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Medical Dictionary Terms Beginning with B
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Battle fatigue
Battle fatigue: The World War II name for what is known today as post-traumatic stress, this is a psychological disorder that develops in some individuals who have had major traumatic experiences (and, for example, have been in a serious accident or thmore detail info...
Bedwetting
Bedwetting: Involuntary urination in bed. Called ôenuresis,ö from the Greek ôenourinö meaning ôto urinate in.ömore detail info...
Bee stings
Bee stings: Stings from bees and other large stinging insects such as yellow jackets, hornets and wasps can trigger allergic reactions varying greatly in severity. Avoidance and prompt treatment are essential. In selected cases, allergy injection theramore detail info...
Beef tapeworm
Beef tapeworm: Taenia saginata, the most common of the big tapeworms that parasitizes people, contracted from infected raw or rare beef. Can grow to be 12-25 feet (3.6-7.5 m) long in the human intestine. Also known as the African tapeworm.more detail info...
Behcet syndrome
Behcet syndrome: Behcet syndrome is classically characterized by a triad of features, namely, ulcers in the mouth, ulcers of the genitalia and uveitis. The ulcers of the mouth and genitalia are typically recurring crops of aphthous ulcers. Uveitismore detail info...
Belching
Belching: A normal process to relieve distention from the air that accumulates in the stomach. The upper abdominal discomfort associated with excessive swallowed air may extend into the lower chest, producing symptoms suggesting heart or lung disease.more detail info...
BellÆs palsy
BellÆs palsy: Paralysis of the facial nerve, the nerve that supplies the facial muscles on one side of the face. The cause of BellÆs palsy is not known, but it is thought to be related to a virus (or to various viruses). BellÆs palsy typicallymore detail info...
Belly
Belly: That part of the body that contains all of the structures between the chest and the pelvis. Also called the abdomen. The belly (or abdomen) is separated anatomically from the chest by the diaphragm, the powerful muscle spanning the body cavitmore detail info...
Belly button
Belly button: The navel or umbilicus. The one-time site of attachment of the umbilical cord. The term &belly button& was coined around 1877.more detail info...
Benign
Benign: Not cancer; does not invade surrounding tissue or spread to other parts of the body.more detail info...
Benign lymphoreticulosis
Benign lymphoreticulosis: Cat scratch disease, a mild flu-like infection, with swollen lymph nodes (lymphadenitis) and mild fever of short duration, due to cat scratches, especially from kittens There is usually a little bump (a papule) which mamore detail info...
Benign prostatic hypertrophy (BPH)
Benign prostatic hypertrophy (BPH): Nonmalignant (noncancerous) enlargement of the prostate gland, a common occurrence in older adult men.more detail info...
Bernard syndrome
Bernard syndrome: A complex of abnormal findings, namely sinking in of one eyeball, ipsilateral ptosis (drooping of the upper eyelid on the same side) and miosis (constriction of the pupil of that eye) together with anhidosis (lack of sweating) and flumore detail info...
Bernard-Soulier syndrome
Bernard-Soulier syndrome (giant platelet syndrome):The Bernard-Soulier syndrome is a primary problem of platelets in which the platelets lack the ability to stick adequately to injured blood vessel walls. This is a crucial aspect of the process of formore detail info...
Berry aneurysm
Berry aneurysm: An small outpouching (aneurysm) that looks like a berry and classically occurs at the point at which a cerebral artery departs from the circular artery (the circle of Willis) at the base of the brain. Berry aneurysms rupture frequemore detail info...
Beta adrenergic blocking agents
Beta adrenergic blocking drugs: A class of drugs, also called beta blockers, that block beta-adrenergic substances such as adrenaline (epinephrine), a key agent in the "sympathetic" portion of the autonomic (involuntary) nervous system. By blocmore detail info...
Beta blockers
Beta blockers: A class of drugs that block beta-adrenergic substances such as adrenaline (epinephrine), a key agent in the "sympathetic" portion of the autonomic (involuntary) nervous system. By blocking the action of the sympathetic nervous systmore detail info...
Beta carotene
Beta carotene: An antioxidant which protects cells against oxidation damage that can lead to cancer. Beta carotene is converted, as needed, to vitamin A. Food sources of beta carotene include vegetables such as carrots, sweet potatoes, spinach and othemore detail info...
Beta cell, pancreatic
Beta cell, pancreatic: A type of cell in the pancreas (the organ of the digestive system located behind the stomach). Within the pancreas, the beta cells are located in areas called the islets of Langerhans. They constitute the predominant type ofmore detail info...
Beta error
Beta error: The statistical error (said to be &of the second kind& or type II) made in testing when it is concluded that something is negative when it really is positive. Beta error is often referred to as a false negative.more detail info...