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  • Sample Reports - General Medicine
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• General Medicine Terms

- I -

• Iatrogenic

Related to an abnormal state or condition produced in a patient through inadvertant or erroneous treatment.



• Ice therapy

Cooling of deeper tissues



• Idiopathic

Of unknown origin



• Idiopathic

Denoting a disease of unknown cause.



• Ileal

Related to the ileum, the lowest end of the small intestine.



• Ileitis

See Crohn's Disease



• Ileocolitis

Irritation of the lower part of the small intestine (ileum) and colon



• Ileostomy

Operation that makes it possible for stool to leave the body, after the colon and rectum are removed, in which an opening is made in the abdomen and the bottom of the small intestine (ileum) attaches to it.



• Ileum

Lower end of the small intestine.



• Imaging

Tests or evaluation procedures that produce pictures of areas inside the body.



• Imaging

Procedures that produce pictures of areas inside the body.



• Imaging Tests

Any of a variety of methods for observing the internal anatomy of the body, ranging from simple x-rays to complex three-dimensional scanning techniques using nuclear magnetic resonance, positron emission, and other techniques.



• Immobilization

Preventing movement to allow for natural healing to take place.



• Immune Globulin

A crude preparation of antibody molecules collected from pooled multiple blood donations, used as a means for passively transferring antimicrobial resistance to susceptible individuals.



• Immune Suppressants

Agents that block or restrict the activity of one or more components of the immune system, usually leading to increased susceptibility to infectious disease.



• Immune system

The complex group of cells and organs that defends the body against infection and disease.



• Immune system

Complex network of specialized cells and organs that work together to defend the body against attacks by 'foreign' invaders such as bacteria and viruses.



• Immunoglobulin E (IGE)

A type of antibody, formed to protect the body from infection, which attaches to mast cells in the respiratory and intestinal tracts and may cause allergic rhinitis, asthma, or eczema.



• Immunoglobulins

Antibodies or proteins found in blood and tissue fluids produced by cells of the immune system to bind to substances in the body that are recognized as foreign antigens. Immunoglobulins sometimes bind to antigens that are not necessarily a threat to healt



• Immunology

The study of the body�s immune system - its functions and disorders.



• Immunosuppresive medications

Medications that suppress the body's immune system; often used to minimize rejection of transplanted organs.



• Immunotherapy

See Biological therapy.



• Immunotherapy

Treatment of allergy to substances such as pollens, house dust mites, fungi, and stinging insect venom by giving gradually increasing doses of the substance, or allergen, to which the person is allergic.



• Immunotherapy (BIOLOGICAL THERAPY)

Treatment that uses the body�s natural defenses to fight disease.



• Impaction

Trapping of an object in a body passage, such as stones in the bile duct or hardened stool in the colon.



• Impaired glucose tolerance (IGT)

A condition in which blood sugar levels are higher than normal, but are not high enough to be classified as diabetes; a risk factor for type 2 diabetes.



• Impedance plethysmography

A test to evaluate blood flow through the leg.



• Impotence

Inability to have an erection.



• Imprinting

A biochemical phenomenon that determines, for certain genes, which one of the pair of alleles, the mother's or the father's, will be active in that individual.



• In situ hybridization

Use of a DNA or RNA probe to detect the presence of the complementary DNA sequence in cloned bacterial or cultured eukaryotic cells.



• In vitro

Outside a living organism.



• In vitro fertilization

Treatment for infertility in which a woman's egg is fertilized, outside her body, with her partner's sperm or sperm from a donor.



• Inborn errors of metabolism

Inherited diseases resulting from alterations in genes that code for enzymes.



• Incomplete penetrance

The gene for a condition is present, but not obviously expressed in all individuals in a family with the gene.



• Infection

The invasion of the body by microorganisms that cause disease.



• Inferior vena cava

The large blood vessel (vein) that returns blood from the legs and abdomen to the heart.



• Inflammation

Characteristic reaction of tissues to injury or disease marked by four signs: swelling, redness, heat, and pain.



• Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)

Long-lasting problems that cause irritation and ulcers in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract - the most common disorders are ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease.



• Informatics

The study of the application of computer and statistical techniques to the management of information. In genome projects, informatics includes the development of methods to search databases quickly, to analyze DNA sequence information, and to predict protein sequence and structure from DNA sequence data.



• Informed consent form

A form signed by the patient prior to surgery which explains everything involved in the surgery, including its risks.



• Inner ear

Part of the ear that contains both the organ of hearing (the cochlea) and the organ of balance (the labyrinth).



• Inotropic medications

Medications that increase strength of the contractions in the heart.



• Inpatient surgery

Surgery which requires the patient to be admitted and stay in the hospital.



• Insomnia

Inability to sleep even in the absence of external impediments, during the period when sleep should normally occur.



• Inspiration

Inhaling; taking in oxygen



• Insulin

A hormone produced by the pancreas. Insulin affects the amount of glucose absorbed by the liver.



• Insulin-dependent diabetes

See type 1 diabetes.



• Insulin-resistance

Partial blocking of the effect of insulin.



• Intercostal muscles

Muscles lying between ribs; often injured by rotary stress of the thorax.



• Interferon

A biological response modifier that stimulates the growth of certain disease-fighting blood cells in the immune system; used to treat cancer and other diseases.



• Interferon

A type of biological response modifier (a substance that can improve the body's natural response to disease). It slows the rate of growth and division of cancer cells, causing them to become sluggish and die.



• Interleukin-2

A type of biological response modifier (a substance that can improve the body's natural response to disease). It stimulates the growth of certain disease-fighting blood cells in the immune system. Also called IL-2.



• Interleukin-2

A biological response modifier that stimulates the growth of certain blood cells in the immune system that can fight cancer and other diseases.



• Internal derangement of the joint

A dislocated jaw or displaced disc, or injury to the condyle (the rounded edges of the jaw).



• Interphase

The period in the cell cycle when DNA is replicated in the nucleus; followed by mitosis.



• Intervertebral disc

Disc that forms a cartilaginous joint between the vertebral bodies, to provide shock absorption.



• Intestinal flora

Bacteria, yeasts, and fungi that grow normally in the intestines.



• Intestinal mucosa

Surface lining of the intestines where the cells absorb nutrients.



• Intestines

See large intestine and small intestine.



• Intolerance

Allergy or sensitivity to a food, drug, or other substance.



• Intra-articular

Within the joint



• Intrauterine insemination

Treatment for infertility in which semen is introduced into the uterus via a slim tube inserted through the vagina.



• Intravenous line

A thin plastic tube inserted into a vein (usually in the patient�s forearm) through which a volume of fluid is injected into the bloodstream.



• Intrinsic asthma

Asthma that has no apparent external cause.



• Introns

The DNA base sequences interrupting the protein- coding sequences of a gene; these sequences are transcribed into RNA but are cut out of the message before it is translated into protein. Compare exons.



• Invasive cancer

Cancer that begins an one area and then spreads deeper into the tissues of that area.



• Investigational new drug

A drug allowed by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to be used in clinical trials, but not approved for sale to the general public.



• Ischemia

Decreased flow of oxygenated blood to an organ due to obstruction in an artery.



• Ischemic heart disease

Coronary artery disease or coronary heart disease caused by narrowing of the coronary arteries and decreased blood flow to the heart.



• Isochromosome

A metacentric chromosome produced during mitosis or meiosis when the centromere splits transversely instead of longitudinally; the arms of such chromosome are equal in length and genetically identical, however, the loci are positioned in reverse sequence in the two arms.



• Isometric

Muscle contraction without movement at the joint.



• Isthmus

Tissue that connects the two lobes of the thyroid.