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 |
|---|---|
| Random Blood Sample | A sample of blood collected at any time of the day |
| Random Urine Sample | A sample of urine collected at any time of the day; this type of sample may be used to detect the presence of various substances in the urine at one particular point in the day. Often, no special handling is required with these samples. Other types of urine samples are requested when special types of evaluations are required (see 24-hour urine sample and timed urine sample). |
| Raynaud phenomenon | Intermittent episodes of pallor, cyanosis (bluing), and redness in the fingers or toes due to constricted blood vessels; it is seen with a variety of conditions and is precipitated by exposure to cold and emotional stress. It may cause numbness, tingling, and burning. |
| Reagent | Substance used in performing a laboratory test |
| Recessive Gene | |
| Resorption | The process by which a substance, such as bone, is broken down into basic components and removed from that area of the body |
| Retina | sensing part of the eye that collects images from the lens and translates them to chemical signals that can be interpreted by the brain |
| Reye syndrome | A rare condition that causes degeneration of the brain and is characterized by vomiting, fever, accumulation of fat in the liver, swelling of kidneys and brain, disorientation and coma; often occurs in children and following another illness, such as the flu or chickenpox. |
| Rheumatic fever | Condition resulting from an inadequately treated or untreated infection with Group A streptococcus bacteria. It is a delayed immune response in which the body produces antibodies directed against itself (autoimmune). This can cause serious damage to heart valves and lead to symptoms such as swelling and pain in several joints, heart inflammation (carditis), skin nodules, rapid, jerky movements (Sydenham's chorea), and skin rash. |
| Rickets | A condition that occurs in childhood in which a severe lack of vitamin D causes weak, soft bones, delayed growth and skeletal development; when this condition occurs in adulthood, it is called osteomalacia. |
| RNA | Ribonucleic acid a nucleic acid present in all living cells. Its principal role is to act as a messenger carrying instructions from DNA for controlling the synthesis of proteins although in some viruses RNA rather than DNA carries the genetic information.
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| RNA | Also known as: Ribonucleic Acid
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| RNA modification | RNA modifications are changes to the chemical composition of ribonucleic acid (RNA) molecules post-synthesis that have the potential to alter function or stability. An example of RNA modification is the addition of a methylated guanine nucleotide cap to the 5-end of messenger RNAs (mRNAs).
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