| Medical Dictionary |
A Medical Dictionary of Medical Terminology
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Computed tomography (CT) is a type of imaging. It uses special x-ray equipment to make cross-sectional pictures of your body.
Doctors use CT scans to look for:
During a CT scan, you lie still on a table. The table slowly passes through the center of a large X-ray machine. The test is painless. During some tests you receive a contrast dye, which makes parts of your body show up better in the image.
NIH: National Cancer Institute
Heart diseases are the number one killer in the United States. They are also a major cause of disability. If you do have heart disease, it is important to find it early, when it is easier to treat. Blood tests and heart health tests can help find heart diseases or identify problems that can lead to heart diseases. There are several different types of heart health tests. Your health care provider will decide which test or tests you need, based on your symptoms (if any), risk factors, and medical history.
Cardiac CatheterizationCardiac catheterization is a medical procedure used to diagnose and treat some heart conditions. For the procedure, your provider puts a catheter (a long, thin, flexible tube) into a blood vessel in your arm, groin, or neck, and threads it to your heart. The provider can use the catheter to:
A cardiac CT (computed tomography) scan is a painless imaging test that uses x-rays to take detailed pictures of your heart and its blood vessels. Computers can combine these pictures to create a three-dimensional (3D) model of your whole heart. This test can help providers detect or evaluate various heart problems, including:
Before you have the test, you get an injection of contrast dye. The dye highlights your heart and blood vessels in the pictures. The CT scanner is a large, tunnel-like machine. You lie still on a table that slides you into the scanner, and the scanner takes the pictures.
Cardiac MRICardiac MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) is a painless imaging test that uses radio waves, magnets, and a computer to create detailed pictures of your heart. It can help your provider figure out whether you have heart disease, and if so, how severe it is. A cardiac MRI can also help your provider decide the best way to treat heart problems such as:
The MRI is a large, tunnel-like machine. You lie still on a table that slides you into the MRI machine. The machine makes loud noises as it takes pictures of your heart. Sometimes before the test, you might get an injection of contrast dye. The dye highlights your heart and blood vessels in the pictures.
Chest X-RayA chest x-ray creates pictures of the organs and structures inside your chest, such as your heart, lungs, and blood vessels. It can reveal signs of heart failure, as well as lung disorders and other causes of symptoms not related to heart disease.
Coronary AngiographyCoronary angiography (angiogram) is a procedure that uses contrast dye and x-ray pictures to look at the insides of your arteries. It can show whether plaque is blocking your arteries and how severe the blockage is. Providers use this procedure to diagnose heart diseases after chest pain, sudden cardiac arrest (SCA), or abnormal results from other heart tests such as an EKG or a stress test.
You usually have a cardiac catheterization to inject the dye into your coronary arteries. Then the provider will take special x-rays while the dye is flowing through your coronary arteries. The dye lets your provider study the flow of blood through your heart and blood vessels.
EchocardiographyEchocardiography, or echo, is a painless test that uses sound waves to create moving pictures of your heart. The pictures show the size and shape of your heart. They also show how well your heart's chambers and valves are working. Providers use an echo to diagnose many different heart problems, and to check how severe they are.
There are several different types of echocardiography. For transthoracic echocardiography (the most common type), a technician applies gel to your chest. The gel helps sound waves reach your heart. The technician moves a transducer (wand-like device) across your chest. The transducer connects to a computer. It transmits ultrasound waves into your chest, and the waves bounce (echo) back. The computer converts the echoes into pictures of your heart.
Electrocardiogram (EKG), (ECG)An electrocardiogram, also called an ECG or EKG, is a painless test that detects and records your heart's electrical activity. It shows how fast your heart is beating and whether its rhythm is steady or irregular.
An EKG may be part of a routine exam to screen for heart disease. Or you may get it to detect and study heart problems such as heart attacks, arrhythmia, and heart failure.
For the test, you lie still on a table and a nurse or technician attaches electrodes (patches that have sensors) to the skin on your chest, arms, and legs. Wires connect the electrodes to a machine that records your heart's electrical activity.
Stress TestingStress testing looks at how your heart works during physical stress. It can help to diagnose coronary artery disease, and to check how severe it is. It can also check for other problems, including heart valve disease and heart failure.
For the test, you exercise (or are given medicine if you are unable to exercise) to make your heart work hard and beat fast. While this is happening, you get an EKG and blood pressure monitoring. Before or after the test, you might also have an echocardiogram, or other imaging tests such as a nuclear scan. For the nuclear scan, you get an injection of a tracer (a radioactive substance), which travels to your heart. Special cameras detect the energy from the tracer to craeate pictures of your heart. You have pictures taken after you exercise, and then after you rest.
NIH: National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
Nuclear scans use radioactive substances to see structures and functions inside your body. They use a special camera that detects radioactivity.
Before the test, you receive a small amount of radioactive material. You may get it as an injection. Sometimes you swallow it or inhale it. Then you lie still on a table while the camera makes images. Most scans take 20 to 45 minutes.
Nuclear scans can help doctors diagnose many conditions, including cancers, injuries, and infections. They can also show how organs like your heart and lungs are working.
Your abdomen extends from below your chest to your groin. Some people call it the stomach, but your abdomen contains many other important organs. Pain in the abdomen can come from any one of them. The pain may start somewhere else, such as your chest. Severe pain doesn't always mean a serious problem. Nor does mild pain mean a problem is not serious.
Call your health care provider if mild pain lasts a week or more or if you have pain with other symptoms. Get medical help immediately if:
Your adrenal, or suprarenal, glands are located on the top of each kidney. These glands produce hormones that you can't live without, including sex hormones and cortisol, which helps you respond to stress and has many other functions.
A number of disorders can affect the adrenal glands, including tumors. Tumors can be either benign or malignant. Benign tumors aren't cancer. Malignant ones are. Most adrenal gland tumors are benign. They usually do not cause symptoms and may not require treatment. Malignant adrenal gland cancers are uncommon.
Types of tumors include:
Symptoms depend on the type of cancer you have. Treatments may include surgery, chemotherapy, or radiation therapy.
The appendix is a small, tube-like organ attached to the first part of the large intestine. It is located in the lower right part of the abdomen. It has no known function. A blockage inside of the appendix causes appendicitis. The blockage leads to increased pressure, problems with blood flow, and inflammation. If the blockage is not treated, the appendix can burst and spread infection into the abdomen. This causes a condition called peritonitis.
The main symptom is pain in the abdomen, often on the right side. It is usually sudden and gets worse over time. Other symptoms may include:
Not everyone with appendicitis has all these symptoms.
Appendicitis is a medical emergency. Treatment almost always involves removing the appendix. Anyone can get appendicitis, but it is more common among people 10 to 30 years old.
NIH: National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases
Cancer begins in your cells, which are the building blocks of your body. Normally, your body forms new cells as you need them, replacing old cells that die. Sometimes this process goes wrong. New cells grow even when you don't need them, and old cells don't die when they should. These extra cells can form a mass called a tumor. Tumors can be benign or malignant. Benign tumors aren't cancer while malignant ones are. Cells from malignant tumors can invade nearby tissues. They can also break away and spread to other parts of the body.
Cancer is not just one disease but many diseases. There are more than 100 different types of cancer. Most cancers are named for where they start. For example, lung cancer starts in the lung, and breast cancer starts in the breast. The spread of cancer from one part of the body to another is called metastasis. Symptoms and treatment depend on the cancer type and how advanced it is. Most treatment plans may include surgery, radiation and/or chemotherapy. Some may involve hormone therapy, immunotherapy or other types of biologic therapy, or stem cell transplantation.
NIH: National Cancer Institute
Cirrhosis is scarring of the liver. Scar tissue forms because of injury or long-term disease. Scar tissue cannot do what healthy liver tissue does - make protein, help fight infections, clean the blood, help digest food and store energy. Cirrhosis can lead to :
A small number of people with cirrhosis get liver cancer.
Your doctor will diagnose cirrhosis with blood tests, imaging tests, or a biopsy.
Cirrhosis has many causes. In the United States, the most common causes are chronic alcoholism and hepatitis. Nothing will make the scar tissue disappear, but treating the cause can keep it from getting worse. If too much scar tissue forms, you may need to consider a liver transplant.
NIH: National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases
In coronary artery disease (CAD), the arteries that supply blood and oxygen to your heart muscle grow hardened and narrowed. You may try treatments such as lifestyle changes, medicines, and angioplasty, a procedure to open the arteries. If these treatments don't help, you may need coronary artery bypass surgery.
The surgery creates a new path for blood to flow to the heart. The surgeon takes a healthy piece of vein from the leg or artery from the chest or wrist. Then the surgeon attaches it to the coronary artery, just above and below the narrowed area or blockage. This allows blood to bypass (get around) the blockage. Sometimes people need more than one bypass.
The results of the surgery usually are excellent. Many people remain symptom-free for many years. You may need surgery again if blockages form in the grafted arteries or veins or in arteries that weren't blocked before. Lifestyle changes and medicines may help prevent arteries from becoming clogged again.
NIH: National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
Coronary artery disease (CAD) is the most common type of heart disease. It is the leading cause of death in the United States in both men and women.
CAD happens when the arteries that supply blood to heart muscle become hardened and narrowed. This is due to the buildup of cholesterol and other material, called plaque, on their inner walls. This buildup is called atherosclerosis. As it grows, less blood can flow through the arteries. As a result, the heart muscle can't get the blood or oxygen it needs. This can lead to chest pain (angina) or a heart attack. Most heart attacks happen when a blood clot suddenly cuts off the hearts' blood supply, causing permanent heart damage.
Over time, CAD can also weaken the heart muscle and contribute to heart failure and arrhythmias. Heart failure means the heart can't pump blood well to the rest of the body. Arrhythmias are changes in the normal beating rhythm of the heart.
NIH: National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute