Category Archives: Glossary

The following are pictures of some common manifestations of the first two stages of Syphilis: Primary:  begins 2-10 weeks after becoming infected, lasts 4-8 weeks Secondary: begins 2-4 months after becoming infected, lasts 1-2 years See also Syphilis, and Syphilis Blood Tests Primary Syphilis The Chancre: a painless ulcer with heaped-up edge at point ofContinue reading “Syphilis — Pictures”

An aura is a funny feeling that something is about to happen.  With Migraines, it occurs just before or right at the start of the headache; it can last 5-10 minutes (there ae odd case reports of really long ones).  With Epileptic Seizures, the aura occurs just before the seizure, and is much shorter. MigraineContinue reading “Auras”

An Angiogram is essentially an x-ray or other image of an artery.  It’s performed by obtaining an image while dye, injected into the blood, is flowing through it.  This can be done invasively, which carries certain risks but obtains better information, or non-invasively, with no risks but an inferior picture. An Arteriogram is the typeContinue reading “Angiogram”

The EEG is a machine to measure brain waves.  It’s mainly used to diagnose if somebody has had seizures (Epilepsy), and what kind of seizures they might be.  It’s not at all uncomfortable. Sticky electrodes are placed on a person’s head, and a tracing is recorded (done with needles in the old days, but noContinue reading “Electroencephalogram (EEG)”

This is a mnemonic for diagnosing the different causes of acute coma, seizure, or confusion (a.k.a. Altered Mental Status). It’s useful when caring for patients in an E.R. setting.  The mnemonic stands for A – E – I – O – U – T – I – P – S (the 5 Vowels, plus TIPS).Continue reading ““Vowel TIPS” (mnemonic for Coma, etc.)”

Our bone marrow is what makes our blood cells — red blood cells (RBCs), white blood cells (WBCs) and platelets. Actually it’s “red marrow” which makes them, found in the vertebrae, pelvis, sternum (breastbone), skull, and hips. A bone marrow biopsy obtains a specimen, usually from the pelvis or maybe the sternum. This is sometimesContinue reading “Bone Marrow Biopsy”

There’s a difference between bacteria that colonize a part of the body, and those that infect it.  For example, we have lots of bacteria living harmlessly in our noses, mouths, and throats.  But if they work their way into tissue like roots of teeth, the ear, the lungs, etc., then they cause infection.  Our bowelContinue reading “Colonizing Bacteria”

Inflammation means activation of the body’s immune system.  It does not mean “swelling;” there’s always some kind of inflammation involved when a part of the body swells, but many kinds of inflammation don’t involve any.  The word is commonly misunderstood. Inflammation is nature’s way of fighting germs and foreign substances that enter the body.  WhiteContinue reading “Inflammation”

A Reticulocyte (“Retic,” pronounced “reh-TICK”) is baby (immature) Red Blood Cell (RBC) made by our bone marrow, that hasn’t fully developed.  It’s not seen on the common lab test “complete blood count (CBC),” and has to be ordered separately.  We do this when a patient has Anemia (too few RBCs) and we’re trying to determineContinue reading “Reticulocytes”

Atherosclerosis, literally hard (-sclerosis) arteries (athero-), is responsible for heart attacks, strokes, kidney failure, and many other diseases of old (or older) age.  It’s due to unwanted plaques made of fats, blood clots, calcifications, and damaged tissue of the walls of arteries, causing the blood vessels to clog or rupture.  Causes include combinations of: SmokingContinue reading “Atherosclerosis”