SPECIAL TERMS Some Steps in Medical Consultation Case history the patients complete medical background, including past

t physical and mental conditions, the medical problems of close family members, and the patients present complaints, behavior, and lifestyle. Diagnosis the use of scientific methods to determine the cause and nature of a patients illness. Examination careful study of the patients body to determine the presence or absence of disease or abnormality. A complete physical exam usually includes inspection (looking), palpation (touching and feeling), percussion (tapping), and auscultation (listening). Prognosis prediction of the course and end of a disease and the outlook for the patients future health based upon this. Therapy treatment of a disease or pathological condition. Some Forms of Treatment Acupuncture the insertion of needles along various nerve-root pathways of the body for diagnostic or therapeutic purposes. Cauterize to burn or destroy dead tissue by heat, electricity, or chemicals. Cauterization is often used to stop bleeding or promote the healing of inflammation. Drug any substance that, when taken into the body, may modify one or more of the bodys functions. The word is often used as a synonym for medicine. Surgery the branch of medicine dealing with operative procedures used to correct defects, repair injuries, diagnose or cure diseases, relieve pain, or prolong life. Transfusion the intravenous (into the vein) administration of life-saving fluids such as blood or plasma. Transplant to transfer an organ or tissue from one part of the body to another, or from one person or animal to another, in order to lessen a defect or remedy a deformity or injury. X-ray a high-energy electromagnetic wave used to diagnose and treat disease. Photographs obtained by this method are called X-rays. Other Medical Vocabulary Anesthesia insensibility to pain or touch. Drugs that cause anesthesia are anesthetics. The two major types are general (affecting the whole body) and local (affecting only a part of the body). Anesthetics can be inhaled or given by injection. Topical anesthetics are applied externally. Blood the fluid that circulates through the heart, arteries, veins, and capillaries. A person who is losing blood is bleeding or hemorrhaging 1

Cadaver a dead body, a corpse. Dissection the cutting of parts of the body in order to study them. Heal to cure, make whole or healthy. Organ a part of the body having a special function. Many organs are in pairs, such as the eyes, ears, lungs, kidneys, and (in women) the ovaries. Specimen part of a thing intended to show the nature and quality of the whole (for example, a urine specimen). Tissue a group of similar cells that work together to perform a particular function (connective tissue, muscular tissue, etc.).