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 Medical dictionary
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Sacroilitis: affecting the sacroiliac joint at the base of the
spine.
Sacrum: triangular bone at base of spine.
Saliva: watery mucous secreted by the salivary glands into the
mouth.
Salmonella: a bacterium that may cause intestinal infection and
diarrhoea.
Sarcoidosis: there are two main types: acute,
relatively benign sarcoidosis with sudden onset usually characterised by fever,
inflammation of the skin and polyarthritis or polyarthralgia; and chronicsarcoidosis which is a rarer form typically having a
gradual onset with progressive and varied outcomes, including enlarged lymph nodes at the roots of the
lungs.
Sarcoma: a malignant tumor of the skin and soft tissue.
Saturated fatty acids: fatty
acids in which the molecule has no room for any more hydrogen atoms.
Scabies: a contagious itch caused by a mite.
Scalp: the part of the head that is normally covered with hair.
Scar: any mark left on damaged tissue after it has healed.
Scheuermann's disease: often seen in early
adolescence; usually affects the thoracic spine presenting with a painless kyphosis, but may affect the lumbar
spine.
Sclerosis: hardening of some part of the body.
Scoliosis: lateral curvature of the spine (meaning in a sideways
direction).
Scurvy: a disease caused by lack of vitamin C in the diet.
Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD): A seasonal disruption of mood that
occurs during the winter months and ceases with the advent of spring. Symptoms
usually begin in September when days begin to shorten, and last through the
winter into March when the days begin to lengthen again. Light plays a big part
in its origin and in its treatment. In rarer instances, the seasonal disorder
symptoms occur in the summer months and may be caused by an intolerance to
heat.
Sebum: oily secretion of the sebaceous glands of the skin.
Secondary leukaemia: a leukaemia arising from either previous chemotherapy or radiotherapy or as the development
of a pre-existing condition, such as myelodysplasia.
Secretin: a hormone made by the lining of the intestines that helps
digest food.
Segmentation: the process by which muscles in the intestines move food
and wastes through the body.
Selective dorsal root rhizotomy: a surgical procedure in which selected
nerves are severed to reduce spasticity in the legs.
Semen: the combination of seminal and prostate fluid and sperm.
Sensitivity: the degree to which an organism is affected by a drug.
Sepsis: the presence of disease-causing organisms or their toxins in the
blood or tissues and the associated inflammatory response to the infection.
Septic arthritis: usually caused by
bacterial infections and can be a complication of rheumatoid arthritis. However, other
types of arthritis may also predispose the individual to septic arthritis.
Symptoms may include acute pain and swelling, usually affecting only a single
joint, although several joints may be affected simultaneously. Pneumonia or
skin infection also characterise this condition. It generally affects more men
than women.
Septicaemia: serious bacterial infection of the blood stream often
associated with high fever.
Septum: a thin wall dividing two body cavities.
Sequelae: the complications that result from a disease.
Sero-negative: this term is often used to
describe non-rheumatoid inflammatory joint disorders where the serum test
Rheumatoid Factor (for rheumatoid
arthritis) is negative. It essentially refers to any one of a group of
inflammatory diseases sharing certain clinical characteristics:ankylosing spondylitis, Reiter's disease, reactive arthritis, psoriatic arthritis and spondylitis, arthritis with ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease, uveitis, HLA-B27 linked peripheral
arthritis and possibly other conditions. See also spondarthritis.
Serositis: inflammation of the delicate tissues covering internal organs
and abdominal pain.
Serotonin: a neurotransmitter and hormone
synthesised from the amino acid tryptophan in the gut and bronchi.
Serum: the part of the blood which remains after cells, platelets and fibrinogen have been removed, usually by
allowing the blood to clot.
Sex chromosomes: the X and Y chromosomes determine the sex of an
individual. Females have two X chromosomes: males have an X and a Y
chromosome.
Shiatsu: Japanese massage based on yin/yang.
Shigellosis: infection with the bacterium Shigella causing a high fever,
acute diarrhea, and dehydration.
Shingles (Herpes Zoster): a skin condition caused by reactivation of a
Varicella zoster virus.
Siblings: brothers and/or Sisters.
Sickle cell disease: an inherited disease of red blood cells which can
cause attacks of pain and damage to vital organs and can lead to early death.
Side effect: any reaction that results from a drug or therapy.
Sigmoid colon: the lower part of the colon that empties into the
rectum.
Sigmoidoscopy: looking into the sigmoid colon and rectum with a flexible
or rigid tube, called a sigmoidoscope.
Sinus: a hole or cavity in a bone or organ.
Sinusitis: inflammation of the nasal sinuses.
Sjögren's syndrome: this condition, also
referred to as 'Dry Eye', often occurs in association with other rheumatic
disorders: rheumatoid arthritis;systemic lupus erythematosus; or scleroderma, but can occur
on its own without joint troubles (primary SS). Sjögren's Syndrome is a
disorder in which eyes and mouth, and sometimes other mucous membranes, become
unduly dry from lack of their usual lubricants.
Slapped cheek syndrome: an infection caused by a virus called a
parvovirus.
Sleep apnoea: a debilitating sleep and breathing disorder defined as the
cessation of breathing for 10 seconds or more (an apnoea) at least five times
per hour of sleep.
Small intestine: the organ where most digestion occurs, it includes the
duodenum, jejunum, and ileum.
Smegma: a thick, white, cheese-like secretion that collects between the
labia and under the foreskin.
Soft tissue rheumatism: technically referred to as "regional
periarticular" or 'soft tissue' diseases or disorders, this group covers
an extremely common set of relatively minor conditions affecting the tissues
surrounding a joint such as ligaments and tendons. Rheumatic pain can arise
from damage to areas around joints, mostly caused by unaccustomed or repetitive
usage, minor injury or by trauma. Some are particularly associated with a
certain type of activity, 'tennis elbow' and 'housemaid's knee' being examples.
In addition, more generalised pain can develop in the muscles or joints without
arthritis, e.g. 'fibromyalgia'.
Somatostatin: a hormone in the pancreas.
Somatotropin: a hormone, released by the pituitary gland, that regulates
growth.
Spasms: muscle movements such as those in the colon that cause pain,
cramps, and diarrhoea.
Spastic diplegia: a form of cerebral palsy in which both arms
and both legs are affected, the legs being more severely affected.
Spastic hemiplegia (or hemiparesis): a form of cerebral palsy in which
spasticity affects the arm and leg on one side of the body.
Spastic paraplegia (or paraparesis): a form of cerebral palsy in which
spasticity affects both legs but the arms are relatively or completely
spared.
Spastic quadriplegia (or quadriparesis): a form of cerebral palsy in which all four
limbs are affected equally.
Spermatoceles: benign cysts of the scrotum.
Sphincter: a ring-like band of muscle that opens and closes an opening
in the body.
Sphygmomanometer: an instrument used to measure blood pressure.
Spina bifida: is a nerve tube defect present at birth.
Spleen: the spleen acts as a "discriminating
filter" of the blood. It can selectively remove old red blood cells and bacteria and other
foreign bodies. The spleen also acts as a store for platelets.
Splenectomy: surgical removal of the spleen.
Splenomegaly: enlargement of the spleen.
Spondarthritis: this is a more precise and
descriptive term used for those conditions called 'sero-negative' e.g.ankylosing spondylitis.
Spondarthritis is also known as spondarthropathy, spondylarthritis,
spondylarthropathy and spondyloarthropathy. Spondarthritides is the plural of
spondarthritis. See also sero-negative.
Spondylitis:'inflammation' in the joints of the
spine; it comes from the Greek word for verterbrae (spondylos).
Spondyloarthropathies: a group of rheumatic diseases that affect the
spine, such as Reiter's syndrome and ankylosing
spondylitis.
Spondylolisthesis: refers to slipping, partial dislocation of one of the
joints of the spine.
Spondylosis:osteoarthritis of small joints in
the neck and back (i.e. cervical & lumbar); commonly present in all of us,
often without causing any symptoms.
Sprain: injury to a joint in which the ligaments are overstretched.
Sputum: material coughed up from the respiratory tract.
Staging: an assessment of the spread of disease through the body, for
example in lymphoma. It is of
importance for the selection of optimal treatment.
Stammering: a wide range of behaviours. One person may get blocked or
stuck on a certain word or sound, another may repeat sounds, another may go
back in speech and take a run at the difficult word, and yet another may do all
of these things and many more.
Staphylococcus: a genus of gram-positive bacteria
that forms irregular clusters: found on skin, in skin glands on the nasal and
other mucous membranes.
Stasis: reduction or cessation of flow.
Statins: a class of drugs used to lower blood cholesterol.
STD: sexually transmitted disease.
Steatorrhoea: a condition in which the body cannot absorb fat. Causes a
buildup of fat in the stool and loose, greasy, and foul bowel movements.
Stem cells: the most primitive cells in the
bone marrow from which all the various types of blood cell are derived.
Stenosis: the narrowing of a tube or
duct.Stereognosia: difficulty perceiving and identifying objects using
the sense of touch.
Stethoscope: an instrument used to listen to sounds in the body.
Stevens-Johnson Syndrome: a serious, sometimes fatal inflammatory
disease characterized by fever, severe rash and blisters on the skin and open
sores on the mucous membranes. The syndrome may be triggered by a severe
allergic reaction to certain drugs.
Stoma: mouth or orifice.
Stomach: the organ between the oesophagus and the small intestine. The
stomach is where digestion begins.
Stomatitis: inflammation of the mucous membrane of the mouth.
Stool: faeces.
Strabismus: misalignment of the eyes.
Streptococcus: a genus of Gram-positive bacteria
containing spherical or ovoid cells which occur in pairs or short or long
chains; some species are pathogenic.
Steroids: see corticosteroids.
subcutaneous injection: an injection into tissue immediately under the
skin.
Stool: the solid wastes that pass through the rectum as bowel
movements.
Strain: a variant characterized by specific genetic features.
Strawberry marks: raised red soft lumps on the skin usually the size of
a 50p piece and look like a strawberry.
Stricture: the abnormal narrowing of a body opening. Also called stenosis.
Stroke: damage to part of the brain rsulting from the breakdown in the
blood supply which can be caused by a thrombus, an embolus or a bleed).
Stroma: the tissue that forms the framework of an organ.
Sturge-Weber: a condition which consists of a birth mark always
involving the forehead and a similar blood vessel abnormality on the brain
surface (often called an angioma).
Subcostal: below the ribs.
Subcutaneous: below the skin, also refers to injecting medicines
directly under the skin. In the latter case, abbreviated SC.
Subdural hematoma: bleeding below the dura in the brain.
Subluxation: an incomplete dislocation of a joint.
Substrate: the compounds acted upon by an enzyme.
Subtype: a major subpopulation of a given organism, with a distinct
genetic makeup.
Sudeck's atrophy/disease syndrome: see reactive arthritis.
Sugar: a class of carbohydrates that taste sweet.
Sulcus: a groove of furrow.
Supination: turning the forearm up, so that the palm faces upward.
Supine: lying on the back with the face upward.
Suppository: a solid, cone-shaped medicated substance that is
administered by inserting it into the rectum, vagina, or urethra.
Supraventricular tachycardia (SVT): a sort of electrical short-circuit
which allows the heart muscle to pump very fast.
Sweat test: an accurate, safe, and painless way to diagnose Cystic
Fibrosis.
Stye (hordeolum): suppurative infection of a marginal gland of the
eyelid. Inflammation of the sebaceous gland of an eyelash, or internal, acute
purulent infection of a Meibomian gland.
Sympathetic nervous system: part of the nervous system with many
functions, including control of the smooth muscles around the airways. Works
together with the parasympathetic nervous system.
Sympathomimetic: denoting mimicking of action of the sympathetic
system.
Symptoms: these are the physical signs of a disease.
Symphysis: growing together.
Symptomatology: the collected symptoms of a particular disease.
Syncope: fainting.
Syndrome: a collection of physical features which, when they occur
together, enable a physician to recognise a certain condition.
Syngeneic: literally "sharing the same genes". It refers to
bone marrow or peripheral blood stem cell transplants between identical
twins.
Synovial fluid: the fluid produced by synovium
to nourish and lubricate the joint.
Synovitis: inflammation of the joint
Synovium: the inner layer of the capsule that
produces synovial fluid.
Syringe: an instrument used to inject or withdraw liquids.
Systemic: concerning or affecting the body as a whole. A systemic
therapy is one that the entire body is exposed to, rather than just the target
tissues affected by a disease.
Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE): one of the
connective tissue diseases, commonly called lupus. 'Systemic' -
affecting many organs of the body; 'lupus' - affecting the skin by
producing a rash on the face, hence the use of the term lupus which is latin
for wolf; 'erythematosus' - simply means red, because in lupus, rashes
are very common. Lupus is a rheumatic disease which is characterised by
abnormalities of the immune system (which normally protects the body against
infection).
Systole: the period in which a heart chamber is contracting.
Systolic blood pressure: the maximum pressure in the arteries as blood
is forced out of the heart in ventricular systole.
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