Medical dictionary is a free online search engine for definitions of medical terminology, pharmaceutical drugs, healthcare equipment, health conditions, medical devices, specialty terms and medical abbreviations.

acne 

A condition of the skin characterized by various inflammatory lesions caused by a combination of bacteria and increased skin oil (sebum) production.

acyclovir

A synthetic purine nucleoside with selective activity against herpes simplex virus; used as the base or the sodium salt in the treatment of genital and mucocutaneous herpesvirus infections.

addiction

Habitual psychological or physiological dependence on a substance or practice beyond one's voluntary control.

alcoholism

A disorder marked by a pathological pattern of alcohol use that causes serious impairment in social or occupational functioning. It includes both alcohol abuse and alcohol dependence.

alprazolam

A benzodiazepine tranquilizer that is used in the management of anxiety disorders.

antioxidant

Any substance that reduces the damage caused by oxidation, such as the harm caused by free radicals.

abarognosis

Loss of the ability to sense weight.

abdominal delivery

A obstetric procedure that involves the delivery of the foetus through an abdominal incision. Cesarian sections account for about one fifth of all births in the us.

abortifacient

A drug or compound that induces the expulsion of an embryo or foetus.

abortus

Any product (or all products) of an abortion.

ablation

1. A carrying or taking away; removal.

2. Extirpation.

3. Wearing away; superficial waste.

abscisic acid

A lipid hormone that inhibits cell growth in plants, it is associated with fruit drop, leaf death and seed dormancy. It is synthesised in the plastids from carotenoids. This hormone helps plants deal with water loss, and its effects can be reversed with gibberellins.

absconsio

A recess, cavity, or depression; used especially in osteology to denote a bony cavity which accommodates the head of another bone.

absolute scotoma

A scotoma in which there is no perception of light.

absolute oils

Essential oils that are obtained by the removal of insoluble compounds from concrete oils.

absolute glaucoma

The final stage of blindness in glaucoma.

abstinence

Self-denial, a voluntary refraining from the use of or indulgence in food, stimulants or sexual intercourse.

abstinence syndrome

A constellation of physiologic changes undergone by persons or animals who have become physically dependent on a drug or chemical due to prolonged use at elevated doses, but who are abruptly deprived of that substance. The abstinence syndrome varies with the drug to which dependence has developed. Generally the effects observed are in an opposite direction from those produced by the drug; e.g., the withdrawal syndrome from central nervous system depressants such as barbiturates and benzodiazepines consists of insomnia, restlessness, tremulousness, hallucinations, and, in the extreme, tonic-clonic convulsions which may prove fatal. The onset time and severity of the abstinence syndrome depend upon how rapidly the drug disappears from the body.

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