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
Thrombotic Episode

The clinical signs and symptoms associated with a blood clot in a vein or artery. This can be a life-threatening event.
Thrombosis

The formation of a blood clot within an artery or a vein.
Thrombophilia

An inherited or acquired tendency to form blood clots within a vein or artery
Thromboembolism

Embolism— a condition in which material (tissue, fat, air, blood clot, etc.—called an embolus) travels through the bloodstream and then becomes lodged in a vein or artery and blocks the flow of blood through that blood vessel.

Thromboembolism—a blood clot (thrombus) that breaks free in the blood stream and blocks a blood vessel. This can occur in a vein (venous thromboembolism) or in an artery (arterial thromboembolism).
Thrombocytopenia

Also known as: Thrombopenia


A decrease in the number of blood platelets
Test

Also known as: Analyte


In the clinical laboratory, a substance from the body that is undergoing analysis.  In lay terms, often referred to as a 'test.'
Temporal Arteritis

Chronic inflammation and damage of large arteries in the face and head; symptoms include headache, scalp tenderness, loss of vision, and facial pain.
Systemic

Affecting the body as a whole, rather than individual parts
Syndrome

A group of signs and symptoms that are associated with a physical or physiological anomaly; they represent a frame of reference, not a cause.
Syncope

Fainting; loss of consciousness
Symptom

Evidence of a disease or condition experienced or perceived by a patient
Suprarenal gland

Also known as: Adrenal Gland


One of a pair of glands located above each kidney that secretes hormones directly into the bloodstream. Each gland has two parts that perform different functions.
1. The adrenal cortex produces and secretes hormones such as cortisol, aldosterone and sex steroids. They are involved in many different body functions.
2. The adrenal medulla produces and secretes catecholamines such as adrenaline (epinephrine) and norepinephrine.
Subcutaneous

Under the skin
Steroids

A group of chemicals derived from cholesterol that typically functions as hormones; common types of steroids include sex steroids (estrogen, progesterone, testosterone), glucocorticosteroids (cortisol, prednisone, dexmethasone), and mineralacorticosteroids (aldosterone).
Stenosis

A narrowing or constriction of a passageway in the body, such as in a blood vessel or spinal canal