MEDICAL TERMINOLOGY NOMENCLATURE VOCABULARY GLOSSARY

ROOTS ETYMOLOGY IDEONOMY

Grasping Ideas in Words - Natural Learning and Remembering

NOTICE! (CAVIAT) - use General Search Box to find non-medical terms

Comment: Notions in words like life, death, wellness, or love incorporate timeless universal notions represented by mythic figures, emblems, icons, legends, ballads, and lullabies. In a way, such complex notions are like an Egyptian cartouche - a capsule of a cluster of ideas represented by a word (continued at the end of the following list of words). Suggestion: in addition to alphabetic search, if needed, add "word search" in this page (press control F) fuRTHERMORE, the whole Pandora Word Box is dedicate to illuminate meanings conveyed by images and words.

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~ -; DASH is a signal indicative of a delimiter related to a prefix or suffix

~ A-; prefix often denoting “lack of x, y, or z” (see atrichia)

BONUS - a-trichia implies lack of, see hair or see alopecia given below

~ A ...; as a prefix it often denotes “lack of x, y, or z” (see atrichia)

~ Abd …; prefix for away as in abduction

BONUS - to remember; abd and related - take away, kidnap, rape ...

BONUS - to remember; more about abd - abductions, ...

~ Abducent; e.g. motor nerves or muscles producing motion away from the anatomical
axis or at times referred to as “exterior” motion

~ Abduct; abduction, to move away, kidnap, abduction implies rape, in Spanish rapto is
abduct and in Ukrainian implies suddenly (raptovo)

BONUS - see abduction

BONUS - see abducted (open) thighs - oppossite of adducted

~ Abdomen; ventral refers to “vientre” from vento or wind and in medicine to structures
anterior to the body axis, poetically known as “bag of winds”, container of “abducted”
nutrients and organs, “ventrally from” implies “in front of”

BONUS - see nephrosis, ascitis

BONUS - see hepatitis, ascitis

BONUS - see hypotonia

~ Achondroplasia;

~ Acro~; prefix denoting distal as in acro-megaly, etc.

BONUS - to remember; acro, meso, ecto, ...

~ Acrocyanosis; acro=distant, cyanosis=blue like the sky (cielo in Spanish)

~ Acrodysplasia; abnormalities of distal structures

~ Acromegaly; enlarged distal structures

~ Adipose; fatty, aleipha in Greek, olyj or oil in Ukr

BONUS - see adiposity

~ Agenesis; (a-genesis), lack of gene(s) resulting in lack of development of particular
cells, tissues, organs (implies material and not functional consequences)

~ Alae nasi; lateral areas (wings) or nostrils

~ Alcohol; fluid product from natural fermentation of sugars, mainly see ethanol

~ Alcoholism; *see addiction, implies dependence and negative impacts, *see teratogen.

~ Allele; alternative form of a gene

~ Alopecia; lack of hair, opposite of hirsutism

BONUS - a-trichia implies lack of, see hair or see alopecia given below

~ Amblyopia; [often used as a synonym of strabismus, the symptom of which often
is double vision - ambliopia, diplopia]. Vulgar and mistaken medical parlance, equate
this term with “lazy eye”, “dim vision”. See strabismus.

~ Amelia; absence of a limb or limbs

~ Amnesia;

~ Amputation;

~ Analgesic; factor or agent that diminishes or prevents pain; see morphine

~ Anamnesis; remembrance or recall of symptoms, signs and circumstances

~ Andro~; prefix indicative of maleness, as shown next

~ Androgen; agents that masculinize

~ Aneurysm; segmental dilatation of an artery, vein or other tubular structures due to
flaws of its walls

~ Angioma; vascular tumor (general term - see hemangioma etc.- see ectasia)

~ Ankylo-; prefix denoting “crooked”, bent, curved, deviated, fused, stiff, fixed, ...

BONUS - perspective includes ankle articulation or joint

~ Anophthalmia; see microphthalmia

~ Anotia; "no" ear or auricle

~ Antenna; detector of signals generally invisible and generally by touch

~ Antepartum; before birth or parturition implying materno-fetal partition

~ Antihelix; anti=against the helix, implying near; ante=in front of

BONUS - see ear landmarks

BONUS - see protruding ears of an Emperor

~ Antitragus; similar to antihelix, tragus in Greek points to he-goat, as in tragedy

BONUS - see ear landmarks

BONUS - see protruding ears of an Emperor

~ Apathetic, apathy; lacking “pathos” or emotion, sign of mental depression, see apathy

~ Apathy; lacking (see) “pathos” or spirit (emotion)

~ Aplasia; (a-plasia), “no” or lack of development (cells, tissues, organs), excludes notion
of functions, does NOT imply lack of capacity to develop (genes, denoted by agenesis),
see agenesis

~ Arm; upper limb, body part that holds weapons (armament)

~ Arthro; arthron implies articulation or joint, as in arthropod, arthritis, …

~ Arthrogryposis; implies multiple congenital joint contractures in diverse body parts

~ Ascitis; abdomen with fluid, from ascos (Greek for wineskin implying "stink"), in Spanish
asco means repugnant or odious odor

BONUS - see nephrosis, ascitis

BONUS - see hepatitis, ascitis

~ Asymmetry; lacking expected likeness

~ Atrichia; lack of hair or alopecia - note hirsute for excess of hair

BONUS - a-trichia implies lack of, see hair or see alopecia given below

~ Atrophy;

~ Audio; sound as in audible, audience ...

~ Auricle; external ear, ear lobe

~ Autosomal; loci or genes located on autosomal chromosomes thus not on the sex
chromosomes X nor Y

~ Birth defect; flawed political popular term for congenital anomaly

~ Blastopathy; abnormalities of the blastula (see blastula)

~ Blastula; early development of a fertilized egg when the morula (solid sphere of cells)
develops a cavity (blast), from Greek “blastos” for “sprout” - perhaps relatged, blast
as implied by "explosion", the growth of the morula-blastula becomes very frast as
if an "explosion" of cell divisions

~ Bone; hard tissue implying calcified

~ Cancer; uncontrolled division of abnormal cells spreading in a pattern suggestive of
the legs of a crab from Greek “kakinos” or Latin “cancer”

~ Carpe diem; find (search) via General Search Box

~ Casuistics; cumulative experience from exposure to “cases” (ww, Ed.)

~ Caudad; pertaining to the tail of "end"

~ Caviat; be aware, to note

~ Cele; or coele, in Medicine implies cavity, hernia, swelling

~ Cephal; prefix - cepha-lad, superior or opposite to caudad (see cauda); cephal-ic
denotes pertaining to the anterior or top areas of an animal or cephalon

~ Cleft; gap (congenital, implying agenesis or aplasia), acquired (failed healing or
artificially induced), strictly speaking SCHITSIS as in schizophrenia (split or cleft mind)

BONUS - see vast perspective of this notion

~ Clinic;

~ Clinical;

~ Clone; implies identicity; in Medicine, group of cells identical to their ancestor,
when applied to whole organisms, the implication is non-sexual reproduction

~ Cocaine;

~ Codeine; derivative of (see morphine) - mainly prescribed to treat moderate or severe
pain (see analgesic) - highly addictive (see narcotic) - the implicit notions are very
complex and outlined in entries shown in parentheses, plus note bonus link below

BONUS - ALK ALKALEMIA ALKALI ALKALOIDS - Morphine, Codeine, Quinine, Atropine,
Strychnine, ...

~ Codone;

~ Cognizant;

~ Collagen; extracellular "glue" protein, see colloid

~ Colloid; a gel like substance, in vernacular "glue-like" or gelatin or jelly - note - in
Spanish, "cola" means tail as well as glue - animal tails are rich in collagen -
human collagen disorders are many and cause fragility of the tissues the collagen
sustains in place - a cadaver as it cools, the collagen stiffens - a "stiff" in jargon
denotes a dead person

~ Coloboma; gap (like a cut) generally of ocular structures often irides

~ Coma;

~ Congenital;

~ Consanguinity;

~ Cranium; skull, skeletal or bone component of the head or cephalon

~ Crease; folding or groove

~ Credo; belief

~ Cretinism;

~ Cross-bread; preferred term for intra-cohort breading instead of in-breading

~ Cutis; skin

~ Cutis marmorata; pink marble like skin implying mottled skin

~ Cupid; mythological emblem mainly denoting temptation driving desire

~ Cupid bow; outline of the vermillion of the upper lip in a shape of an arch, Cupid shot
love arrows and humans blow kisses from the upper lip

~ Cupid bow flat or not evident; the sign observed among instances of fetal alcohol
effects, syndrome, or spectrum disorders

~ Cure;

~ Cyclopia; fused eyes (not a failure of "splitting")

~ Cyst;

~ Dactyly;

~ Day-dreaming;

~ Death;

~ Decline;

~ Deformation; external causes of anomalies, dys-morphism

~ Delirium;

~ De novo;

~ Dia;

~ Diabetes;

~ Diagnosis; hypothetical label - synthesis of (objective) signs/natural history with
(hypothetical) pathogenesis/etiology

~ Dialysis;

~ Diaphoresis;

~ Digit;

~ Diplopia;

~ Disease; mental or physical instability, away from homeostasis

~ Dis; “rupture” of a process, see more in dys

~ Disorder; characteristic of malformations and diseases

~ Disproportion;

~ Disruption; implies external negative impact

~ Dominant; implies pathology due to the presence of one thus single mutated
pathogenic allele

~ Dormant;

~ Dorsal; often used to denote "supra" (during embryogenesis the occiput may be

included in dorsal)

~ Down syndrome; concurrent symptoms and clinical signs suggestive of an extra
chromosome 21 or its segments (trisomy 21)

~ Dys~; or dis, prefix for diseased or "anomaly" or ab-normal, note also “dis”

~ Dysmorphism;

~ Dysmorphogenesis;

~ Dysmorphology; study of altered morphology (implicitly disproportions or anomalies,
deformities, malformities, ...

BONUS - see further perspectives

~ Dysplasia; altered tissue formation - normal cells but disorganized - e.g. hamartoma,
polyp, nevus, neurofibroma

~ Dyssomnia;

~ Ear; or auricle, also inner, middle and outer or external ears form the auditory system

~ Ecology;

~ Ectasia; implies distension - dilatation related to altered "flow" in a tubular structure in
contrast to aneurysm due to flaws in walls

~ Ectoderm; ecto implies external

~ Ectro-;

~ Edema; from “oid” for “to swell” in Greek

~ Emaciate; “macer” in Latin for thin, lost flesh as per "macerate"

~ Embryo; an organism during early development and giving rise to a fetus

~ Embryology;

~ Embryopathy; anomalies of the embryo

~ Endemic;

~ Endocrine;

~ Environment;

~ Epi~; prefix for above as in epi-demiology (pertaining to people)

~ Epicanthus; Epicanthic fold; epi - canthus - skin fold above the (ocular inner) angle

~ Epidemic;

~ Epidemiology;

~ Epidermis; skin (above the "flesh")

~ Epigenetic;

~ Eso; Greek for "inward" as in esotropia

~ Esotropia; inward or convergent strabismus or squint

~ Ethanol; eth and ol denote a chain of two carbons one of which is linked to OH ethyl
group (EtOH) expressed by the chemical formula CH₃-CH₂-OH; a liquid flammable
addictive human psychotoxin (an inhibitor of inhibitions), see alcoholism

~ Ethics; see "ethos", in essence, the “thuth”

~ Ethnic;

~ Ethnos; strictly speaking it denotes a distinct people and points towards ethos and
ethics

~ Ethos (soul), ethnic; natural of a group

~ Etiology; true cause, see Etios

~ Etios; Greek for spirit pointing to "true"

~ Etymology; the true origin, mainly of words

~ Euthanasia;

~ Exo; Greek for "out" as in exotic, exotropia

~ Ex-omphalon;

~ Exotropia; outward or divergent strabismus

~ Face, facade; front, communication organ/devise

~ Facies; a face that “speaks”, conveys a meaning

~ FAE; fetal alcohol effect, see FAS and FASD

~ FAS; fetal alcohol syndrome, implies full array of concurrent signs, see FASD

~ FASD; fetal alcohol spectrum disorder, implies incomplete array of FAS signs

~ Facoma; see phacomatosis

~ Facomatosis; see phacomatosis

~ Fantasy;

~ Febricula; often implies low-grade recurrent episode of (see) fever; late-day rise of
levels of temperature are characteristic of some stages of tuberculosis (TBC)

~ Fertile; capable of reproduction, fruitful, fecund

~ Fever; a syndrome of hyperthermia with concurrent "febrile" symptoms and signs, often
sophistically characteristic to suggest etiology (cause), such as childhood exanthemas
(measles, rubella, etc.)

~ Fistula; a tubular hallow abnormal canal or tunnel-like between organs or the exterior

~ Flaccid;

~ Foca; see phoca

~ Fontanelle;

~ Frenzy;

~ FTT, failure to thrive, implies delay of mental, physical, growth and maturation

~ Gen-;

~ Gender; psychological (personality, behaviour, sexual drived, libido) characteristic of
biologic males in contrast to biologic females, see more under "sex"

~ Gene, genius, generator; messenger

~ Genetics; the study of inherited and or hereditary organisms or their components

~ Genome; the totality of genes of an organism

~ Gigantism;

~ Gloss-;

~ Glossa; tongue, language

~ Glossectomy;

~ Glycemia;

~ Goiter;

~ Gyneco-mastia; developed female breast in a male

~ Hallucination;

~ Hamartoma; circumscribed areas of dysplastic tissues (facomas or phacomas) prone to
uncontrolled growth and malignant changes

~ Hamartomatosis; systemic multiple, generally congenital, benign neoplasia, often pre-
malignant, e.g. multiple neurofibromatosis

~ Hamartosis; see Hamartomatosis

~ Health; optimal homeostasis of an organism at a particular stage of development and
lifespan (includes a mental optimal state)

~ Helix;

~ Hemangiona; vascular tumor (general term akin to angioma, see ectasia)

~ Hemi-;

~ Hermaphroditism; strictly speaking, there is no human hermaphroditism. The term
implies the capacity of self-replication (it negates sexual reproduction). However,
medical literature uses this term to describe, in most instances, ovo-testes or "mixed
gonadal dysgenesis" (a high cancer risk anomalies thus an indication for surgical
removal of such gonads). Pseudo-hermaphroditism, male variety (feminized males)
and female variety (masculinized females). Personally, I find such "labels" offensive,
degrading, arrogant, dogmatic and socially damaging. Personally, since the causes
and pathogenesis of such disorders are multiple and complex, an acceptable alternative
may be to describe actual clinical features as kindly as possible; gynecomastia for
example does not have to be branded as an instance of "feminized male" or a large
clitoris be branded as in instance of a pseudohermaphroditism or equally offensive
branding as an instance of a "masculinized female". (more in an Overview on this
subject)

~ Heroin;

~ Hirsutism; excess of hair - note atrichia for lack of hair or alopecia

~ Holo~; prefix for totality, whole, wholly

~ Holoprosencephaly; a forebrain undivided into left and right hemispheres

~ Homeostasis; health, stability

~ Hydramnios;

~ Hydrocephalus;

~ Hyper; prefix for excess, see hyper-x,y,z

~ Hyperplasia; enlargement on the basis of more numerous cells

~ Hypertelorism; increased inter-ocular distance, see telorism

~ Hyperthermia; elevated temperature; hyperthermia is not a synonym of fever which is a
syndrome (see specific entry); hyperthermia, if localized, is a reflection of increased
blood flow associated with an underlying vascular anomaly, an inflammatory process,
or a neoplasia. Generalized body hyperthermia can be induced by exercise or external
factors such as sources of energy (sun and other forms of radiation), hot bath, etc.
Hyperthermia is a teratogen - a known cause of oral and limb malformations among
other anomalies.

~ Hypertrichosis; hirsutism or excess of hair, see trichosis

~ Hypertrophy; enlargement including of cells

~ Hypnos;

~ Hypnotic;

~ Hypo;

~ Hypotelorism; decreased inter-ocular distance, see telorism

~ Hypothesis;

~ Hypotonia;

~ Hypotrichosis; sparse hair, see trichosis, alopecia

~ Illusion;

~ Implication; plica (fold), “folded in”

~ Imprinting;

~ IMV; informative morphogenic variant

~ Incest;

~ Iniencephaly; a neural tube defects mostly impacting the neck (inion), atlas and axis cervical vertebrae. Concurrent encephaloceles and schises of the neural cord are
common as well as other malformations. The cardinal sign is a severe retroflexion of
the neck

~ Inion; root for neck, iniencephaly

~ Insomnia;

~ Ionizing; energy capable of converting atoms and molecules into ions

~ Iridoschisis, see Coloboma

~ IUGR; intrauterine growth retardation;

~ Lethal;

~ Lethargy;

~ Leukemia; strictly it denotes “white blood”, in Medicine an abnormal malignant
excessive proliferation of “white blood cells” (leukocytes)

~ Life; individual organism capable of capturing energy for its perpetuation

~ Limb; extensions of body stalk, populist term "extremities", see Limbus