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
Pathogenic

Disease-causing

Pathogen

Organism that causes disease

Paroxysmal choreoathetosis

A condition characterized by involuntary, intermittent, and irregular movements of facial muscles and limbs

Parietal

1) Of or pertaining to the cells that line a cavity, such as the chest or abdomen;

2) A specialized cell in the stomach that makes acid to help in food digestion, as well as intrinsic factor, which is needed to absorb vitamin B12

Paresthesia

numbness, tingling, or prickling; an alteration in sensation

Parenteral

Administration of a substance (e.g., a drug) by injection (under or through the skin) or intravenously but not through the digestive system (not enterally)

Parasite

One of the four major groups of microorganisms (bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites) that may live freely in nature, live on another organism without harming it, or live at the expense of the host organism

Paramecium

Any of a genus (Paramecium) of ciliate chiefly freshwater protozoans that have an elongate body rounded at the anterior end and an oblique funnel-shaped buccal groove bearing the mouth at the extremity.

Paraganglioma

tumor that releases excess hormones called catecholamines (e.g., dopamine, epinephrine (adrenaline), norepinephrine and their metabolites, such as metanephrines) and usually occurs somewhere in the abdomen but outside the adrenal glands

Pandemic

An epidemic that occurs over a wide geographic area (across continents)

Pallor

Pale skin color

Paget Disease

1) The most common use of the term refers to a bone disorder in which bone is formed and broken down excessively, resulting in weakened bones. This condition can cause bone pain, deformed bones, arthritis, and numerous fractures.

2) Other, less common uses of the term refer to rare forms of cancer involving the nipple of the breast or the skin of other areas such as the perianal region, penis, or vulva (also termed extramammary).

Oxidative Stress

Damage to cells in the body caused by free radicals; free radicals, groups of atoms containing an oxygen atom and a free electron, can damage and sometimes destroy cells.

Ovum

Also known as: Ova (plural)


Egg

Over-expressed

Increased level (amounts) of a gene that results in the production of more than the normal amount of protein