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Medical Dictionary Terms Beginning with S
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Selenium deficiency
Selenium deficiency: Deficiency of the essential mineral selenium causes Keshan disease, a fatal form of cardiomyopathy (disease of the heart muscle) first observed in Keshan province in China and since found elsewhere. According to the National Academmore detail info...
Selenium excess
Selenium excess: Too much of the mineral selenium may cause reversible changes in the hair (balding) and nails, garlic odor to the breath, intestinal distress, weakness and slower mentation (slowed mental functionning). According to the National Academmore detail info...
Seminal vesicles
Seminal vesicles: Two structures about 5 cm long behind the bladder and above the prostate gland which contribute fluid to the ejaculate.more detail info...
Sentinel lymph node
Sentinel lymph node: The first lymph node ("gland") to receive lymphatic drainage from a tumor. Which lymph node is the sentinel node in a given case is determined by injecting around the tumor a tracer substance that will travel through the lymphaticmore detail info...
Sentinel-lymph-node biopsy
Sentinel-lymph-node biopsy: Examination of the first lymph node ("gland") that receives lymphatic drainage from a tumor to learn whether that node does or does not have tumor cells within it. Which lymph node is the sentinel node for a given tumor ismore detail info...
Sepsis
Sepsis: Commonly called a &blood stream infection.& The presence of bacteria (bacteremia) or other infectious organisms or their toxins in the blood (septicemia) or in other tissue of the body. Sepsis may be associated with clinical symore detail info...
Sepsis, neonatal
Sepsis, neonatal: A serious blood bacterial infection in an infant less than 4 weeks of age. Babies with sepsis may be listless, overly sleepy, floppy,weak, and very pale.more detail info...
Septal defect, atrial (ASD)
Septal defect, atrial (ASD): A hole in the septum, the wall, between the atria, the upper chambers of the heart. Commonly called an ASD. ASDs are a major class of heart deformity that is present at birth (congenital cardiac malformation).more detail info...
Septal defect, ventricular (VSD)
Septal defect, ventricular (VSD):A ventricular septal defect (VSD) is a hole in the septum (the wall) between the lower chambers of the heart (the ventricles). VSDs are the commonest class of heart malformation (congenital heart disease). At leastmore detail info...
Septate
Septate: Divided: A septate uterus is a one that is divided.more detail info...
Septate vagina
Septate vagina: A vagina that is divided, usually longitudinally, to create a double vagina. This situation can be easily missed by the patient and even by the doctor on exam. If the patient becomes sexually active prior to diagnosis, one of the vaginamore detail info...
Septic bursitis
Septic bursitis: A bursa is a closed fluid-filled sac that functions as a gliding surface to reduce friction between tissues of the body. When the bursa becomes inflamed, the condition is known as &bursitis.& When the bursa is infected with bmore detail info...
Septum
Septum: A word borrowed from the Latin &saeptum& meaning a &dividing wall or enclosure.&more detail info...
Septum, atrial
Septum, atrial: The wall between the two upper chambers (the right and left atrium) of the heart.more detail info...
Septum, interatrial
Septum, interatrial: The wall separating the upper chambers (the atria) of the heart. A hole in the interatrial septum is termed an atrial septal defect (ASD).more detail info...
Septum, interventricular
Septum, interventricular: The wall separating the lower chambers (the ventricles) of the heart. A hole in the interventricular septum is termed a venticular septal defect (VSD).more detail info...
Septum, nasal
Septum, nasal: The dividing wall that runs down the middle of the nose so that there are normally two sides to the nose, each ending in a nostril.more detail info...
Septum, ventricular
Septum, ventricular: The wall between the two lower chambers (the right and left ventricles) of the heart.more detail info...
Sequence tagged site (STS)
Sequence tagged site (STS): A short (200 to 500 base pairs) DNA sequence that occurs but once in the human genome and whose location and base sequence are known. Detectable by polymerase chain reaction, STSs are useful for localizing and orienting themore detail info...
Sequence, complementary
Sequence, complementary: Nucleic acid sequence of bases that can form a double- stranded structure by matching base pairs. For example, the complementary sequence to C-A-T-G (where each letter stands for one of the bases in DNA) is G-T-A-C.more detail info...