alcoholic

DEFINITION:

1. Pertaining to or containing alcohol.

2. A person suffering from alcoholism.

liver disease

DEFINITION:

By far the most common cause of liver disease in the U.S. and other developed countries is excessive consumption of alcohol. Alcohol-related disorders, which include alcoholic hepatitis and cirrhosis, outnumber all other types of liver disorder by at least five to one.

Worldwide, the pattern of liver disease is different. In parts of Africa and Asia, up to 20 percent of the population are carriers of the hepatitis B virus; in these parts of the world, the most important liver disorders are virus-induced cirrhosis and primary liver cancer.

Apart from alcohol- and virus-induced liver disease, the liver may be affected by congenital defects, bacterial and parasitic infection, circulatory disturbance, metabolic disorders, poisoning, and autoimmune processes.

Liver failure (complete loss of liver function) may occur as a result of acute hepatitis, poisoning, or cirrhosis. Englargement of the liver (hepatomegaly) and jaundice are two common signs of liver disease.

ascites

DEFINITION:

Effusion and accumulation of serous fluid in the abdominal cavity; called also abdominal or peritoneal dropsy, hydroperitonia, and hydrops abdominis.

edema

DEFINITION:

The presence of abnormally large amounts of fluid in the intercellular tissue spaces of the body; usually applied to demonstrable accumulation of excessive fluid in the subcutaneous tissues. Edema may be localized, due to venous or lymphatic obstruction or to increased vascular permeability, or it may be systemic due to heart failure or renal disease.

brain edema - Excessive accumulation of fluid in the brain substance; causes include trauma, tumor, and increased permeability of capillaries as a result of anoxia or exposure to toxic substances. Called also cerebral edema and wet brain.

sodium

DEFINITION:

A silver white soft waxy ductile element of the alkali metal group that occurs abundantly in nature in combined form and is very active chemically.

water load

DEFINITION:

1. The quantity of measurable water borne by an object or organism.
2. The body content of water, especially as it varies from normal.

hemodynamic

DEFINITION:

Pertaining to the movements involved in the circulation of the blood.

cardiac

DEFINITION:

1. Pertaining to the heart.

2. A cordial, or restorative medicine.

3. A person with a heart disorder.

4. Pertaining to the orifice (ostium cardiacum) between the esophagus and the part of the stomach immediately adjacent to and surrounding the orifice (pars cardiaca gastris).

index

DEFINITION:

1. The second digit of the hand, the finger adjacent to the thumb; called also forefinger , index finger , and digitus secundus manus .

2. A unitless quantity, usually a ratio of two measurable quantities having the same dimensions, or such a ratio multiplied by 100.

3. A core or mold used in dentistry to record or maintain the relative position of a tooth or teeth to one another and/or to a cast, to ensure reproduction in the dental prosthesis of their original position.

4. A directory, in particular an alphabetized list of terms, each term accompanied by page numbers or other notations telling where it appears in a given work or set of works.

5. A subscript, as in x_i, used to indicate that there is a collection of objects, one corresponding to each value of the subscript, with the sequence indexed by i. For example, the sequence x₁, x₂, x₃,...can be written x_i, i = 1, 2, 3,....

atrial

DEFINITION:

Pertaining to an atrium.

capillary

DEFINITION:

1. Pertaining to or resembling a hair.

2. Any of the minute vessels that connect the arterioles and venules, forming a network in nearly all parts of the body. Their walls act as semipermeable membranes for the interchange of various substances, including fluids, between the blood and tissue fluid. The two principal types are continuous capillaries and fenestrated capillaries. Called also vas capillare.

3. Vas lymphocapillare.

pulmonary

DEFINITION:

1. Pertaining to the lungs. Called also pneumonic and pulmonic .
2. Pulmonic (def. 2).

aldosterone

DEFINITION:

The major mineralocorticoid hormone secreted by the adrenal cortex. It promotes the retention of sodium and bicarbonate, the excretion of potassium and hydrogen ions, and the secondary retention of water. Large excesses can invoke plasma volume expansion, edema, and hypertension. The secretion of aldosterone is stimulated by low plasma potassium concentration and angiotensin II.

arginine vasopressin

DEFINITION:

Vasopressin containing arginine, as that from most mammals, including man.

AVP

DEFINITION:

Arginine vasopressin.

norepinephrine

DEFINITION:

1. One of the naturally occurring catecholamines, a neurohormone released by the postganglionic adrenergic nerves and some brain neurons; it is a major neurotransmitter that acts on a- and ß₁-adrenergic receptors. It is also secreted by the adrenal medulla in response to splanchnic stimulation and is stored in the chromaffin granules. It is a powerful vasopressor and is released in the body usually in response to hypotension or stress. Called also noradrenaline .
2. A pharmaceutical preparation of the same substance, usually seen in the form of the bitartrate salt.

percentage

DEFINITION:

1. A part of a whole expressed in hundredths.
2. The result obtained by multiplying a number by a percent.
3. Advantage, profit.
4. Probability; favorable odds.

water load

DEFINITION:

1. The quantity of measurable water borne by an object or organism.
2. The body content of water, especially as it varies from normal.

percentage

DEFINITION:

1. A part of a whole expressed in hundredths.
2. The result obtained by multiplying a number by a percent.
3. Advantage, profit.
4. Probability; favorable odds.

water load

DEFINITION:

1. The quantity of measurable water borne by an object or organism.
2. The body content of water, especially as it varies from normal.

inversely

DEFINITION:

In an inverse manner.

correlated

DEFINITION:

See correlation.

AVP

DEFINITION:

Arginine vasopressin.

correlated

DEFINITION:

See correlation.

positive correlation

DEFINITION:

A correlation is said to be positive (but never larger than 1) when both variables increase or decrease together.

sodium

DEFINITION:

A silver white soft waxy ductile element of the alkali metal group that occurs abundantly in nature in combined form and is very active chemically.

correlated

DEFINITION:

See correlation.

inversely

DEFINITION:

In an inverse manner.