Category: Ah-Al

Above the knee. Acanthamoeba keratitis. Actinic keratosis.

Partial or complete blockage of the breathing passages to the lungs. Causes include the presence of foreign matter, allergic reactions, infections, anatomical abnormalities, and trauma. Associated respiratory distress may be sudden, with only a cough for a warning. There is often agitation in the early stages. Other signs include labored, ineffective breathing, until the person is no longer breathing (apneic). Loss of consciousness occurs if…

The path that air follows to get into and out of the lungs. The mouth and nose are the normal entry and exit ports for the airway. Entering air then passes through the back of the throat (pharynx) and continues through the voice box (larynx), down the trachea, to finally pass through the bronchi.

Is more appropriately referred to as hypersensitivity pneumonitis. Hypersensitivity pneumonitis is an inflammation of the lungs due to breathing in a foreign substance, usually certain types of dust, fungus, or molds. It has also called humidifier lung, extrinsic allergic alveolitis, farmer’s lung, mushroom picker’s disease, and bird breeder’s lung. The condition is usually found in those whose home or work place contains…

The airbag is a vehicle safety device. It is restraining device designed to inflate rapidly during an automobile collision. It prevents the driver and passenger from striking the steering wheel or a window. The airbag is designed to only inflate in moderate to severe frontal crashes. Airbags are normally designed with the intent of supplemental…

An abnormal and persistent fear of cats which produces an undue anxiety reaction even though sufferers realize their fear is irrational. Sufferers of ailurophobia may fear not only the scratch or bite of a cat, but also the “evil mystique” of cats as depicted in Halloween folklore and such literary works as Edgar Allen Poe’s “The Black Cat.” From…

A procedure in which a fine catheter (tube) is inserted through the cervix (the natural opening of the uterus) into the uterus (the womb) to deposit a sperm sample from the woman’s mate directly into the uterus. The purpose of this procedure is to achieve fertilization and pregnancy. AIH is distinguished from artificial insemination by donor (AID) in which the…

A term used in the early years of the AIDS epidemic to describe people with HIV infection who had only mild symptoms of illness, such as swollen lymph glands. It is rarely used today. Abbreviated ARC.

The involuntary weight loss of 10% of baseline body weight plus either chronic diarrhea (two loose stools per day for more than 30 days) or chronic weakness and documented fever (for 30 days or more, intermittent or constant) in the absence of a concurrent illness or condition other than HIV infection that would explain the findings.

A brain disorder in people with severe AIDS, causing loss of thinking capacity and affecting the ability to function. AIDS dementia complex is considered an AIDS-defining illness’that is, one of the serious illnesses that occurs in HIV-positive individuals warranting an AIDS diagnosis, according to the definition of AIDS by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).