Category: An-An

An outpouching (a local widening) of the largest artery in the body, the aorta, involving that vessel in its course above the diaphragm (thoracic aortic aneurysm) or, more commonly, below the diaphragm (abdominal aortic aneurysm). The diagnosis of an aortic aneurysm can be straight forward or difficult. Around 1900 the eminent physician William Osler said: “There is no disease more conducive…

An aneurysm situated within the abdomen (belly). An aneurysm is a localized widening (dilatation) of an artery, vein, or the heart. At the area of an aneurysm, there is typically a bulge and the wall is weakened and may rupture. The word “aneurysm” comes from the Greek “aneurysma” meaning “a widening.” See: Aneurysm, aortic.

A localized widening (dilatation) of an artery, a vein, or the heart. At the point of an aneurysm, there is typically a bulge. The wall of the blood vessel or organ is weakened and may rupture.

A condition in which a person has one or a few chromosomes above or below the normal chromosome number. For example, three copies of chromosome21, which is characteristic of Down syndrome, is a form of aneuploidy.

An area of slack “baglike” skin due to a local absence or loss of elastic fibers in the skin. The skin affected by anetoderma often occurs in multiple local areas that typically have distinct borders from normal skin (circumscribed). The skin in these areas is soft, thin, and wrinkled, sometimes with patches that bulge out…

A nurse or technician trained to administer anesthetics.

An anesthetic that causes loss of feeling in a limited part of the body.

An anesthetic that puts a person to sleep rendering them unconscious.

An anesthetic injected into the epidural space surrounding the fluid-filled sac (the dura) around the spinal cord. It partially numbs the abdomen and legs and is most commonly used during childbirth.

A substance that causes lack of feeling or awareness, dulling pain to permit surgery and other painful procedures.