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.
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Febrile | Characterized by fever; feverish |
| False-Positive | Test or procedure result inappropriately indicating a positive or abnormal result when, in fact, no abnormal condition is actually present. |
| False-Negative | Test or procedure result inappropriately indicating a normal or negative result when, in fact, an abnormal condition is actually present. |
| Exudate | Fluid that has leaked into a body cavity as a result of injury or inflammation; it has a higher than normal protein content and may be cloudy due to increased numbers of white blood cells. |
| Exogenous | External, originating outside of an organ, tissue, cell or the body. It may refer to a substance that is administered to the body, such as exogenous insulin or testosterone. |
| Exocrine | Cells or tissue that produce substances that are released through a duct and into another organ; for example, the pancreas releases digestive juices into the intestine. |
| Exchange Transfusion | Removal of some of a person's blood and its replacement with equal amounts of donor blood |
| Erectile dysfunction | Repeated inability to achieve or sustain an erection |
| Epidemic | Outbreak of an infectious disease that spreads rapidly among a population in a defined geographic area |
| Eosinophil | Leukocyte (white blood cell) with granules that are stained by the dye, eosin. Eosinophils, normally about 1-3% of the total white blood cell count, are believed to function in allergic responses and in resisting some infections. |
| Enzyme | Protein produced in cells that speeds up the rate of biological reactions; the names of many enzymes end in '-ase' (e.g., lipase, amylase). |
| Endometriosis | Condition marked by the presence, growth, and function of endometrial tissue (lining of the uterus) outside of its normal location in such sites as the uterine walls, the fallopian tubes, the ovaries, and other sites within the pelvis or, rarely, out of the pelvic region |
| Endogenous | Originating in or produced within an organ, tissue, cell or by the body. The term may be used to distinguish between an internal or external source of a substance, such as insulin or testosterone. |
| Endocrine | Cells or tissue that produce hormones released into the bloodstream that have an affect on other cells; for example, the thyroid gland produces thyroid hormone that affects metabolism of many cells. |
| Endocarditis | Inflammation of the membranes lining the interior of the heart and heart valves |