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
SDS

Also known as: Shwachman-Diamond Syndrome

A rare congenital disorder characterized by exocrine pancreatic insufficiency, bone marrow dysfunction, and skeletal abnormalities; it is the second most common cause of inherited pancreatic insufficiency after cystic fibrosis.

Senile plaque

Areas of dead nerve cells and protein deposits in the brain

Sensitivity

In the clinical laboratory:
1. a test's ability to correctly identify individuals who have a given disease or disorder;
2. ability of a test to detect small amounts of a substance or to measure a reaction

Septicemia

Serious infection in which disease-causing organisms are present in the blood, usually resulting from spread of an infection from a specific site

Sequela

Abnormality resulting as a consequence of a disease, injury or treatment

Serotype

A group of related microorganisms, such as bacteria or viruses, that possess different antigens that are distinguished as unique by the immune system

Serum

The liquid portion of blood remaining after a clot forms

Serum Sickness

An allergic reaction to proteins in a foreign serum, usually in response to an injection; it is characterized by symptoms such as fever, skin rash, pain and swelling in one or more joints, and kidney damage

Shock

A condition in which blood flow is inadequate to keep critical organs performing properly; it is often recognized by markedly low blood pressure with evidence of poor function of the brain, kidneys, heart, and/or liver. It is a medical emergency that can lead to serious damage and/or death.

Shwachman-Diamond Syndrome

Also known as: SDS


A rare congenital disorder characterized by exocrine pancreatic insufficiency, bone marrow dysfunction, and skeletal abnormalities; it is the second most common cause of inherited pancreatic insufficiency after cystic fibrosis.

Sideroblastic Anemia

An iron disorder and form of anemia resulting from the inability to incorporate iron into hemoglobin in red blood cells (RBCs); it is characterized by the buildup of iron within developing RBCs resulting in abnormal RBCs called sideroblasts. Since the RBCs cannot develop normally, this condition causes anemia.

Sigmoidoscopy

Examination of the rectum and lower colon with a rigid or flexible lighted instrument

Sign

Evidence of a disease or condition perceived by a physician or person other than the patient

Somatic Cells

All body cells, except the reproductive cells

Specificity

In the clinical laboratory:
1. a test's ability to correctly exclude individuals who do not have the given disease or disorder;
2. a test's ability to correctly detect or measure only the substance of interest and exclude other substances