Questions tagged [terminology]
This tag should be used for questions concerning meaning and usage of words as applied in medical science.
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English clear word “Mole classification” [closed]
I'm trying to explain a mole classification. Is my list is pretty clear?
Actinic keratosis - there is a risk of transition to skin cancer.
Basalioma - a tumor from the basal layer of the skin, skin ...
0
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1answer
65 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 ...
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1answer
35 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
45 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 ...
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43 views
Is there a “cancelling” drug interaction?
When I read on how drugs affect organisms I often come across the drug interaction term, most often how one drug might have a good or bad synergistic effect with other drugs:
Mixing Paracetamol with ...
1
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1answer
61 views
Is a broader term than Neuro-Muscolo-Skeletal used in medical literature?
Many Mechanic conditions involving anatomic deformity or idiopathic chronic joint inflammation conditions are classified as Neuro-Muscolo-Skeletal (NMS).
Is there another widely accepted broader term ...
3
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0answers
36 views
Lack of clarity about terms for average glucose in diabetes research literature (MBG, MPG, and AG)
The meaning of “mean plasma glucose (MPG)” is unambiguous, but I’m having an incredibly difficult time making sense of the way the term “mean blood glucose (MBG)” is used in medical research ...
2
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1answer
56 views
What is the umbrella term for examination/diagnostics using tools, equipment and instruments?
There's a Russian healthcare term инструментальная диагностика - instrumental diagnostics (I'm not sure whether the translation provided by Multitran is really commonly used in English).
It covers ...
2
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1answer
40 views
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
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1answer
35 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
60 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
121 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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18 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
votes
1answer
157 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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0answers
23 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 ...
2
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2answers
29 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?
5
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1answer
85 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
22 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 ...
5
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0answers
30 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 ...
3
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1answer
62 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
82 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
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1answer
182 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
67 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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0answers
34 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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0answers
23 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
604 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
votes
1answer
60 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
54 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
55 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?
3
votes
1answer
301 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.
...
6
votes
1answer
188 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
votes
1answer
46 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?
7
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2answers
654 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
22 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
143 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
588 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 ...
4
votes
1answer
160 views
What is the medical term for paralysis while sleeping?
What is the medical term for the natural paralysis that occurs while a person is in REM sleep? I look it up online, but I only find sleep paralysis which is a misnomer as that actually happens when ...
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1answer
31 views
Diagnosing by ruling things out
What is the technical term for a condition that is diagnosed by ruling everything else out?
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0answers
35 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
32 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
74 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
37 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
39 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
127 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
43 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
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2answers
50 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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40 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
472 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
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1answer
67 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 ...
4
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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 ...
