| PCL | pacing cycle length; persistent corpus luteum; plasma cell leukemia; posterior chamber lens; posteri... |
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| PD | Doctor of Pharmacy; Dublin Pharmacopoeia; interpupillary distance; Paget disease; pancreatic duct; p... |
| PICA | percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty; Porch Index of Communicative Abilities; posterior in... |
| PP | diphosphate group; emphysema [pink puffers]; near point of accommodation [Lat. punctum proximum]; pa... |
| PPA | palpation, percussion, auscultation; pepsin A; phenylpropanolamine; phenylpyruvic acid; Pittsburgh p... |
| sclerosis cutanea | Synonym: scleroderma. (05 Mar 2000) |
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| sclerosis, multiple | The National Multiple Sclerosis Society says of ms that it is a disease that randomly attacks your central nervous system, wearing away the control you have over your body. Symptoms may range from numbness to paralysis and blindness. The progress, severity and specific symptoms cannot be foreseen. You never know when attacks will occur, how long they will last, or how severe they will be. most people are diagnosed with ms between the ages of 20 and 40. In medical terms, ms involves demyelinization of the white matter sometimes extending into the gray matter. Demyelinization is loss of myelin, the coating of nerve fibres composed of lipids (fats) and protein that serves as insulation and permits efficient nerve fibre conduction. The white matter is the part of the brain which contains myelinated nerve fibres and appears white, whereas the gray matter is the cortex of the brain which contains nerve cell bodies and appears gray. When myelin is damaged in ms, nerve fibre conduction is faulty or absent. Impaired bodily functions or altered sensations associated with those demyelinated nerve fibres give rise to the symptoms of ms. Recent research (1998) has also identified nerve cell death as part of the nervous system injury in ms. (12 Dec 1998) |
| sclerosis of white matter | <radiology> Type of dysmyelinating disease, hereditary, peripheral nervous system unaffected in some disorders Specific diseases: adrenoleukodystrophy, metachromatic leukodystrophy, spongy degeneration (Canavan), globoid cell (Krabbe) leukodystrophy, Alexander disease, Pelizaeus-Merzbacher disease, Cockayne syndrome (12 Dec 1998) |
| hippocampal sclerosis | A loss of cortical neurons and a reactive astrocytosis in the hippocampal regions of some persons with epilepsy. (05 Mar 2000) |
| skin lesions of tuberous sclerosis | <radiology> Adenoma sebaceum, Shagreen patches, periungual fibromata, ash-leaf hypopigmentation (12 Dec 1998) |
| nodular sclerosis | <cardiology, pathology> The progressive narrowing and hardening of the arteries over time. This is known to occur to some degree with aging, but other risk factors that accelerate this process have been identified. These factors include: high cholesterol, high blood pressure, smoking, diabetes and family history for atherosclerotic disease. (27 Sep 1997) |
| nuclear sclerosis | Increased refractivity of the central portion of the lens of the eye. See: nuclear cataract. (05 Mar 2000) |
| systemic sclerosis | <rheumatology> A multisystem disorder of unknown aetiology. It is characterised by fibrosis (scarring) of the skin, blood vessels and internal organs. Involvement of the gastrointestinal tract, heart, kidneys and lungs is common. (09 Jan 1998) |
| diffuse infantile familial sclerosis | <radiology> Dysmyelinating disease, autosomal recessive, usually presents by 1 yr, specific enzyme deficiency identified, rapid spontaneous nystagmus, poikilothermia Synonym: Krabbe leukodystrophy (12 Dec 1998) |
| disseminated sclerosis | <neurology> Neurodegenerative disease characterised by the gradual accumulation of focal plaques of demyelination particularly in the periventricular areas of the brain. Peripheral nerves are not affected. Onset usually in 3rd or 4th decade with intermittent progression over an extended period. Cause still uncertain. (18 Nov 1997) |
| idiopathic hypercalcaemic sclerosis of infants | See: idiopathic hypercalcaemia of infants. (05 Mar 2000) |
| insular sclerosis | <neurology> Neurodegenerative disease characterised by the gradual accumulation of focal plaques of demyelination particularly in the periventricular areas of the brain. Peripheral nerves are not affected. Onset usually in 3rd or 4th decade with intermittent progression over an extended period. Cause still uncertain. (18 Nov 1997) |
| ovulational sclerosis | A slowly progressive sclerosis in the walls of the ovarian arteries which commences after puberty. Synonym: menstrual sclerosis, ovulational sclerosis. (05 Mar 2000) |
| endocardial sclerosis | <radiology> Unknown aetiology, diffuse thickening of endocardium, few live more than 2 yrs, limited to left chambers in 80%, causes restrictive cardiomyopathy (12 Dec 1998) |
| tuberous sclerosis | <radiology> (Bourneville disease) autosomal dominant phakomatosis classic triad: seizures, retardation, adenoma sebaceum, calcified subependymal hamartomas, uncalcified tubers in cerebral cortex, enhancing lesion most likely to be malignant transformation to giant cell astrocytoma associated with: skin lesions, angiomyolipoma, increased risk of renal cell carcinoma (12 Dec 1998) |