Medical Vocabulary #16

The wasting away of an organ or tissue due to undernourishment, disease, or aging.

A neurotransmitter that helps regulate sleep and appetite, mediate moods, and inhibit pain.

Talking in one’s sleep.

A drooping of the eyelid attributed to weakened muscles.

Heart disease caused by a lack of selenium, an element that the body needs to function properly.

A substance released by the immune system when it is exposed to an allergen, and the cause of many allergy symptoms.

A buildup of fatty tissue.

A substance such as tobacco, wood smoke, perfumes, and others that cause allergy-like symptoms, although the response is not an allergic reaction.

A substance found in citrus fruits.

Any ingredient in a medicinal product (herb, supplement, or prescription drug), which dilutes the purity of the product and does not contribute to its therapeutic effects.

A brain disorder that causes movement problems, including shaking, difficulty walking, and rigidity in muscles.

A procedure to see inside the large intestine, using a long, lighted flexible tube mounted with a tiny camera.

Low blood pressure.

A process in which oxygen combines with a substance, altering its structure and changing or destroying its normal function.

Someone who treats disease by manipulation and adjustment of body structures, often the spine.

Related to or arising from a disease of the intestinal tract, esp. the small intestine

Pain and swelling of the small fluid filled pads that act as cushions in or near the joints.

An autoimmune disease that causes the thyroid gland to produce too much thyroid hormone. It is usually accompanied by an enlarged thyroid gland and swollen, bulging, red eyes that appear to stare, as well as occasional double vision and vision loss.

The basic building block of all living organisms.

A piece of a herniated disc that has become detached from the main structure of the disc.

The part of the brain (in the frontal lobe of the left hemisphere) responsible for language comprehension and speech.

An illness caused by a fluid imbalance in the inner ear.

Twisted strands of proteins that are found inside the dead or dying nerve cells of people with Alzheimer's disease.

Slow brain activity that occurs when a person is in deep sleep.