| OGC | oculogyric crisis |
|---|---|
| RCC | radiological control center; rape crisis center; ratio of cost to charges; receptor-chemoeffector co... |
| DME | degenerative myoclonus epilepsy; dimethyl diester; dimethyl ether; diphasic meningoencephalitis; dir... |
| EMT | emergency medical tag; emergency medical team; emergency medical technician; emergency medical treat... |
| AMA | against medical advice; alkaline membrane assay; American Management Association; American Medical A... |
| salt-depletion crisis | Severe illness resulting from loss of sodium chloride, usually in urine (i.e., salt-losing nephritis), in sweat following severe exercise in hot weather, or in intestinal secretions, as in cholera. Can occur as result of Addison's disease or Addisonian crisis; characterised by hypovolaemia, hypotension. (05 Mar 2000) |
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| sickle cell crisis | <haematology> Disease common in races of people from areas in which malaria is endemic. The cause is a point mutation in the allele that codes for the beta chain of haemoglobin with a substitution of (valine for glutamic acid at position 6. The defective haemoglobin (HbS) crystallizes readily at low oxygen tension. In consequence, erythrocytes from homozygotes change from the normal discoid shape to a sickled shape when the oxygen tension is low and these sickled cells become trapped in capillaries or damaged in transit, leading to severe anaemia. In heterozygotes, the disadvantages of the abnormal haemoglobin are apparently outweighed by increased resistance to Plasmodium falciparum malaria, probably because parasitised cells tend to sickle and are then removed from circulation. Symptoms include joint pain, acute abdominal pain, and ulcerations of the lower extremities. Origin: Gr. Haima = blood (18 Nov 1997) |
| Dietl's crisis | Intermittent pain, sometimes with nausea and emesis, caused by intermittent proximal obstruction of ureter. Originally believed due to a mobile kidney that caused ureter to kink with positional changes. Synonym: incarceration symptom. (05 Mar 2000) |
| identity crisis | <psychology> Chaotic concept of self wherein one's role in life appears to be an insoluble dilemma often expressed by isolation, withdrawal, rebellion and extremism. (12 Dec 1998) |
| ocular crisis | Sudden and severe pain in the eyes. (05 Mar 2000) |
| tabetic crisis | A sudden paroxysmal intensification of symptoms in the course of a disease. Origin: L., Gr. Krisis (18 Nov 1997) |
| therapeutic crisis | A turning point leading to positive or negative change in psychiatric treatment. (05 Mar 2000) |
| thyroid crisis | Sudden and dangerous increase of the symptoms of thyrotoxicosis. (12 Dec 1998) |
| thyrotoxic crisis | Thyroid crisis, the exacerbation of symptoms that occurs in severe thyrotoxicosis; can follow shock or injury or thyroidectomy; marked by rapid pulse (140 to 170 per minute), nausea, diarrhoea, fever, loss of weight, extreme nervousness, and a sudden rise in the metabolic rate; coma and death may occur; occasionally the entire clinical picture is that of profound prostration, weakness, and collapse, without the phase of muscular overactivity and tachycardia. Synonym: thyroid storm. (05 Mar 2000) |
| febrile crisis | The stage in a febrile disease when spontaneous defervescence occurs. (05 Mar 2000) |
| laryngeal crisis | An attack of paralysis of the abductor, or spasm of the adductor, muscles of the larynx with dyspnea and noisy respiration, occurring in tabetic neurosyphilis. (05 Mar 2000) |
| academic medical centres | Medical complexes consisting of medical school, hospitals, clinics, libraries, administrative facilities, etc. (12 Dec 1998) |
| advance medical directives | Advance directives preserve the person's right to accept or reject a course of medical treatment even after that person becomes mentally or physically incapacitated to the point of being unable to communicate those wishes. There ared two basic types of advance directives: (1) a living will, in which the person outlines specific treatment guidelines that are to be followed by health care providers; (2) a health care proxy (also called a power of attorney for healthcare decision making) in which the person designates a trusted individual to make medical decisions in the event that he or she becomes too incapacitated to make such decisions. Advance directive requirements vary greatly from one jurisdiction to another and should therefore be drawn up in consultation with an attorney who is familiar with the laws of the particular jurisdiction. (This entry is based upon material from the National MS Society). (12 Mar 2000) |
| american medical association | Professional society representing the field of medicine. (12 Dec 1998) |
| genetics, medical | A field of human genetics which entails the reliable prediction of certain human disorders as a function of the lineage and/or genetic makeup of any two parents or potential parents. (12 Dec 1998) |