• Specialty
  • Cardiology
  • Dentistry
  • Dermatology
  • General Medicine
  • GI/GU
  • Hematology
  • Immunology
  • Lab Medicine & Pathology
  • Neuro-Psych
  • OB-Gyn
  • Oncology
  • Ophthalmology
  • Orthopaedic
  • Otolaryngology - ENT
  • Radiology
  • Surgery

• General Medicine
  • Diabetes Related Terms
  • Epidemiology Terms
  • General Medicine Terms
  • Sample Reports - General Medicine
  • Sample Reports - Allergy / Immunology
  • Sample Reports - Endocrinology

• General Medicine Terms

- E -

• E. coli

Common bacterium that has been studied intensively by geneticists because of its small genome size, normal lack of pathogenicity, and ease of growth in the laboratory.



• Ear infection

Presence and growth of bacteria or viruses in the ear.



• Ear wax

Yellow secretion from glands in the outer ear (cerumen) that keeps the skin of the ear dry and protected from infection.



• Eczema

Inflammation of the skin that causes itching and, sometimes, crusting, scaling, or blisters.



• Edema

Swelling due to the build-up of fluid.



• Ejection fraction

The measurement of the blood pumped out of the ventricles.



• Elective surgery

An operation the patient chooses to have done, which is not required. (See also optional surgery.)



• Electrocardiogram (ECG OR EKG)

A test that records the electrical activity of the heart, shows abnormal rhythms (arrhythmias or dysrhythmias), and detects heart muscle damage.



• Electrocoagulation

Procedure that uses a high frequency current to harden tissue.



• Electrodermal activity (EDA)

Measures changes in perspiration rate.



• Electrodesiccation

Electrosurgery which destroys tissue.



• Electrolytes

Substances that dissociate in water to form a cation (positively charged ion) and and anion (negatively charged ion). Charged ions are central to a variety of important processes in the body, including muscle contraction and nerve impulse conduction.



• Electromyogram (EMG)

A test to evaluate nerve and muscle function.



• Electrophoresis

A method of separating large molecules (such as DNA fragments or proteins) from a mixture of similar molecules. An electric current is passed through a medium containing the mixture, and each kind of molecule travels through the medium at a different rate, depending on its electrical charge and size. Separation is based on these differences. Agarose and acrylamide gels are the media commonly used for electrophoresis of proteins and nucleic acids.



• Electrophysiological study (EPS)

A cardiac catheterization to study electrical current in patients who have arrhythmias.



• Electrosurgery

Use of high-frequency electrical currents to destroy cancer cells.



• ELSI

Ethical, legal and social implications (of Human Genome Project).



• Embolus

A 'wandering' blood clot.



• Emergency surgery

An operation performed immediately as a result of a urgent medical condition. (See also urgent surgery.)



• Encephalitis

A viral infection of the brain.



• Endarterectomy

The surgical removal of plaque or blood clots in an artery.



• Endocardium

The membrane that covers the inside surface of the heart.



• Endocervical curettage (ECC)

A procedure which uses a narrow instrument called a curette to scrape the lining of the endocervical canal. This type of biopsy is usually completed along with the colposcopic biopsy.



• Endodontist (A PULP SPECIALIST)

An endodontist has undergone specialized training in performing root canal therapy.



• Endolymph

Fluid in the labyrinth - the organ of balance located in the inner ear.



• Endometrial hyperplasia

Abnormal thickening of the endometrium caused by excessive cell growth.



• Endometrial implants

Fragments of endometrium that relocate outside of the uterus, such as in the muscular wall of the uterus, ovaries, fallopian tubes, vagina, or intestine.



• Endometrium

Mucous membrane lining of the inner surface of the uterus that grows during each menstrual cycle and is shed in menstrual blood.



• Endonuclease

An enzyme that breaks the internal phosphodiester bonds in a DNA molecule.



• Endorphins

Endogenous biomechanical substances implicated in the alleviation of pain, produced as a result of body stress.



• Endoscopic papillotomy

See endoscopic sphincterotomy.



• Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP)

This procedure involves inserting an endoscope (viewing tube) through the stomach and into the small intestine. A special dye injected during this procedure shows the ducts in the biliary system.



• Endoscopic sphincterotomy (ENDOSCOPIC PAPILLOTOMY)

Operation to cut the muscle between the common bile duct and the pancreatic duct.



• Endoscopy

A procedure in which the doctor looks inside the body through a lighted tube called an endoscope.



• Endothelium

The layer of cells that lines the heart, blood vessels, and other body cavities.



• Enema

Liquid put into the rectum to clear out the bowel or to administer medications or food.



• Enteral nutrition (TUBE FEEDING)

Way to provide food through a tube placed in the nose, the stomach, or the small intestine. A tube in the nose is called a nasogastric or nasoenteral tube. A tube that goes through the skin into the stomach is called a gastrostomy or percutaneous endoscop



• Enterocele

Hernia in the intestine. (See also hernia.)



• Enteroscopy

Examination of the small intestine with an endoscope.



• Enterostomy

Ostomy, or opening, into the intestine through the abdominal wall.



• Enterovirus

A genus of RNA viruses with over 70 types identified in humans. They reproduce in the intestinal tract, and various members can cause a variety of human diseases, including poliomyelitis, aseptic meningitis, hepatitis, inflammatory heart disease, and rhinitis.



• Entrapment neuropathy

Pathological situation where a nerve is trapped in an abnormally-produced anatomical or physiological site.



• Enzyme

A protein that facilitates a specific chemical reaction.



• Enzyme

Specialized proteins that act as catalysts for virtually all necessary chemical reactions that take place within the body. Like all catalysts, enzymes unchanged by the reactions they promote, and will initiate many reactions until they are degraded (usually by another enzyme).



• Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA)

Blood test used to find Helicobacter pylori bacteria; also used to diagnose an ulcer.



• Eosinophil

A white cell of the category known as granulocytes. These cells contain numerous dense granules in their cytoplasm that comprise a battery of highly active digestive chemicals and toxins. Their chief role is thought to be in combatting large parasites, although occasionally their activity may be triggered by other agents, potentially leading to damage of normal tissues (see eosinophilia myalgia syndrome).



• Eosinophilia Myalgia Syndrome (EMS)

A disease caused by marked promotion of eosinophil activity, resulting in a symptom complex of severe pain, inflammation of the tendons, fluid build-up in the muscles, and skin rash. The disorder has been linked to a contaminant of some commercial preparations of the amino acid L-tryptophan.



• Eosinophilic gastroenteritis

Infection and swelling of the lining of the stomach, small intestine, or large intestine.



• Epicardium

The membrane that covers the outside of the heart.



• Epidemiology

The branch of medical science that deals with the incidence, distribution, and control of disease in a population.



• Epidural anesthetic

An anesthetic which is injected into the 'epidural space' in the middle and lower back, just outside the spinal space, to numb the lower extremities.



• Epinephrine

One of two chemicals (the other is norepinephrine) released by the adrenal gland that increases heart rate and force of the heart contraction, and narrows blood vessels.



• Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV)

One of the eight known types of human herpesviruses, also known as human herpesvirus 4 (HHV-4). It belongs to the gamma subfamily of herpesviruses. It commonly causes acute mononucleosis, and less commonly chronic mononucleosis. It some populations EBV is causally associated with life-threatening malignancies (Burkitt's lymphoma, nasopharyngial carcinoma).



• Ergonomics

The study of how the workplace relates to human functions.



• Eructation

Belching.



• Erythema nodosum

Red swellings or sores on the lower legs during flareups of Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis.



• Erythrocyte sedimentation rate

Blood test that measures the speed at which red blood cells settle on the bottom of a test tube; high sedimentation rate signals a possible inflammatory disease.



• Erythrocytes

The hemoglobin-containing cell found in the blood of vertebrates, red blood cells.



• Esophageal reflux

See gastroesophageal reflux disease.



• Esophageal ulcer

Sore in the esophagus caused by long-term inflammation or damage from the residue of pills.



• Esophageal varices

Stretched veins in the esophagus that occur when the liver is not working properly.



• Estrogen

A hormone secreted by the ovaries which affect many aspects of the female body, including menstrual cycles and pregnancy.



• Estrogen

A female hormone.



• Estrogen replacement therapy (ERT)

Use of the female hormone estrogen to replace that which the body no longer produces naturally after medical or surgical menopause.



• Ethics

The study of fundamental principles that defines values and determines moral duties and obligation.



• Etiology

Causal association of a disease with an agent. The study of the cause of diseases.



• Euchromatin

The chromatin that shows the staining behavior characteristic of the majority of the chromosomal complement.



• Eugenics

The improvement of humanity by altering its genetic composition by encouraging breeding of those presumed to have desirable genes.



• Eukaryote

Cell or organism with membrane- bound, structurally discrete nucleus and other well- developed subcellular compartments. Eukaryotes include all organisms except viruses, bacteria, and blue- green algae. Compare prokaryote. See chromosomes.



• Euphoria

A feeling of well-being or elation; may be drug related.



• Evolutionarily conserved

See conserved sequence.



• Excisional

Cutting away cancerous tissue with a scalpel, or other instruments, to completely remove it and possibly some surrounding tissue. There are many types of excisional surgeries, each named for the particular area of the body in which they are performed, or



• Excrete

To get rid of waste from the body.



• Exogenous DNA

DNA originating outside an organism.



• Exons

The protein- coding DNA sequences of a gene. Compare introns.



• Expectant management (EXPECTANT THERAPY)

Watchful waiting or close monitoring of a disease by a physician instead of immediate treatment.



• Expiration

Exhaling; giving off carbon dioxide.



• Expressed gene

See gene expression.



• Extensor muscle

Any muscle that causes the straightening of a limb or other part.



• External urethral sphincter muscle

A voluntary and involuntary ring-like band of muscle fibers that voluntarily contract to stop urinating.



• Extrahepatic biliary tree

Bile ducts located outside the liver.



• Extrapyramidal system

System consisting of nerve cells, nerve tracts, and pathways that connects the cerebral cortex, basal ganglia, thalamus, cerebellum, reticular formation, and spinal neurons that is concerned with the regulation of reflex movements such as balance and walk



• Extrinsic asthma

Asthma that is triggered by an allergic reaction - usually to something that is inhaled.