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ARTERIOVENOUS MALFORMATION (AVM) - Collection of blood vessels with
one or several abnormal communications between arteries and veins
which may cause hemorrhage or seizures.
ARTHRALGIA - Joint pain.
ARTHRITIS - Inflammation of a joint, usually characterized by swelling,
pain and restriction of motion. Arthritis is often used as a global
term to describe any type of degenerative joint condition, even though
there may not be evidence of inflammation. In this case Arthrosis
is more appropriate.
ARTHRODESIS - The fusion of bones across a joint space, thereby limiting
or eliminating movement. It may occur spontaneously or as a result
of a surgical procedure, such as fusion of the spine.
ARTHROPATHY - Any disease or disorder involving a joint.
ARTHROPLASTY - The surgical remodeling of a diseased or damaged joint.
ARTHROSCOPY - The procedure of visualizing the inside of a joint by
means of an arthroscope, an instrument inserted into a joint cavity
to view the interior of a joint and correct certain abnormalities.
ARTICULAR - Pertaining to a joint’s connection, vis. where one
bone connects or articulates with another.
ARTICULAR CARTILAGE – The firm, pearly-white, glossy layer of
cartilage that caps the articular surface of a bone. This tissue allows
motion to take place with a minimum amount of friction. The degenerative
loss of articular cartilage is the first stage of joint arthritis.
The articular cartilage is a living colony of cells (chondrocytes)
that produce the substance that cartilage consists of. Articular cartilage
is "hylaline" cartilage, one of two types of cartilage,
the other being "fibrous" cartilage.
ASSESSMENT: An examination performed with
the intent of arriving at a qualitative or quantitative description
of a patient's condition. The term includes any evaluation procedure
performed for the purpose of obtaining information regarding the patient's
state or condition. Disease (condition specific) assessments are outcome
procedures that run the gamut from physiological tests to questionnaires.
They are designed to elicit information about the specific signs and
symptoms and other clinical characteristics of diseases or conditions.
Condition specific assessments are usually more limited in scope than
general health assessments. General health assessments are usually
questionnaires completed by patients and scored for a number of attributes
deemed important to the overall concept of health, i.e., decreased
pain, improved mobility, improved psychological status.
ATAXIA - A loss of muscular coordination; abnormal clumsiness.
ATHETOSIS - A condition in which there is a succession of slow, writhing,
involuntary movements of the fingers and hands, and sometimes of the
toes and feet.
ATLAS - The first vertebra of the neck, articulating immediately with
the skull, thus sustaining the globe of the head, whence the name.
ATONIC SEIZURE - Seizures that are characterized by a sudden loss
of muscle tone, causing the individual to instantly drop to the floor,
commonly known as "drop attacks."
ATROPHY - A wasting of the tissues of a body part.
AURA - Warning sign that people experience prior to the onset of a
seizure or migraine, which may consist of a strange taste, bad feeling,
visual disturbance or tingling sensation.
AUTONOMIC NERVOUS SYSTEM (ANS) – "Involuntary" or "automatic"
nervous system. The ANS is part of the peripheral nervous system (not
the central nervous system, or brain/spinal cord), and has two branches,
the sympathetic and parasympathetic. These two branches control many
of our automatic bodily functions, like breathing, heart rate, and
pupil dilation/constriction to light. This system of nerve cells whose
activities are mostly considered beyond voluntary control, can be
consciously affected. Yogi’s demonstrated this decades ago, consciously
changing their skin temperature on their arms. ANS functions also
can be consciously modulated using biofeedback devices.
AVASCULAR - Non-vascular; not provided with blood vessels, e.g., ligaments.
AXON - The part of a nerve cell that usually sends signals to other
nerves or structures. |
