Questions tagged [terminology]
This tag should be used for questions concerning meaning and usage of words as applied in medical science.
81
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Meaning of “terminal” in “terminal necropsy”
From a clinical study report:
At scheduled terminal necropsy after 52 weeks of dosing there limited gross necropsy findings were noted.
What is the meaning of "terminal" here? I need to translate ...
4
votes
1answer
31 views
What is the difference between vasoconstriction and contractility?
I was reading few articles that mention stress induced cortisol may contribute to vasoconstriction and contractility as if they are different. I did some searches on vasoconstriction and ...
2
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1answer
31 views
What are “powered” vs “unpowered” samples in medical studies?
I'm not a medical (/ medical research) professional, but I know my probability theory and a bit of statistics. When leafing through some meta-study texts (such as this one), I'm encountering use of ...
2
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1answer
117 views
Meaning of “sib of 20” in a by-patient case description table
A table from from Cerebral folate deficiency: Analytical tests and differential diagnosis:
The first column contains patient numbers.
I thought that sib of .. meant "sibship of .." - that is, "...
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14 views
Is there a classification code system for TB patients (registered for follow-up) in the West?
I came across the following sentence in a Russian text:
Диссеминированный туберкулез легких в фазе инфильтрации, МБТ (-) IА
I translated it as:
Disseminated pulmonary tuberculosis at the ...
4
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1answer
147 views
Colorectal Examinations
This question was sparked by the question on X is related posteriorly to Y where it was talking about the sigmoid and rectum.
When looking at the colorectal medical examination techniques, for want ...
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22 views
What is the difference between “mild degeneration of the muscular attachment of the gluteus medius” and “mild tendinosis of the left gluteus medius”?
I have read the following two terms:
mild degeneration of the muscular attachment of the left gluteus medius
mild tendinosis of the left gluteus medius
Do these two terms refer to the same medical ...
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2answers
27 views
Term for manufactured drug
What is the English term for a manufactured pharmaceutical drug of a specific strength and dosage form, i.e. a pill, an ointment etcetera?
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1answer
64 views
Does “400 mg orally twice daily” mean “800 mg of drug per day”?
From a case report:
In addition, the authors started 5-hydroxytryptophan titrated to 400 mg orally twice daily with concomittant carbidopa 37.5 mg orally four times a day, and he responded with ...
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0answers
21 views
Meaning of “potential pharmacogenetic characterisation might also be evaluated so that these syndromes are treated at an earlier age.”
This could be offtopic because this might be just a case of sloppy phrasing and a case of "asking to guess what the authors really meant". A quote from an abstract (GTP-cyclohydrolase deficiency ...
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29 views
Meaning of “at baseline” in “Detection of antibodies at baseline in schizophrenia or major depression”
From The basis for folinic acid treatment in neuro-psychiatric disorders by Ramaekers et al., 2016, at the very end of the article:
Because the presence of FRα antibodies can show significant serum ...
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1answer
60 views
Is the abbreviation“r/o” on a test report used in the declarative or imperative sense?
I read something similar to this on the radiologist's report for a chest/abdominal CT scan with contrast, in a section headed "NARRATIVE" and a sub-section headed "HISTORY." This is the only content ...
4
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1answer
59 views
What is the name for the symptom of mishearing words?
There’s a really interesting symptom I remember hearing about, wherein the patient will fail to understand certain sounds correctly, in a repeatable fashion.
For example, the patient could be ...
4
votes
1answer
126 views
Meaning of “Chest wall, Sp, Ps” in a description of tumor recurrence locations
From a clinical trial report:
I think that Ps stands for parasternal (nodes) but what could Sp mean?
I haven't found a mention of "Sp" in the literature by googling for about 20 minutes.
P.S. ...
2
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1answer
64 views
How is “histologically invasive diameter” assessed in live patients?
Quote:
A total of 34 patients were registered between July 2009 and June 2012. The mean age was 53.5 years. The median follow-up time was 23.7 months (2-24 months). The age at the time of ...
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30 views
Meaning of “central registration system” in Japanese clinical trials
Quote from a Japanese clinical trial report:
METHOD: An observational study was conducted on patients who relapsed after primary systemic therapy with TZM using the central registration system. The ...
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22 views
Meaning of “platinum sensitivity and primary PFI being repowered as prognostic factors”
Quote from a clinical trial report:
Recurrence eventually affects 70–80% of patients with advanced epithelial ovar-ian cancer [2, 22], with platinum sensitivity and primary PFI being repowered as ...
3
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1answer
292 views
Are “data cut off” and “data lock” the same thing in a clinical trial?
Quotes from a clinical trial report (JGOG3022 trial):
Follow-up was terminated in February 2017 and data were locked in October 2017. Of the 346 patients enrolled, ineligible patients and patients ...
3
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1answer
57 views
What is the purpose of the “observation cohort” in a clinical trial?
Quote from a clinical trial report (JGOG3022 trial):
Patients who were scheduled to receive bevacizumab concomitantly with platinum-based combination chemotherapy after PDS or IDS were included in ...
5
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1answer
52 views
Isn't “epithelial carcinoma” a tautological term? Are there non-epithelial carcinomas?
From "Bevacizumab combined with platinum–taxane chemotherapy as first-line treatment for advanced ovarian cancer: a prospective observational study of safety and efficacy in Japanese patients (...
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1answer
52 views
What are “cryptic bacteria”?
I came across the term "cryptic bacteria" a few times in the context of biochemistry (Google search), but I couldn't find a definition. What does "cryptic" mean in that context?
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1answer
220 views
What is the difference between “comorbidity” and “multimorbidity”?
I am doing a search on how the number of conditions can cause disease burden. I came across the terms comorbidity and multimorbidty in my search and I wanted to know the difference between the two.
...
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1answer
181 views
Is adrenaline a coctail of hormones, rather than one hormone?
Although it has been called the "Fight or Flight Hormone" adrenaline
can be better described as 'Do it NOW!!! hormones." First things
first, notice the 's.' Adrenaline isn't just one thing, but a ...
3
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1answer
45 views
What is the name of term for series of studies for the same patient?
If we have a series of assessment of lesion for some patient, how is it called in English? Looks like the study term is used for every single assessment(visit). How the whole series is called?
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2answers
632 views
Is lipaemia the same as hyperlipidemia?
I'm translating a Russian text and one of the sentences goes like this:
Среди сывороток были образцы с гемолизом и липемией.
The serum samples contained samples with hemolysis and lipaemia.
I ...
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0answers
21 views
What is the difference between “clinician” and “therapist”?
I am reading the book Mindfulness and Psychotherapy, and at first I thought clinician and therapist are used interchangeably, but it seems not. So is there any difference between the two? If yes, is ...
4
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1answer
127 views
Abnormal shrinkage of the eyeball
Is there a condition which describes an abnormal shrinkage of the eyeball?
That is, a counterpart to buphthalmos (an abnormal enlargement of the eyeball).
4
votes
1answer
579 views
Is hydrothorax considered as edema?
In _Robbins Basic Pathology 9th ed., edema is defined as
[E]dema is an accumulation of interstitial fluid within tissues. Extravascular fluid can also
collect in body cavities such as the ...
2
votes
1answer
30 views
Diagnosing by ruling things out
What is the technical term for a condition that is diagnosed by ruling everything else out?
2
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0answers
34 views
What would a surgeon write about a non-complicated scar in a post-surgery inspection report?
I have a short post-surgery inspection report in Russian:
Осмотр после операции. Рубец спокойный.
Verbatim translation:
Post-surgery examination. The scar is calm.
This calm denotes that the ...
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1answer
31 views
Definition of “prospective birth cohort study”
From a news article:
“Prospective birth cohort studies suggest that childhood infections are associated with increased risk of schizophrenia in adulthood and with abnormal neurodevelopment in ...
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2answers
71 views
Meaning of “shared familial confounding” in a study
From a news report:
Using population-based, longitudinal cohort study data from Sweden, researchers examined the relationship of infection during childhood with IQ and adult nonaffective psychosis....
2
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1answer
36 views
Why was 'strabismus' chosen to mean 'any misalignment of the eyes'?
The AAO and AAPOS don't associate strabismus with squinting. So why was a word etymologically meaning 'squinting' adopted to describe this muscle condition?
"a squinting," 1680s, medical Latin,
...
3
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0answers
38 views
English-language term for “productive vasculitis”
I'm translating a Russian text that gives a description of necropsy results. It mentions "productive vasculitis":
Сосуды вокруг участка гранулематозного воспаления с признаками продуктивного ...
3
votes
1answer
124 views
What is the process called, when a doctor tries to figure out what is wrong with you?
I know that anamnesis is the process of asking potentially relevant questions for building a medical history of a patient. I think this involves:
Getting to know past illnesses of the patient
Getting ...
4
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0answers
41 views
What is sleep pressure?
What is sleep pressure?
I was reading an article on melatonin, and one of the commenters said something about 'sleep pressure'. I did a web search to see what it was, but web searches don't often ...
3
votes
2answers
46 views
What would you call the following type of injury?
Having fallen onto your hands and knees on asphalt, the top layer of skin is gone from your wrists, and you can see tiny amounts of blood that are not coming out of anywhere in particular (perhaps the ...
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39 views
Is there a service that translates medical reports into everyday language?
Medical reports can be quite long and may contain complicated vocabulary that is difficult or impossible for patients to understand.
In Germany, there’s a website called Was hab’ ich? (“What do I ...
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0answers
418 views
What is the meaning of “WES” “LEG” or “CAD” written next to a prescription?
I have 2 prescriptions of Predinisone, and on one of them it is written, "PredniSONE 5MG TAB WES" and on another one it is written, "PREDNISONE 10MG TAB CAD." Are they the same formula and only differ ...
5
votes
1answer
63 views
What is the definition of Suicidal Ideation?
Many resources on depression and suicide use the term "suicidal ideation" as an important sign/symptom. Some sources (e.g. Krahn, Miller, and Bergstrom, Rapid Resolution of Intense Suicidal Ideation ...
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0answers
45 views
What are the food behaviors of anorexic patients?
I'm a medical student reading a book about nutrition and Metabolism. In the description of Anorexia nervosa patients the writer states that
She has a preoccupation with, and often a considerable ...
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1answer
352 views
What is the name for an underdeveloped MCP joint in the thumb?
Lets say a person is born with both thumbs unable to "bend" more than 5 degrees at the MCP joint (center or middle joint).
This picture is of a thumb bending well over 45 degrees at the same joint.
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1answer
67 views
Reading radiology reports: What do two numbers separated by a slash mean?
The following is an excerpt from the "findings" section of an MRI radiology report. What do the instances of two numbers separated by a slash mean?
There is a lesion within the spinal canal at T2-3 ...
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0answers
39 views
Condition of mucus coated trachea, but clear lungs?
Is there a medical condition or illness (what's the terminology??) for when there is an acute incidence of when the trachea is coated with so much mucus and phlegm that it causes labored breathing and ...
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0answers
46 views
What is a Lymph Node Collection
I'm looking at my results from a C/T I had a year ago, because my doctor wants to get another since my lymph node is still enlarged. When I looked at the results I saw
The right axillary region ...
2
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0answers
224 views
What are “sunset additives”?
In relation to stories such as this one, with the (probably sensationalized?) headline of "Nigerians boycott Coca-Cola drinks after court rules them 'poisonous'":
Consumers of Sprite and Fanta have ...
4
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1answer
84 views
I'm scared of certain celestial objects
I have a huge fear of photos of certain things in space. Here's a list:
Nebula
Galaxies
Planets
I am not scared of photos of stars (like the sun or distant stars), galaxy or star clusters (far away ...
1
vote
1answer
232 views
Do premiums count towards out of pocket maximum? [closed]
There are several terms to think about:
premium - the monthly cost of a plan
deductible - the amount you pay before your insurance kicks in
coinsurance - the amount you pay after your insurance kicks ...
3
votes
1answer
23 views
STarT Questionnaire Meaning
When referring to the STarT questionnaire. Why is "STarT" capitalised like that?
I can't seem to find a definition of it as an acronym.
The STarT questionnaire, also know as the STarT Back ...
2
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2answers
13k views
Why do I feel small stings all over my body in stress?
I've realized I'm expierencing stress (or rather embarassment) quite differently than I used to. Like a year ago (I was 16) I expierenced stress just as a short warming up of my shoulders. For the ...
