Questions tagged [terminology]
This tag should be used for questions concerning meaning and usage of words as applied in medical science.
137
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20 views
Why was the fact that the Fc-part of an antibody is crystallizable important enough that the part was named after it? (Fc =“Fragment crystallizable”)
The typical Y-shape structure of an antibody is often further divided into three parts which correspond to the fragments one obtain when the antibody is digested by the protease papain.
Those are:
...
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15 views
Relationship between Th1 and Th2 and their cross-regulation (+ understanding what cross-regulation means)
Apologies, biology is not my area of expertise but I do have an interest in it.
I "know" that Th1 and Th2 cross-regulate but I'm not sure what that means... Could it mean that if one ...
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1answer
42 views
Why are Ground Glass Opacities termed “Ground Glass”?
What exactly is "ground glass", if this exists?
How do GGOs relate to "ground glass"? Rather than "ground glass", why not call these light-coloured or gray or ...
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1answer
24 views
Erysipelas vs cellulitis vs paronychia
According to Wikipedia:
"Erysipelas is a relatively common bacterial infection of the superficial layer of the skin."(1)
"Cellulitis is a bacterial infection involving the inner layers ...
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20 views
Meaning of “early neurotoxicity” in description of methotrexate treatment effects - at an early age? or an early-stage neurotoxicity?
From a guideline:
Due to the inhibitory effect of methotrexate on DHPR and the interaction with dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR), this treatment may lead to HPA and early neurotoxicity, possibly ...
2
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1answer
138 views
Daily dose of recommended water
Here (https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/how-much-water-should-you-drink) it says to drink four-to-six cup of water.
I find it weird that they don't mention how big the cup should be? How ...
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15 views
Meaning of “Routine” in “Routine imaging of the brain is not required to diagnose BH4Ds”
From Consensus guideline for the diagnosis and treatment of tetrahydrobiopterin (BH4) deficiencies
Recommendation #27 (conditional): Routine imaging of the brain is not required to diagnose BH4Ds.
...
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8 views
Is there any known terminology/coding system for the Hunt and Hess score?
I am trying to create a FHIR Observation from a given Hunt and Hess score (HHS) ranging from 1-5.
FHIR resources are using terminologies like LOINC, ICD or SNOMED but i cannot find the HHS score in ...
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13 views
Meaning of “Evaluation for inpatient hospitalization, either by on-site psychiatric professional or through an emergency room”
From Table 5 in Psychiatric Emergencies: Assessing and Managing Suicidal Ideation
Evaluation for inpatient hospitalization, either by on-site psychiatric professional or through an emergency room.
...
2
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1answer
18 views
What are “baseline chronic risk factors” in a table describing levels of suicidality risk in a scientific paper?
From Table 5 in Psychiatric Emergencies: Assessing and Managing Suicidal Ideation
Baseline chronic risk factors. Minimal mood symptoms. Maintained self-control. Rare acute risk factors.
What are &...
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1answer
18 views
Meaning of “natural” in “high natural protein intake” in a consensus guideline on BH4 deficiencies
From the Consensus guideline for the diagnosis and treatment of tetrahydrobiopterin (BH4) deficiencies:
Apart from BH4Ds, the differential diagnosis of HPA includes phenylalanine hydroxylase (PAH) ...
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1answer
25 views
Is their terminology for varying bone fracture severity?
I have done research on the various different types of bone fractures however I am not able to find any resources discussing specifically the severity of fractures. For example I had assumed that the ...
1
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1answer
37 views
What does “favorable pharmacological profile” mean?
In the context of a new drug going through trials, what does "favorable pharmacological profile" mean?
e.g.
YTX-7739, a potential disease-modifying therapy for Parkinson’s disease, was safe,...
1
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0answers
21 views
What is the meaning of “subcortical retraction” in a description of MRI of a Kearns-Sayre syndrome patient?
I came across the term subcortical retraction and cannot understand its meaning. Does it mean "the withering of the subcortical areas" (shrinking of subcortical white matter)?
From Follow-up ...
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15 views
What do we call a stomach ultrasound during which the patient is asked to drink liquid to assess GI functioning?
I came across the term "водно-сифонная проба" in a Russian case report in which a child undergoes medical investigation for his symptoms. Multitran says that it's "aqueous-siphon test&...
2
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1answer
86 views
Term for a person who sleeps as they need to, rather than with any regular pattern? [closed]
Is there a term for a condition or inclination of only sleeping on an as-needs basis? (analogous, perhaps, to hydration habits, where some people may have a regular pattern for when they drink water, ...
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2answers
94 views
Is there a term for a blood pressure level that is too high but which is typical for the patient and causes no symptoms?
In Russian, there is a semi-colloquial medical term "рабочее давление" (working pressure) - the blood pressure that is excessive, but is typical for this particular patient and causes no ...
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25 views
What is the name of the condition where you remember something while doing it together with others, but forget when you do it alone?
I want to know the name (if there is one) of the condition where you remember things while you do it on a repeated basis with a whole group of people, but forget when you are doing it alone, as if you ...
2
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2answers
51 views
Does “gram negative” generally indicate highly antibiotics resistant bacteria strains?
I must admit that I am an absolute medical layman, trying to keep myself informed at best though.
Today I had a consultation at my dermatologist about a bad healing wound I have, to talk about the ...
3
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1answer
499 views
What is “recognized clinically”? Is there any special meaning in the word “clinically” here?
Quote:
Many patients with alpha-1-antitrypsin deficiency (AATD) experience long delays between their first symptom and initial diagnosis of AATD and require many encounters with healthcare providers ...
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10 views
Unclear line: “PI*SZ, null and about other 30 rare or null phenotypes”
From Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency PIZ and PIS Gene Frequency Distribution Using on Maps of the World by an Inverse Distance Weighting (IDW) Multivariate Interpolation Method (2012):
Alpha1-...
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25 views
What determines “flexion” vs “extension” terminology? [closed]
Why is lifting your arm (or leg) in front of your body (like a Nazi salute, rather than swinging it behind your back like a martial arts shoulder pin) called flexion rather than extension? And why is ...
1
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1answer
36 views
Meaning of the word “term” in a psychiatry article (depression biomarkers)
From Prognosis and improved outcomes in major depression: a review
I don't understand the meaning of term - does it have the "time meaning" (particular stage in the course of disease) or ...
2
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1answer
44 views
Do “a joint sprain” and “a joint displacement” mean the same thing?
According to Cambridge Dictionary, "sprain" means
an injury to a joint (= a place where two bones are connected) caused by a sudden movement
Do "a joint sprain" and "a joint ...
1
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1answer
30 views
What's the proper terminology for the cumulative existence of a disease in a patient?
I'm looking for the medical term that refers to the cumulative time a patient has suffered from a particular disease. For instance, if Jane was diagnosed with diabetes when she was 42, and now she's ...
3
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2answers
110 views
How do I specify a particular side of a finger?
I'm trying to indicate which side of a finger an injury has occurred (e.g., a cut). Depending on orientation of the hand left/right / sinister/dexter seems ambiguous. I look at my palms it's one way, ...
1
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1answer
38 views
Meaning of “I” in a table in a study poster
From a poster to a study:
I don't understand the meaning of "I" used in several fields of this table. What could it mean? I've read the abstract of the study but still cannot get it. The ...
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1answer
27 views
Meaning of “(ref)” in a table describing the characteristics of patients taking part in a cancer study
From a poster describing a study in cancer patients. This is from a table in the poster, which describes the characteristics of the patients (Age groups, Sex ect.) You can see what percentage of the ...
0
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1answer
17 views
Meaning of “the benchmark for median survival”
From the Background section of a clinical trial poster:
Good performance, unresectable stage III non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients should receive standard-of-care treatment, i.e. Concurrent ...
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2answers
61 views
Meaning of “D1 q3w” in a poster to a clinical trial
From a poster to a clinical trial:
I can understand that q3w means "once every 3 weeks", but what is the meaning of D1? I think the first DI must be a typo and it stands for D1 too.
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1answer
52 views
What is the meaning of “presence of a diagnosis”?
From a research paper
Percentages and means for baseline characteristics and 2-year course indicators were provided across age groups. Additionally, these characteristics were associated with ...
2
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1answer
54 views
What is the medical meaning of “course”?
From the Cambridge Dictionary
Meaning of course: the often gradual development of something, or the way something happens, or a way of doing something
Did the scandal have any effect on the course of ...
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1answer
50 views
Suture types (layman question)
I hope it's okay to ask a layman question here.
I am translating one of the episodes of Grey's Anatomy (S5E9) and came upon this dialogue:
Dr. Bailey: OK, yeah, that's right. Grey, tie it off ...
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34 views
Confirmed, recovered, deaths, meaning
I am wondering about the exact definition of a few terms that are being used in connection with the COVID-19, specifically in data sets.
I am interested in the data at github specifically in the time ...
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1answer
16 views
Meaning of “correlates” in “.. clinical therapeutic studies of LAC in depression and TRD and its correlates .. ”
From "Myriad of implications of acetyl-l-carnitine deficits in depression":
Nasca et al. (1) were appropriately conservative in interpreting their findings and pointing out multiple directions for ...
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22 views
What is the definition of STI? (formely STD) [duplicate]
We know that for laymen, an STI (sexually transmitted infection) is something that can spread via sexual activities. However, there are some infections that can spread sexually but is not considered ...
3
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1answer
88 views
What is aminorachia?
From Folinic acid responsive seizures: a new syndrome? (1995):
This infant girl seized within 6h of birth. Seizures were ameliorated with high-dose multiple anticonvulsant therapy. CT scan, urine ...
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1answer
92 views
What is the difference between a dry cough, wet cough, chesty cough and barking cough?
I am doing some research on cough sounds but my background is not health sector and I am facing issues to identify the correct type of cough.
I have two doubts :
Is a chesty cough the same as a wet ...
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2answers
22 views
What's the distinguishing attribute between sensitivity and specificity?
Sensitivity and specificity.
These are the links I used to know about these two terms:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sensitivity_and_specificity
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=FnJ3L-63Cf8
https://m....
1
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1answer
25 views
Is astigmatism a type of retinopathy?
Astigmatism is a common vision condition that causes blurred vision. It occurs when the cornea is irregularly shaped.
Retinopathy is any damage to the retina of the eyes, which may cause vision ...
1
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1answer
21 views
Why does MERS include a geographical designator, even though it is a relatively recent term?
In a recent interview, the Chief Executive Director of the WHO Health Emergencies Programme--Dr. Michael Ryan--said that
the pandemic of influenza in 2009 originated in North America and we didn'...
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1answer
24 views
medical meaning of “Meridian”
A video tutorial is using a spoon to explain how astigmatism occurs.
the cornea ideally
should be perfectly round like a
ping-pong ball which is a perfect sphere
and has the same curvature in ...
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0answers
16 views
Are individuals with controlled blood pressre still considered to have high blood pressure?
I was reading this article:
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-03-18/99-of-those-who-died-from-virus-had-other-illness-italy-says
the TL;DR is that 99% of the Covid-19 deaths in Italy had ...
3
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1answer
182 views
Is Coronavirus (Covid-19) considered a pandemic?
It is my understanding that "epidemic" is an abnormally high amount of cases than expected. "Pandemic" refers to a epidemic that crosses continents (Please correct my understanding if it is wrong).
...
4
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1answer
273 views
Who came up with the SARS-CoV-2 name?
I know that the WHO came up with the COVID-19 name, but I see big publisher (Springer) also using "SARS-CoV-2" seemingly to refer to the same thing. To be more technically correct, they say the ...
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1answer
43 views
Medical instruments for pushing something out of the way
In the Russian classification of medical instruments, some instruments are grouped under the title "medical instruments for moving aside":
The description says:
"Instruments whose working ...
4
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1answer
103 views
Meaning of “acquisition in a single volume” (CT scanning)
From a research paper: (Richards, et al. 2018).
A number of integrated strategies were used to achieve this consistently low dose, including; prospective ECG-gated acquisition, lowest possible tube ...
0
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1answer
110 views
What is the difference between Rhinitis, nasal congestion and runny nose?
Rhinitis, nasal congestion and runny nose → from prior reading on these terms I recognize somewhat inconsistency in regards to how people define them or use them in various articles.
I personally ...
1
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1answer
39 views
Is a lab “test” the overall collection of things, or the individual things in the collection?
At some laboratories, such as image #1, there is one overall "test" which contain many "markers".
At other laboratories, such as image #2, there is one overall "report" which contain many "tests".
...
4
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1answer
63 views
How do you distinguish between “cure” and “recovery” in terms of medical terminology?
I hear a lot of people using the words "cure" and "recovery" interchangeably. Are these two words interchangable in epidemiology? What's the difference between these two in terms of medical ...
