Health / Acupuncture Glossary

Pituitary Gland: The main endocrine gland. It is a small structure in the head. It is called the master gland because it produces hormones that control other glands and many body functions including growth. . . . View Full Definition

Placebo: A 'sugar pill' or any dummy medication or treatment.

Pneumothorax: Free air in the chest outside the lung.

Qi: The belief in Qi deals with the flow of energy that, when balanced properly, keeps the body healthy.

Rehabilitation: The process of restoration of skills by a person who has had an illness or injury so as to regain maximum self-sufficiency and function in a normal or as near normal manner as possible. For . . . View Full Definition

Sensory: Relating to sensation , to the perception of a stimulus and the voyage made by incoming ( afferent ) nerve impulses from the sense organs to the nerve centers.

Side Effects: Problems that occur when treatment goes beyond the desired effect. Or problems that occur in addition to the desired therapeutic effect.

Skin: The skin is the body's outer covering. It protects us against heat and light, injury, and infection. It regulates body temperature and stores water, fat, and vitamin D. Weighing about 6 poun . . . View Full Definition

Specificity: 1. The quality of being specific as, for example, she showed the use of specificity in her diagnosis. 2. The proportion of persons without a disease who are correctly identified by a test. T . . . View Full Definition

Stroke : The sudden death of some brain cells due to a lack of oxygen when the blood flow to the brain is impaired by blockage or rupture of an artery to the brain. A stroke is also called a cerebrov . . . View Full Definition

Surgery: The word 'surgery' has multiple meanings. It is the branch of medicine concerned with diseases and conditions which require or are amenable to operative procedures. Surgery is the work done . . . View Full Definition

Syndrome: A set of signs and symptoms that tend to occur together and which reflect the presence of a particular disease or an increased chance of developing a particular disease.

Systemic: Affecting the entire body. A systemic disease such as diabetes can affect the whole body. Systemic chemotherapy employs drugs that travel through the bloodstream and reach and affect cells a . . . View Full Definition

Tennis Elbow: A painful injury to the tendon that is attached to the outer part of the elbow due to repetitive twisting of the wrist or forearm which causes irritation and inflammation of the extensor ten . . . View Full Definition

Therapeutic: Relating to therapeutics , that part of medicine concerned specifically with the treatment of disease . The therapeutic dose of a drug is the amount needed to treat a disease.

Viral: Of or pertaining to a virus. For example, 'My daughter has a viral rash .'

Viral Hepatitis: Viral hepatitis is liver inflammation caused by viruses. Specific hepatitis viruses have been labeled A, B, C, D, E, F, and G. While other viruses can also cause hepatitis, their primary tar . . . View Full Definition

Yin-Yang: Yin and Yang are conflicting powers within the body. Yang stands for dryness, the male essence and water. Yin is the female side, it represents water and darkness. A person is only well when . . . View Full Definition

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