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  • Otolaryngology - ENT
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• Otolaryngology - ENT
  • Common ENT Terms
  • Ear Related Terms
  • Nose Related Terms
  • Rhinoplasty Terms
  • Throat Conditions
  • Sample Reports - Otolaryngology - ENT

• Common ENT Terms

- A -

• ABR

Auditory Brainstem Response test



• Acoustic Neurinoma

A tumor, usually benign, which develops on the hearing and balance nerves and can cause gradual hearing loss, tinnitus, and dizziness.



• Acoustic Neuroma

A tumor, usually benign, which may develop on the hearing and balance nerves and can cause gradual hearing loss, tinnitus, and/or dizziness.



• Acquired Deafness

Loss of hearing that occurs or develops some time during the lifespan but is not present at birth.



• Adenoid

Lymphoid tissue located behind the nose.



• Adjuvant

Therapy given after the main therapy in order to improve the chance of success, such as chemotherapy or radiation therapy given after surgery.



• Ageusia

Loss of the sense of taste.



• Albinism

Lack of normal pigment in the skin, eyes, and hair.



• Alport Syndrome

A hereditary condition characterized by kidney disease, sensorineural hearing loss, and sometimes eye defects.



• Alport's Syndrome

A hereditary condition characterized by kidney disease, sensorineural hearing loss, and some difficulties with eye defects.



• American Sign Language

The manual language with its own syntax and grammar, used primarily by people who are deaf.



• American Sign Language (ASL)

Manual (hand) language with its own syntax and grammar used primarily by people who are deaf.



• Anemia

A condition in which the blood is deficient in red blood cells, in hemoglobin, or in total volume.



• Ankyloglossia

A foreshortened or tethered lingual frenulum commonly known as "tongue-tie" in which the tongue is tethered to the floor of mouth.



• Anosmia

The absence of the sense of smell.



• Anxiety

A debilitating condition of fear, which interferes with normal life functions.



• Aphasia

Total or partial loss of ability to use or understand language; usually caused by stroke, brain disease, or injury.



• Aphonia

The complete loss of voice.



• Apraxia

The inability to execute a voluntary movement despite being able to demonstrate normal muscle function.



• Articulation disorder

The inability to correctly produce speech sounds (phonemes) because of imprecise placement, timing, pressure, speed, or flow of movement of the lips, tongue, or throat.



• ASL

American Sign Language



• Aspiration

Using a needle to remove fluid or cells from an area of the body.



• Assistive Devices

Technical tools and devices such as alphabet boards, text telephones, or text-to-speech conversion software used to assist people with physical or emotional disorders in performing certain actions, tasks, and activities.



• Audiogram

Hearing test.



• Audiologist

A health care professional who is trained to evaluate hearing loss and related disorders, including balance (vestibular) and tinnitus, and to rehabilitate individuals with hearing loss and related disorders. An audiologist uses a variety of tests and procedures to assess hearing and balance function and to fit and dispense hearing aids and other assistive devices for hearing.



• Auditory Brainstem Response (ABR) Test

Test used for hearing in infants and young children, or to test for brain functioning in unresponsive patients.



• Auditory Brainstem Response Test

A test for brain functioning in comatose, unresponsive, etc., patients, and for hearing in infants and young children; involves attaching electrodes to the head to record electrical activity from the hearing nerve and other parts of the brain.



• Auditory Canal

Also called the ear canal, it conducts sound toward the eardrum



• Auditory Nerve

The eighth cranial nerve that connects the inner ear to the brainstem and is responsible for hearing and balance.



• Auditory Perception

The ability to identify, interpret, and attach meaning to sound.



• Auditory Prosthesis

A device that substitutes or enhances the ability to hear.



• Augmentative Devices

Tools that help individuals with limited or absent speech to communicate, such as communication boards, pictographs (symbols that look like the things they represent), or ideographs (symbols representing ideas).



• Aural Rehabilitation

Techniques used with people who are hearing impaired to improve their ability to speak and communicate.



• Autism

A brain disorder that begins in early childhood and persists throughout adulthood; affects three crucial areas of development: communication, social interaction, and creative or imaginative play.



• Autoimmune Deafness

Hearing loss in an individual that may be associated with a tissue-causing disease, such as rheumatoid arthritis or lupus. It occurs when an individual's immune system produces abnormal antibodies that react against the body's healthy tissues, including the inner ear.



• Autologous

Derived from the same individual.