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Lungs contain millions of tiny air sacs call alveoli. Their total surface area is the size of a tennis court.

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Allied Health — Glossary of Terms

A-H

accommodation
not a hotel or motel room, but the ability of the eyes to change focus between near and distant objects.
armamentarium
a general term for all the lights, equipment, instruments, supplies and even books used by a doctor or dentist. Think of it as an armory for a Health Care professional, though the term also is used for the materials available or used for any task.
AROM
active range of motion.
belonephobia
fear of needles.
BID
medical shorthand for twice a day, either medication or prescribed exercise.
caruncle
the small red part in the corner of the eye. It contains modified glands that produce tears rather than sweat.
chemiclave
a machine that sterilizes surgical instruments with high-pressure, high-temperature water, alcohol or other chemicals. Dental Assistants typically are responsible for cleaning and sterilizing instruments after each use.
coccyx
the term for the last three vertebrae of the spinal column, also known as the tailbone. Thirty-three separate vertebrae, including five that are fused in the pelvic area, make up the human spinal column.
COPD
shorthand for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease. COPD includes several conditions that block airflow to the lungs and make breathing difficult such as asthma, emphysema and chronic bronchitis.
dosimeter
a device for measuring the total absorbed dose from exposure to radiation.
dentition
a term for the teeth, bone and gums combined.
diastema
a space between two teeth.
echinate
spiny. In lab work, echinate describes a growth in an agar streak with toothed margins; in a stab culture, the growth is coiled with pointed outgrowths.
febrile
feverish. Febrile state describes symptoms that accompany an increase in body temperature, including headache, pain, loss of appetite and faster pulse and respiration.
glycemia
sugar or glucose in the blood. Glycosemia means an abnormal amount of sugar in the blood. Both terms are based on “glykys,” the Greek word for sweet.
HEP
home exercise program.
hypoxia
lack of oxygen to a tissue
illiacus
the muscle that flexes and rotates the thigh.
innominate bone
means the bone with no name. In the human body, the largest bone, the hip bone, does not have a name and is called the innominate bone. The body also contains an innominate artery and innominate veins.

K-Z

kinesis
motion. Kinetosis is a disorder caused by motion, such as seasickness. Kinesiology is the study of muscles and their movement.
lysimeter
an instrument that measures solubility of various substances.
modalities
treatment tools, especially in Physical Therapy, used to increase muscle strength and promote healing. Examples include resistance, range of motion exercise, ultrasound, hot packs and cold packs.
narcolepsy
a chronic disease of the central nervous system that can cause people to fall asleep in the middle of tasks such as working or even driving. Narcolepsy is one of more than 80 sleep disorders.
nebulizer
a device used to deliver medication deep into the respiratory tract by reducing a liquid drug into fine particles that a patient inhales. The mist gets into the lungs and helps patients with serious respiratory problems including asthma, emphysema and cystic fibrosis.
oximeter
a small device that monitors blood oxygen saturation. Oximeters can be placed on a patient’s fingertip or an ear.
phoropter
an instrument that helps determine eyeglass prescriptions by measuring refractive error, or mistakes in focusing of light by the eye. This is the piece of equipment an ophthamologist uses when asking a patient, “Is this better? Or is this?” and switching lenses.
proprieoception
the ability of a patient to determine the orientation of his or her arm or leg in the air.
quickening
first movements of the fetus felt in a mother's uterus.
Roentgens
one way to measure radiation doses in X-rays. They got their name from Wilhelm Roentgen, a German physicist who discovered x-rays in 1895.
sphygmomanometer
an instrument for measuring blood pressure.
tomography
the process for generating a two-dimensional image a slice of a three-dimensional object.
typodont
a plastic model of a typical mouth, showing the alignment of teeth.
uncus
any structure that is hook-shaped.
uvea
the second coat of the eye. It includes the iris and forms the layer with color.
viremia
the presence of viruses in the blood.
whirlbone
the kneecap. Also known as the patella, which is the head of the femur.
xanthic
yellow. Xanthoderma is yellowness of the skin; xanthodont or xandthodontous means having yellow teeth.
ypsiliform
y-shaped.
zooglea
a stage of development in some organisms in which colonies of microbes are embedded in a gelatinous matrix.