or sexual attraction towards others; may also refer to sexual orientation identity, which is when people identify or dis-identify with asexual orientation or choose not to identify with a sexual orientation.
Sexual identity and sexual behavior are closely related to sexual orientation, but they are distinguished, with identity referring to an individual's conception of themselves, behavior referring to actual sexual acts performed by the individual, and sexual orientation referring to romantic or sexual attractions toward persons of a different sex or gender, the same sex or gender, to both sexes or more than one gender, or to no one.
A person's identity in relation to the gender or genders to which they are sexually attracted; the fact of being heterosexual, homosexual, etc.
It is an enduring pattern of romantic or sexual attraction(or a combination of these) to persons of the opposite sex or gender, the same sex or gender, or to both sexes or more than one gender. These attractions are generally subsumed under heterosexuality, homosexuality, and bisexuality, while asexuality (the lack of sexual attraction to others) is sometimes identified as the fourth category.
Sudden Infant Death Syndrome; the sudden and unexplained death of a baby younger than 1 year old. A diagnosis of SIDS is made if the baby's death remains unexplained even after a death scene investigation, an autopsy, and a review of the clinical history.
After the cord is cut, the baby is be moved up to the mother’s chest; this contact causes a release in oxytocin—known as the ‘love hormone’—in the mother; this helps the uterus contract, which reduces bleeding, and also warms up the mother’s body, which comforts the baby and results in less crying and lower rates of low blood sugar in the baby.
The delivery of a baby through an incision made through the mother’s abdomen and uterus. A surgical delivery is also known as a C-Section, Cesarean section, or Cesarean birth.
Devices that intentionally limit a person’s ability to move. They may be used to prevent someone from harm, to protect tubes and lines (such as breathing tubes or IV catheters), or to keep the body positioned correctly during a surgical procedure.
A procedure that is performed to remove fluid or air from the chest, either to diagnose a problem or treat a problem. A needle or small tube is inserted into the chest cavity and fluid is removed. Thoracentesis is also known as thoracocentesis, pleural tap, needle thoracostomy, or needle decompression.
In physical medicine trauma is a physical injury or wound. In psychological medicine trauma is an emotional response to a distressing event.
When an individual chooses not to label their sexual identity. This identification could stem from one's uncertainty about their sexuality or their unwillingness to conform to a sexuality because they do not necessarily like labels, or they wish to feel free in their attractions instead of feeling forced into same, other, both, or all attractions because of their sexual identity.
The birth of a baby at home or elsewhere without the assistance of healthcare providers. This may also be called Sudden Birth or Emergency Delivery.
A flexible tube used to empty the bladder. They can either be inserted through the tube that carries urine out of the bladder (urethral catheter) or through a small opening made in your lower tummy (suprapubic catheter).
A watery, typically yellowish fluid stored in the bladder and emptied when you go to the bathroom. It is one of the body's chief means of eliminating excess water and salt, and other waste substances removed from the blood by the kidneys.
Simple, safe, and effective ways of protecting you against harmful diseases, before you come into contact with them; vaccines use your body’s natural defenses to build resistance to specific infections and make your immune system stronger.
A form of assisted vaginal delivery that involves a suction cup being placed on the baby’s head which allows a provider to pull while the mother pushes. It is also known as vacuum extraction.
When a person gives birth though their vagina. Vaginal deliveries are the most common and most preferred type of delivery.
Vaginal Birth After Cesarean means deciding to deliver a baby by Vaginal Delivery after a previous baby was delivered via cesarean section (C-section).
Measurements of the body's most basic functions; the four main vital signs routinely monitored by medical professionals and health care providers include body temperature, pulse rate, respiration rate (rate of breathing), and blood pressure.