Archive for the “Student Reference” Category


Mar 06 2008

Glossary of Medical Terms

Posted by: haleola in Student Reference
    median

  • pertaining to or situated in the midline

    • sagittal

  • situated inthe direction of the sagittal suture; said of an anteroposterior plane or section coinciding with (median sagittal plane) or parallel to the long axis of the body

    • coronal

  • pertaining to the crown or the top of the head

    • transverse

  • extending from side to side; situated at right angles to the long axis

    • cranial

  • pertaining to the cranium

    • caudal

  • pertaining to the posterior or distal end

    • anterior

  • situated at or directed toward the front

    • posterior

  • situated at or directed toward the back

    • medial

  • pertaining or situated toward the midline

    • lateral

  • pertaining or situated at the side

    • proximal

  • nearest to a point of reference, as to a center or median line or to the point of attachment or origin

    • distal

  • furthest from a point of reference

    • artery

  • a vessel in which blood flows away from the heart, in the systemic circulation carrying oxygenated blood

    • vein

  • a vessel in which blood flows toward the heart, in the systemic circulation carrying blood that has given up most of its oxygen

    • ischemia

  • deciciency of blood in a part, due to functional constriction or actual obstruction of a blood vessel

    • axial

  • line about which a body rotates

    • appendicular

  • pertaining to an appendix or appendage; pertaining to the limbs

    • supination

  • the act of assuming the supine position (face up, palm up)

    • pronation

  • the act of placing or lying prone (face down); applied to the foot, a combination of eversion and abduction, resulting in the lowering of the longitudinal arch

    • extension

  • the straightening of a fixed limb

    • flexion

  • the act of bending; decreasing of the angle at the joint between two bones

    • plantar flexion

  • flexion of the sole of the foot

    • dorsiflexion

  • the act of bending a part backward

    • plantar

  • pertaining to the sole of the foot

    • dorsal

  • directed toward or situated on the back surface (back)

    • ventral

  • directed toward or situated on the front surface (belly)

    • superior

  • the above surface

    • inferior

  • the lower surface

    • sphincter

  • a ringlike muscle which closes a natural orifice

    • agonist

  • a primary mover muscle

    • antagonist

  • a muscle which exerts an action opposite to that of another

    • origin

  • a beginning, as of a nerve or blood vessel, or the end of a skeletal muscle that remains relatively fixed when the muscles contract

    • insertion

  • attachment, as the site of attachment of a skeletal muscle on the bone that is moved when the muscle contracts

    • palpate

  • to feel with the fingers or hand, to determine by use of the tactile senses the physical characteristics of tissues or organs

    • kinesiology

  • scientific study of movement of body parts

    • descending

  • passing from a higher to a lower place or level

    • ascending

  • passing from a lower to a higher place or level

    • external

  • exterior, outward

    • internal

  • interior, inward

    • rectus

  • straight

    • oblique

  • slanting, inclined

    • major

  • greater in size or importance

    • minor

  • smaller in size or importance

    • retraction

  • the act of drawing back, or condition of being drawn back

    • protraction

  • forwward extension in space or time

    • elevation

  • raising to a higher position

    • depression

  • a hollow or pit; applied to numerous areas in various tissues of the body where they come in contact with or articulate with other
    structures

    • rotation

  • process of turning around an axis

    • abduction

  • the act of drawing away from a center or median line

    • adduction

  • the act of drawing toward a center or median line

    • longus

  • long

    • brevis

  • short

    • bi

  • word element meaning two

    • tri

  • word element meaning three

    • quad

  • word element meaning four

    • inversion

  • a turning inward, or other reversal of normal relationship of a part

    • eversion

  • a turning outward

    • digit

  • a finger or toe

    • process

  • a prominence or projection, as from a bone

    • tuberosity

  • an elevation or protuberance

    • joint

  • the site of junction or union between two or more bones, especially one that admits of motion of one or more of the components

    • suture

  • 1) the line or union of adjoining bones of the skull; 2) a
    stitch or series of stitches made to secure appostion of the edges of a
    surgical or accidental wound

    • ligament

  • a tough band connecting bones or supporting viscera

    • tendon

  • a fibrous cord of connective tissue continuous with the fibers of a muscle and attaching the muscle to bone or cartilage

    • nucleus

  • 1) a spheroid body within a cell; the core or center of a cell.
    2) a mass of gray matter in the central nervous system, especially such a mass marking the central termination of a cerebral nerve
    fascia - a band or sheet of tissue investing and connecting muscles

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