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.

Search for glossary terms (regular expression allowed)
Term Definition
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).

Pallor

Pale skin color

Pandemic

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

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

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.

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

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)

Paresthesia

numbness, tingling, or prickling; an alteration in sensation

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

Paroxysmal choreoathetosis

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

Pathogen

Organism that causes disease

Pathogenic

Disease-causing

Pathologist

A physician who diagnoses and characterizes disease by examining a patient’s tissues, blood, and other body fluids. Pathologists work in two broad areas:

Anatomic pathology is the examination of the physical appearance and microscopic structure of tissues. Anatomic pathologists look at biopsies and organs removed at surgery (surgical pathology) as well as cells that are collected from brushings or body fluids (cytology). They also perform autopsies to investigate the cause of death (autopsy pathology).

Clinical pathology deals with the measurement of chemical constituents of blood and other body fluids (clinical chemistry), analysis of blood cells (hematology), identification of microorganisms (microbiology), and the collection, preparation and use of blood for transfusion (transfusion medicine). Clinical pathologists direct the laboratories that perform these tests and provide consultation to other doctors on the significance of test results.

Pericardium

Sac-like membrane that surrounds the heart and the base of the blood vessels that lead into it

Peripheral nervous system

All parts of the nervous system except the brain and spinal cord