| persistent vegetative state | A persistent loss of upper cortical function that may follow acute (e.g., infections, toxins, trauma or vascular) events or chronic (e.g., degenerative) events. The patient is bedridden and nutritional support is completely passive, either parenteral or via nasogastric tube. The patient does not require respiratory support or circulatory assistance for survival and is in a state of chronic wakefulness without awareness which may be accompanied by spontaneous eye opening, grunts or screams, brief smiles, sporadic movement of facial muscles and limbs. While the eyes blink upon stimulation, they do not do so in response to visual threats. Some patients chew or clamp their teeth. Urinary and faecal incontinence is universal. (12 Dec 1998) |
|---|---|
| chronic persistent hepatitis | <pathology> A form of hepatitis usually caused by hepatitis C or B, that consists of mild persistent liver inflammation. Often a mild elevation of the liver enzymes will be seen on liver profile or SMAC 25 assay. Liver biopsy indicates persistent hepatitis. Incidence: 1 in 1,000. (02 Jan 1998) |
| truncus arteriosus, persistent | A congenital anomaly resulting from the failure of the aorticopulmonary system to develop and divide the truncus arteriosus into the aorta and the pulmonary trunk. (12 Dec 1998) |
| affective personality disorder | A disturbance of feelings or mood expressed as a milder form of depression and related emotional features that colour the whole psychic life and for which psychosocial stressors are believed to play the major role. (05 Mar 2000) |
| alcohol amnestic disorder | <psychiatry> A mental disorder with brain damage characterised by amnesia, compensatory confabulation, disturbance of attention, and peripheral neuritis. It is usually associated with alcoholism and dietary deficiencies. (12 Dec 1998) |
| antisocial personality disorder | <psychiatry> An individual who engages in deviant behaviour with lack of remorse. (13 Jan 1998) |
| asthenic personality disorder | A personality type characterised by low energy level, easy fatigability, incapacity for enjoyment, lack of enthusiasm, and oversensitivity to physical and emotional stress. When appearing in marked form it becomes a psychological disorder (asthenic personality disorder), also called dependent personality. Synonym: asthenic personality disorder, dependent personality disorder. (05 Mar 2000) |
| attention deficit disorder | An inability to control behaviour due to difficulty in processing neural stimuli. (12 Dec 1998) |
| attention deficit disorder with hyperactivity | A behaviour disorder originating in childhood in which the essential features are signs of developmentally inappropriate inattention, impulsivity, and hyperactivity. Although most individuals have symptoms of both inattention and hyperactivity-impulsivity, one or the other pattern may be predominant. The disorder is more frequent in males than females. Onset is in childhood. Symptoms often attenuate during late adolescence although a minority experience the full complement of symptoms into mid-adulthood. (12 Dec 1998) |
| attention deficit hyperactivity disorder | <psychiatry> A condition seen in children where there is increased motor activity in association with poor attention span. Often treated with amphetamine medications. (27 Sep 1997) |
| autistic disorder | autism, infantile autism |
| autonomic disorder | Disorganization of autonomic processes. (05 Mar 2000) |
| avoidant disorder of adolescence | A mental disorder occurring in childhood or adolescence characterised by an excessive shrinking away from contact with people who are unfamiliar. Synonym: avoidant disorder of adolescence. (05 Mar 2000) |
| avoidant disorder of childhood | A mental disorder occurring in childhood or adolescence characterised by an excessive shrinking away from contact with people who are unfamiliar. Synonym: avoidant disorder of adolescence. (05 Mar 2000) |
| behaviour disorder | General term used to denote mental illness or psychological dysfunction, specifically those mental, emotional, or behavioural subclasses for which organic correlates do not exist. See: antisocial personality disorder. (05 Mar 2000) |