Dictionary of Medical Terms

The periodic discharge of blood and tissues from the uterus. This usually occurs about every four weeks in a woman…

The chemical and physical processes involved in building up, storing and using materials required for life.

Any of the five bones that make up the hand and join the wrist to the fingers.

The wider portion at the end of a long bone where growth occurs in infants and children.

The spread of a disease from its primary site in the body to another location in the body. Usually refers…

Any of the five bones of the foot directly jointed to each of the toes.

Uterus.

Inflammation of the uterus.

Uterine bleeding, usually of normal amount occurring at irregular intervals.

A microorganism, such as bacterium.

The study of living microbes, including bacteria, protozoa and molds.

Having an abnormally small brain.

A microscopic plant or animal.

A person who helps women at childbirth, but who isn’t a nurse or physician.

A group of symptoms that includes a severe headache, usually on one side of the head, and often accompanied by…

Pinhead-sized whitish skin lesions found on the face or trunk of some newborn infants.

Prickly heat or “heat rash” as a result of inflammation of the sweat glands and characterized by small, white or…

Natural loss of a fetus from the womb before it is sufficiently developed to survive. Also called spontaneous abortion.

The valve of the heart between the left atrium and left ventricle that prevents the flow of blood back into…

Pelvic pain between periods, corresponding to the release of an ovum (egg) by an ovary.

1. A fleshy, pigmented skin blemish. 2. A mass of uterine tissue formed by a failure of the normal fertilization…