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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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 ...
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1answer
18 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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Difference between blood serum and plasma
I'm not understanding some of the explanations I've seen on the internet:
What is Serum?
Put simply, serum is plasma minus the clotting factors and blood cells.
Link
But the plasma doesn't ...
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1answer
19 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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13 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 ...
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1answer
160 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).
...
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1answer
218 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
40 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 ...
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1answer
32 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 ...
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1answer
68 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".
...
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1answer
52 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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44 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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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1answer
59 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 ...
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1answer
47 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 ...
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1answer
36 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 ...
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1answer
71 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 ...
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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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19 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 ...
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1answer
159 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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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 ...
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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?
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1answer
107 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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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 ...
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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 ...
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1answer
63 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 ...
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1answer
84 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
188 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. ...
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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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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
690 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
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 ...
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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
56 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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338 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
189 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
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?
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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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23 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 ...
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1answer
149 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
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1answer
592 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
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1answer
165 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
36 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,
...
