M
Key
Green: is a medical procedure.
Orange is medicine.
Blue are diseases and conditions.
Purple is equipment.
Black is "other".
- M -
▪ Mad Cow Disease(Transmissible spongiform encephalopathy): A non-contagious disease transmitted by malformed proteins (prions) found in the brains of infected animals, generally rumiforms such as cows and sheep (where the disease is known as "scrapie"). The disease can only be transmitted by eating infected tissue and cannot be passed from person to person.
▪ Mammogram: A specialized type of x-ray equipment designed to take x-rays of the female breasts in order to diagnose breast cancer. It consists of two horizontal plates, adjustable for height, one of which emits x-rays and the other which contains the x-ray film. Traditional x-ray equipment is designed to project the rays through the entire width of the body. This requires a higher dose of radiation than a mammogram, which only needs enough x-rays to penetrate the breast instead of the thorax. However, a mammogram is much more uncomfortable for the patient. A traditional x-ray merely requires that the patient lay down on the table. In a mammogram, the breasts literally have to be squeezed between the two plates, requiring a fair amount of pressure to hold them in place during the exposure.
▪ Medical History: Allows the physician to eliminate certain diagnoses and add others based on conditions the patient has previously been treated for, the medical conditions that the patient's relatives have suffered from, and other characteristics such as age and physical condition that can indicate the onset of disease.
A simple history generally includes:
- The patient's age, race, weight, height and other physical characteristics.
- Any diseases the patient is currently being treated for, and any diseases recently suffered by the patient.
- Information about the health of the patient's parents, including at what age they died and from what.
A more thorough history can include:
- All the diseases, including childhood diseases, the patient has suffered from.
- The patient's vaccination history.
- Information about the health of siblings and other blood relatives.
▪ Medical Proxy: A person who is specifically appointed to make medical decisions and give informed consent for a patient who is unable to do so, either due to the fact they are unconscious, are a minor child, or are otherwise mentally incompetent.
▪ Meningitis: A pathological condition resulting from any of a wide population of viruses or bacteria (pathogens). Pathogens in the space between the arachnoid and pia layers of the meninges (the sheathing that coats nerves) cause the breaking of subarachnoid blood vessels, therefore swelling the subarachnoid space and applying pressure on the underlying cortical brain tissue, resulting in lack of oxygen to and compression of neurons. This leads to the loss of function of the pressured neurons. Continual pressure can lead to permanent loss of function. Bacterial meningitis is very contagious, highly virulent, and acts quickly. Patients who are exposed to the disease can die from the disorder in a matter of hours if they are untreated.
▪ Mental Illness: Any one of a number of disorders that have a clear effect on a patient's personality or behavior, but have no clear pathology. For example, dementia is not a mental illness because during an autopsy, it can be determined from damage to the patient's brain not only that the patient suffered from dementia but what the underlying cause was
▪ Miscarriage: The spontaneous rejection of a fetus by the mother's body. It should not be confused with the term abortion, which relates specifically to the induced rejection of a fetus. Miscarriages are not induced by a medicine, but rather occur when the body determines that the fetus is unlikely to survive if born. Genetic defects in the fetus are one of the main inducers of miscarriages, since fetuses with genetic defects are not likely to survive out of the womb.
▪ Mixed Connective Tissue Disease: An autoimmune disease, in which the body's defense system attacks itself.
▪ Mononucleosis (Mono): An infection caused by the Epstein-Barr virus. Signs of mono include fever, sore throat, headaches, white patches on the back of your throat, swollen glands in your neck, feeling tired and not feeling hungry.
▪ Mood Swings: A notable change in immediate behavior that is not the result of an external stimulus and that appears contrary to the person's normal personality.
▪ MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging): A form of radiological investigation which uses an extremely strong magnetic field to align water molecules in the body and create images of body parts based on their density. Because no ionizing radiation is used (such as is the case with x-rays), MRI is generally regarded to be a safe way of imaging the inside of a human body. It is therefore appropriate for patients who might be sensitive to such radiation, such as pregnant women. In addition, unlike ultrasound, it can penetrate the whole body and not just below the surface.
▪ Multiple sclerosis (MS): A chronic disease of the central nervous system in which the myelin sheath and nerve axons in certain areas of the brain are destroyed. The destruction of the myelin sheath, which covers nerve fibres, causes disruptions in nerve impulse conduction that lead to symptoms such as muscular weakness, numbness, visual disturbances and loss of bowel and bladder control. Other symptoms include muscular spasms, rapid involuntary movement of the eyes (nystagmus), fatigue, gait instability, frequent urinary tract infections and mood disturbances.
▪ Muscle Death: A form of necrosis, is the result of a lack of blood to a muscle resulting in the muscle eventually ceasing to become a living cell. As dead tissue, the muscle then starts to rot, causing gangrene, poisoning the bloodstream and eventually resulting in the death of the patient unless the dead muscle is removed. Several things can cause muscle death, such as a lack of blood due to an infarction or a severe infection such as Necrotizing fasciitis.
▪ Myoclonic jerk: the brief, involuntary twitching of a muscle or group of muscles. It may be caused either by a sudden muscle contraction, or a sudden lapse of contraction. Contractions are called positive myoclonus; relaxations are called negative myoclonus. When falling asleep, it is common for people to experience a type of myoclonic jerk known as a hypnic jerk. Hiccups are also a kind of myoclonic jerk specifically affecting the diaphragm.
By Letter
| A | | B | | C | | D | | E | | F | | G | | H | | I | | J | | K | | L | | M |
| N | | O | | P | | Q | | R | | S | | T | | U | | V | | W | | X | | Y | | Z |
Green: is a medical procedure.
Orange is medicine.
Blue are diseases and conditions.
Purple is equipment.
Black is "other".
- M -
▪ Mad Cow Disease(Transmissible spongiform encephalopathy): A non-contagious disease transmitted by malformed proteins (prions) found in the brains of infected animals, generally rumiforms such as cows and sheep (where the disease is known as "scrapie"). The disease can only be transmitted by eating infected tissue and cannot be passed from person to person.
▪ Mammogram: A specialized type of x-ray equipment designed to take x-rays of the female breasts in order to diagnose breast cancer. It consists of two horizontal plates, adjustable for height, one of which emits x-rays and the other which contains the x-ray film. Traditional x-ray equipment is designed to project the rays through the entire width of the body. This requires a higher dose of radiation than a mammogram, which only needs enough x-rays to penetrate the breast instead of the thorax. However, a mammogram is much more uncomfortable for the patient. A traditional x-ray merely requires that the patient lay down on the table. In a mammogram, the breasts literally have to be squeezed between the two plates, requiring a fair amount of pressure to hold them in place during the exposure.
▪ Medical History: Allows the physician to eliminate certain diagnoses and add others based on conditions the patient has previously been treated for, the medical conditions that the patient's relatives have suffered from, and other characteristics such as age and physical condition that can indicate the onset of disease.
A simple history generally includes:
- The patient's age, race, weight, height and other physical characteristics.
- Any diseases the patient is currently being treated for, and any diseases recently suffered by the patient.
- Information about the health of the patient's parents, including at what age they died and from what.
A more thorough history can include:
- All the diseases, including childhood diseases, the patient has suffered from.
- The patient's vaccination history.
- Information about the health of siblings and other blood relatives.
▪ Medical Proxy: A person who is specifically appointed to make medical decisions and give informed consent for a patient who is unable to do so, either due to the fact they are unconscious, are a minor child, or are otherwise mentally incompetent.
▪ Meningitis: A pathological condition resulting from any of a wide population of viruses or bacteria (pathogens). Pathogens in the space between the arachnoid and pia layers of the meninges (the sheathing that coats nerves) cause the breaking of subarachnoid blood vessels, therefore swelling the subarachnoid space and applying pressure on the underlying cortical brain tissue, resulting in lack of oxygen to and compression of neurons. This leads to the loss of function of the pressured neurons. Continual pressure can lead to permanent loss of function. Bacterial meningitis is very contagious, highly virulent, and acts quickly. Patients who are exposed to the disease can die from the disorder in a matter of hours if they are untreated.
▪ Mental Illness: Any one of a number of disorders that have a clear effect on a patient's personality or behavior, but have no clear pathology. For example, dementia is not a mental illness because during an autopsy, it can be determined from damage to the patient's brain not only that the patient suffered from dementia but what the underlying cause was
▪ Miscarriage: The spontaneous rejection of a fetus by the mother's body. It should not be confused with the term abortion, which relates specifically to the induced rejection of a fetus. Miscarriages are not induced by a medicine, but rather occur when the body determines that the fetus is unlikely to survive if born. Genetic defects in the fetus are one of the main inducers of miscarriages, since fetuses with genetic defects are not likely to survive out of the womb.
▪ Mixed Connective Tissue Disease: An autoimmune disease, in which the body's defense system attacks itself.
▪ Mononucleosis (Mono): An infection caused by the Epstein-Barr virus. Signs of mono include fever, sore throat, headaches, white patches on the back of your throat, swollen glands in your neck, feeling tired and not feeling hungry.
▪ Mood Swings: A notable change in immediate behavior that is not the result of an external stimulus and that appears contrary to the person's normal personality.
▪ MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging): A form of radiological investigation which uses an extremely strong magnetic field to align water molecules in the body and create images of body parts based on their density. Because no ionizing radiation is used (such as is the case with x-rays), MRI is generally regarded to be a safe way of imaging the inside of a human body. It is therefore appropriate for patients who might be sensitive to such radiation, such as pregnant women. In addition, unlike ultrasound, it can penetrate the whole body and not just below the surface.
▪ Multiple sclerosis (MS): A chronic disease of the central nervous system in which the myelin sheath and nerve axons in certain areas of the brain are destroyed. The destruction of the myelin sheath, which covers nerve fibres, causes disruptions in nerve impulse conduction that lead to symptoms such as muscular weakness, numbness, visual disturbances and loss of bowel and bladder control. Other symptoms include muscular spasms, rapid involuntary movement of the eyes (nystagmus), fatigue, gait instability, frequent urinary tract infections and mood disturbances.
▪ Muscle Death: A form of necrosis, is the result of a lack of blood to a muscle resulting in the muscle eventually ceasing to become a living cell. As dead tissue, the muscle then starts to rot, causing gangrene, poisoning the bloodstream and eventually resulting in the death of the patient unless the dead muscle is removed. Several things can cause muscle death, such as a lack of blood due to an infarction or a severe infection such as Necrotizing fasciitis.
▪ Myoclonic jerk: the brief, involuntary twitching of a muscle or group of muscles. It may be caused either by a sudden muscle contraction, or a sudden lapse of contraction. Contractions are called positive myoclonus; relaxations are called negative myoclonus. When falling asleep, it is common for people to experience a type of myoclonic jerk known as a hypnic jerk. Hiccups are also a kind of myoclonic jerk specifically affecting the diaphragm.
By Letter
| A | | B | | C | | D | | E | | F | | G | | H | | I | | J | | K | | L | | M |
| N | | O | | P | | Q | | R | | S | | T | | U | | V | | W | | X | | Y | | Z |