BIOSCIENCE.

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
Biliary

Pertaining to bile or the ducts of the liver and gall blader
Bile

Thick, yellow-green-brown fluid made by the liver, stored in the gallbladder, and discharged into the upper part of the digestive tract (duodenum), where it dissolves fats, preparing them for further digestion.
Beta Cells

Specialized cells in the pancreas that produce and secrete insulin
Beta Blockers

Beta Blockers

A group of drugs that blocks the effect of adrenaline, slows the heart rate, and decreases the strength of the heart's contractions and thereby lowers blood pressure and relieves symptoms of angina and arrhythmias
Benign

1. Mild, non-cancerous, and/or not spreading (compare Malignant), as of a disease or growth, esp. a benign tumor.
2. Associated with disease or condition that has mild or minimal consequences for the patient.
Basophil

Type of white blood cell (leukocyte), with coarse granules that stain blue when exposed to a basic dye. Basophils normally constitute 1% or less of the total white blood cell count but may increase or decrease in certain diseases.
Base

1) Substance that has a hydroxyl (OH) ion, tastes bitter, has a pH greater than 7 and, when combined with an acid, forms a salt; example of a base is ammonia
2) One of the building blocks of DNA and RNA
Bacterium

Plural: Bacteria
Unicellular microscopic organisms, some of which cause disease
Bacteremia

Presence of bacteria in the blood
Autoimmunity

Misdirected immunity with production of antibodies that act against the tissues of one's own body
Auer Rods

Also known as: Auer Bodies

unique, pink or red rod-shaped inclusions that are seen in very immature granulocytes ("blasts") in people with acute non-lymphocytic leukemia (i.e., acute myeloid leukemia; AML)
Auer Bodies

Also known as: Auer Rods

unique, pink or red rod-shaped inclusions that are seen in very immature granulocytes ("blasts") in people with acute non-lymphocytic leukemia (i.e., acute myeloid leukemia; AML)
Atrial Fibrillation

Condition characterized by an irregular, often rapid, heart rhythm
Atherosclerosis

Common disorder of the arteries in which deposits consisting mostly of cholesterol and lipids form on the inner arterial wall. As a result, the vessels become nonelastic and narrowed, leading to decreased blood flow. One of the most important examples is coronary artery disease.
Asymptomatic

Without symptoms.