Glossary

BioScience.com.pk try the best to avoid the use of medical terms that could make it more difficult to understand the information on this website. Still, there are a number of terms that can’t be avoided and that are useful to know because they are so often used by the doctors, nurses, and other medical professionals with whom you might speak. The list below includes the terms used on BioScience.com.pk for which we have provided definitions.

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Term Definition
Hemosiderosis

Abnormal deposition of an iron-containing compound (hemosiderin) in tissues, often associated with diseases in which there is extensive destruction of red blood cells (e.g., thalassemia)

Hemorrhoid

Swelling of vein(s) in the lower part of the rectum or anus

Hemorrhage

1. bleeding; escape of blood, usually from injured blood vessels
2. excessive bleeding over a short period of time, either internally or externally; if uncontrolled, can lead to shock and death.

Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome

Also known as: HUS

A life-threatening condition that may result from the breakdown (hemolysis) of a large number of red blood cells (RBCs) and damage to the kidneys (uremia). Most often it presents as a complication of an infection of the digestive tract caused by certain bacteria that produce a toxin that enters the bloodstream and destroys RBCs. This syndrome is most commonly associated with infections caused by shiga toxin-producing Eschericha coli (STEC), but may also result from infections caused by Salmonella and Shigella, other types of infections, and sometimes from non-infectious causes.

Hemolytic Disease of the Newborn

A condition in which antibodies in a pregnant woman's blood cross the placenta and destroy her baby's red blood cells; develops when the mother and baby have differences in one or more blood group antigens

Hemolysis

Process by which red blood cells disintegrate, releasing their contents

Hemoglobinopathy

A group of single gene disorders including structural hemoglobin variants (e.g., sickle cell hemoglobin) and the thalassemias

Hemodialysis

Also known as: Dialysis
A procedure that removes waste substances from the circulating blood; often performed on patients with kidney disease

Heinz Bodies

Precipitated hemoglobin that can be seen inside red blood cells under the microscope

Half-life

The amount of time it takes for the body to inactivate or metabolize half of a substance; a second half-life would decrease the remainder by half again, and so on.