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AIDS : Acquired Immune Deficiency
Syndrome. A disease which results
in the total breakdown of the body's immune system, it is
caused by acts of
homosexuality and heterosexuality. It is likely to emerge as
the largest
killer by the end of this century. No effective treatment
has so been found
except ATZ, which is quite expensive and still unreliable.
Allergy : A condition in which a person is sensitive or
susceptible to the
effects of any drug or an article. Hay fever, asthma,
eczema : are allergic
diseases.
Anaemia : Bloodlessness due to lack of red blood corpuscles
or of hemoglobin, a condition in which person becomes pale in colour and weak
in health.
Anaesthetic : A kind of drug which produces temporary
insensibility to
touch and pain, with or without the loss of consciousness.
The best known
anaesthetic is chloroform.
Analgesic : A drug which relieves pain, e.g. aspirin.
Antacid : A drug which counteracts acidity in the stomach.
Antibiotics : This is a name given to a series of drugs like
penicillin and
streptomycin; these are preparations from moulds or
mould-like organisms which destroy bacteria and prevent
their growth. Their use has
revolutionised medicinal effect.
Antibody : Specific substances produced in the blood, as a
reaction to
antigen.
Antidote : A remedy for counteracting poison.
Antiseptic : A drug which destroys germs, e.g., dettol,
carbolic acid.
Anti-toxin : A substance produced by the blood to counteract
the effect
of a poison or infection.
Appendicitis : This disease is caused by the inflammation of
the appendix which results in general feeling of uneasiness and pain
in the upper part
of abdomen.
Aspirin : To relieve pain; it is safe and widely used for the
relief of
headache, rheumatic aches and pains.
Asthma : A disease marked by the difficulty in breathing due
to spasm
of the bronchial muscles.
Astigmatism : A defect in the eyesight, when one cannot
distinguish
between vertical and horizontal lines; it can be rectified
by cylindrical
lenses.
Autopsy : A post-mortem examination of a body.
Bacillus : A rod-shaped micro-organism. For example, tubercle
bacillus
causes tuberculosis.
Bacteria : Germs not visible to naked eye causing several
types of
diseases.
Beri-Beri : A vitamin B deficiency disease marked by
muscular atrophy.
It causes numbness of arms and legs and swelling of the feet
and arms.
Eating of polished rice can cause it.
Bladder : A membranous body situated in the front part of
pelvis cavity,
which acts as a reservoir of urine.
Blood Bank : The store house of blood to be administered in
cases of
emergency.
Blood Groups : Human blood has been classified into four
groups A, B,
AB, and O. In administering blood from one person to
another, one has to
be careful to administer blood of the same group, otherwise
it would prove
fatal. Group 0 is universal donor and it can be given to
anybody. Similarly Group AB is universal receiver.
Blood Pressure : It is the pressure exerted by blood against
the blood
vessels; chronic anxiety, perpetual worry and kidney
troubles cause high
blood pressure. Low blood pressure results in fainting
attacks.
Blood Transfusion : Transferring the blood from one person to
another
in case of loss of blood due to accident or at child-birth,
and also in case of
anaemic children.
Cardiograph : An instrument for recording the movements of heart.
Cataract : Clouding of the lens of the eye, which prevents
clear vision,
mostly cured with an operation.
Chicken-pox : A very infectious disease. It is caused by a
virus occurring commonly in children. One attack usually gives life-long
immunity.
Chromosomes : The bodies contained within the nucleus of
every animal
or plant cell each containing several hundreds of the
hereditary factors
called genes. When the cell splits each chromosome splits up
Into an
identical complement of genes.
Cholera : An acute bacterial infection characterised by
severe vomiting
and .passing of loose motions frequently, drying of the
tissues and painful
cramps. It spreads by infected food and water.
Chronic : A chronic disease is one which is prolonged and
relatively mild
as opposed to an acute one, which is short and severe.
Cinchona : The tree, native to South America, from whose bark quinine
is derived.
Colds : This is a highly infectious disease and is caused by
a virus. It
results in bad throat, headache and watery nose.
Colic : Severe pain in the abdomen, caused by spasm of the
internal
organs, usually the intestines.
Colour Blindness : Sometimes the vision is quite normal but
the patient
is not able to distinguish between colours; the most common
being the lack
of distinction between red and green.
Coma : Complete loss of consciousness.
Deficiency Disease : A disease which is caused by the lack of
a certain
ingredient in the diet, usually applied to lack of vitamins or
fat in foodstuffs
such as beri-beri, rickets and scurvy.
Diabetes : It is caused by the inability of the body to make
use of sugar
in the food, consequently this sugar accumulates in the
blood, and is finally
passed out in the urine.
Diarrhoea : Loose stools due to many causes.
Diphtheria : An acute infectious disease caused by the
growth of a
membrane in the throat. It may result in death, since
breathing is stopped.
Dysentery : Passing of stools with blood and mucus.
Eczema : A disease due to the inflammation of the skin. It
is of two types,
dry or wet. In the second type, water oozes out of the skin.
E.E.G. : Electroencephalogram (Electrical writings of the
brain). It helps
in the diagnosis of major upsets of brain functions. It also
helps to locate
tumours of the brain.
Endemic : A disease which prevails in a particular area on
account of
the surrounding conditions, such as Malaria and Leprosy.
Enteric : Typhoid fever.
Enzymes : Organic catalysts which accelerate chemical
processes occurring in living organisms. For example, fermentation of
sugars into alcohol
requires the presence of enzymes. Ptyalin in saliva is
another example.
Epidemic : A disease which often attacks the people of a
locality, and spreads quickly to other parts also.
Epilepsy : A disease in which the patient falls down
unconscious with
spasm and froth in the mouth.
Filaric : A disease transmitted by a male mosquito (culex);
it is accompanied by high fever, it occurs particularly in Assam and
West Bengal.
Flu (Influenza) : A highly contagious disease which is
preceded by
headache, body pain, throat, cough, and a general feeling of
fatigue; it
results in watery nose, bad throat and hoarse voice. One
should avoid
crowds. It is a disease caused by viruses, and a remedy for
it ,has not been developed so far.
Genes : The ultimate biological units of, heredity, the
part
of or place
(locus) on the chromosome that datelines physical
inheritance and constitution.
Gonorrhea : A venereal. disease.
Gout : A metabolic disease marked by painful inflammation of the joints,
deposits of urate of sodium in and around the joints, and an
excess of uric
acid in the blood.
Gynaecology : The study of the diseases of women.
Haemorrhage : Bleeding due to injury. But it may be due to an
internal ulcer or by bursting of any vein due to high blood
pressure.
Hay Fever : It is one of the allergic diseases and is caused
by abnormal
sensitivity to certain grass pollens found in early summer.
Heliotherapy : The treatment of disease by the sun's rays.
Hemiplegia : Paralysis of one side of the body.
Homeopathy : A system of medicine discovered by Hahnemann,
a German physician.
Hormone : This is a chemical substance produced by an
endocrine or
ductless gland. The substance causes a physical reaction in
another organ
to which it is carried by the bloodstream. Insulin secreted
by the pancreas
is a good example. Other examples are thyroxin, adrenaline
(adrenal glands)
and pituitary secretions.
Hydrophobia : A disease caused by the bite of a mad dog or
mad jackal.
The symptoms sometimes do not appear for six months after
the bite; but
generally the incubation period is 20-60 days. It is
normally fatal once the
symptoms appear unless a course of treatment discovered by
Pasteur has been administered.
Hypermetropia : (Long sightedness). One can seethe object at
greater distances but not nearer ones; it can be remedied by
convex lenses.
Immunity : Power of the living organism to resist and
overcome diseases.
Insomnia : A disease of sleeplessness, due to (i) physical,
or (ii) mental
exertion.
Insulin : The internal secretion of the pancreas which converts
blood into
energy. Lack of it causes diabetes.
Jaundice : Yellow coloration of the skin and other tissues
of, the body by
excess of the bile pigment present in the blood and the lymph.
Kala-azar : Also known as Mediterranean fever. It mostly
occurs in
tropical countries and its symptoms are the growth and
swelling of spleen
and liver, etc. Its cure was found by U.N. Brahmachari.
Leprosy : Endemic disease caused by germ similar to that of
tuberculosis; it affects the skin and the nerves; deformities
arise in the body.
Leukaemia : There is a great increase in the number of white
cells in the
system, red blood corpuscles break down causing anaemia,
there is swelling
of the spleen also. Death occurs within a few days.
L.S.D. : Lysergic acid diethylamide; a drug which produces
many
symptoms of schizophrenia; it causes strange sensation :
first discovered
accidentally by Albert Hoffman, a Swiss chemist. The Hippies
are addicted
to the drug.
Malaria : It is caused by the bite of a female mosquito,
i.e., Anopheles.
Use Quinine, Paludrine or Ate brine frequently during the season
is advised.
Measles : An acute infectious human disease with red rash.
Meningitis : An infection of the membranes of the brain.
Metabolism : This is a term applied to the breaking up and
building of
the cells in the human body. The former is called catabolism
and the latter
anabolism. Its rate depends upon the activity of thyroid
gland.
Migraine : An allergic disease, which is accompanied by
periodic attacks
of headache, etc. It is an incurable disease.
Parasite : Animal or plant living in or on another.
Pathology : The study of diseases for their own sake, rather
than from
any intention of curing it.
Penicillin : A new antibiotic drug obtained from moulds which
has
revolutionised the whole medical treatment. It kills pus
germs, and is a
specific cure for pneumonia and venereal diseases.
Photosynthesis : The phenomenon by which the plants
assimilate their
food from the atmosphere in the presence of sunlight. It is
also called carbon
assimilation.
Piles : There are various veins in the rectum or around the
anus. The
immediate cause of the disease is pressure on the veins,
which prevents the
free flow of blood. It is mainly due to constipation and
pregnancy. if it grows
patient suffers from pain after the bowels have been
emptied.
Plasma : The colourless fluid part of blood; it has now
become possible
to store it, to be used in cases of emergency.
Plastic Surgery : Science of restoring or altering tissues
by grafting.
Pneumonia : An inflammatory condition of the lung tissue
accompanied
by pain in the chest.
Rickets : A disease caused due to the deficiency of vitamin
D, common
in children. The bones get softened, bent and become
deformed.
Ringworm : It is an infectious disease and is caused by a
fungus. Hair
whiter and bluish patches are formed and it is accompanied
by severe
itching.
Serum : It is a fluid, which is separated when blood clots.
Scurvy : A bleeding disorder caused by the lack of vitamin C
and can be
best cured by lime juice which is rich in vitamin C.
Smallpox : An acute infectious disease characterised by
fever, severe headache, pain in the joints and rash. Best
safeguard is vaccination invented by Edward Jenner. The disease has been completely
eliminated.
Tetanus : It is a disease caused by Tetanus bacillus found in
rich soil or
the dung of a horse. The disease affects the nervous system
and it can prove
fatal. However, now it is possible to get immunity by
anti-tetanus injection. |
