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Medical Dictionary Terms Beginning with V
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Valves, heart
Valves, heart: There are four heart valves. All are one-way valves. Blood entering the heart first passes through the tricuspid valve and then the pulmonary valve. After returning from the lungs, the blood passes through the mitral (bicuspid) vamore detail info...
VAQTA
VAQTA: A vaccine against hepatitis A made of killed hepatitis A virus to stimulate the body’s immune system to produce antibodies against the hepatitis A virus.more detail info...
Variant angina
Variant angina: Chest pain due to coronary artery spasm, a sudden constriction of a coronary artery (one of the vessels that supply the heart muscle with blood rich in oxygen) depriving the heart muscle (myocardium) of blood and oxygen. This is amore detail info...
Variation, observer
Variation, observer: Failure by the observer to measure accurately, resulting in error. Observer variation may be due to the observer's missing a measurement, making an incorrect measurement, or misinterpretating data. Inter-observer variation is themore detail info...
Varicella
Varicella: A highly infectious viral disease, known familiarly as chickenpox. The &pox& of chickenpox is no major matter unless infected (through scratching) or occur in an immunodeficient person. However, there can be very major complicationmore detail info...
Varicella (chickenpox) vaccination
Varicella (chickenpox) vaccination: This immunization is aimed at preventing chickenpox (varicella zoster). While chickenpox is often considered a trivial illness, it can cause significant lost time on the job and in school and have serious commore detail info...
Varicocele
Varicocele: Elongation and enlargement of the veins of the pampiniform plexus (the network of veins leaving the testis which join to form the testicular vein). Appears bluish through the scrotum and feels like a bag of worms. Can cause pain or discomfomore detail info...
Variola (smallpox)
Variola (smallpox): Highly contagious and frequently fatal viral disease characterized by a biphasic (double-humped) fever and a distinctive skin rash that (if the patient survived) left pock marks in its wake. The English physician Edward Jennemore detail info...
Varix
Varix: An enlarged and convoluted vein, artery or lymphatic vessel.more detail info...
Vasa previa
Vasa previa: The umbilical cord vessels come before the fetal head during delivery.more detail info...
Vascular
Vascular:Relating to blood vessels of the body. The blood vessels of the body, as a group, are referred to as the vascular system. The blood vessels are composed of arteries that pass oxygen-rich blood to the tissues of the body and veins which return oxmore detail info...
Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEG-F)
Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEG-F): A gene that is responsible for the growth of blood vessels.more detail info...
Vascular headache
Vascular headache: A group of headaches felt to involve abnormal sensitivity of the blood vessels (arteries) in the brain to various triggers which results in rapid changes in the artery size due to spasm (constriction). Other armore detail info...
Vasculitis
Vasculitis: Vasculitis is a general term for a group of uncommon diseases which feature inflammation of the blood vessels. The blood vessels of the body are referred to as the vascular system. The blood vessels are composed of arteries thamore detail info...
Vasculitis, allergic
Vasculitis, allergic: A disease (also more commonly called the Churg-Straus syndrome) characterized by inflammation of the blood vessels in persons with a history of asthma or allergy. The symptoms of the Churg-Strauss syndrome include fatigue, weight lmore detail info...
Vasculitis, retinal
more detail info...
Vasoconstriction
Vasoconstriction: Narrowing of the blood vessels resulting from contracting of the muscular wall of the vessels. The opposite of vasodilation.more detail info...
Vasodepressor syncope
Vasodepressor syncope: The temporary loss of consciousness in a particular kind of situation. (Syncope is temporary loss of consciousness or, in plain English, fainting). The situations that trigger this reaction are diverse and include having blood drawmore detail info...
Vasodilation
Vasodilation: Widening of blood vessels resulting from relaxation of the muscular wall of the vessels. What widens is actually the diameter of the interior (the lumen) of the vessel. The opposite of vasoconstriction.more detail info...
Vasodilators
Vasodilators: Agents that act as blood vessel dilators (vasodilators) and open vessels by relaxing their muscular walls. For example, nitroglycerin is a vasodilator. So are the ACE (angiotensin converting enzyme) inhibitors.more detail info...