Category: Ka-Kz

Outward curvature of the spine, causing a humped back. Treatment includes physical therapy and wearing a back brace, and in some cases surgery. Surgery for kyphosis may involve inserting a metal rod in the spine and restructuring some bones, and it is usually followed by wearing a back cast and then a back brace for some time.

Abbreviation for kidney, ureter, and bladder.

Little spots inside the mouth that are highly characteristic of the early phase of measles (rubeola). The spots look like a tiny grains of white sand, each surrounded by a red ring. They are found especially on the inside of the cheek (the buccal mucosa) opposite the 1st and 2nd upper molars. Named for the New York pediatrician Henry Koplik…

In 1890 the German physician and bacteriologist Robert Koch set out his celebrated criteria for judging whether a given bacteria is the cause of a given disease. Koch’s criteria brought some much-needed scientific clarity to what was then a very confused field. Koch’s postulates are as follows: However, Koch’s postulates have their limitations and so may…

The patella, the small bone in the front of the knee. The patella is a little (sesamoid) bone, embedded in the tendon of insertion of the quadriceps muscle. If the patella is shattered beyond repair, it can be removed in an operation called a patellectomy and sometimes replaced with prosthetic material.

The knee is a joint which has three parts. The thigh bone (the femur) meets the large shin bone (the tibia) to form the main knee joint. This joint has an inner (medial) and an outer (lateral) compartment. The kneecap (the patella) joins the femur to form a third joint, called the patellofemoral joint. The patella protects…

A congenital malformation syndrome characterized by the triad of asymmetric limb hypertrophy, hemangiomata, and nevi. “Asymmetric limb hypertrophy” is enlargement of one limb and not the corresponding limb on the other side, the enlarged limb being 3 times more likely to be a leg than an arm in KTW; and the limb enlargement is of bone as well…

A touch or caress with the lips. “The anatomical juxtaposition of two orbicularis oris muscles in a state of contraction.” — Henry Gibbons, Sr., MD (1808-1884) (This definition does not apply universally as a kiss can also refer to the single application of one’s lips against anything else.)

Kinetics (with an “s” at the end) refers to the rate of change in a biochemical (or other) reaction, the study of reaction rates. Kinetics is a noun. It is distinct from “kinetic” (an adjective) meaning with movement. The opposite of kinetic is akinetic meaning without movement. In neurology, kinetic and akinetic serve to denote the presence or absence of movement.…

Diabetic nephropathy (kidney disease). Kimmelstiel-Wilson syndrome is a kidney condition associated with long-standing diabetes. It affects the network of tiny blood vessels (the microvasculature) in the glomerulus, a key structure in the kidney that is composed of capillary blood vessels and which is critically necessary for the filtration of the blood. Features of Kimmelstiel-Wilson syndrome include the nephrotic syndrome with excessive filtration of…