Category: Mp-Mz

Muscle spasm is a common, involuntary tightening or contraction of a muscle or group of muscles. Muscle spasms typically are not predictable and can be quite painful. Thighs, feet, calves, hands, and arms are common locations for muscle spasms. Muscle spasms are also referred to as muscle cramps. Spasms may last for a few seconds or up to…

Muscle relaxant is a term usually used to refer to skeletal muscle relaxants (drugs), which act on the central nervous system (CNS) to relax muscles. These drugs are often prescribed to reduce pain and soreness associated with sprains, strains, or other types of muscle injury. Some examples of commonly prescribed skeletal muscle relaxant medications include carisoprodol (Soma), cyclobenzaprine (Flexeril), and…

Muscle is the tissue of the body which primarily functions as a source of power. There are three types of muscle in the body. Muscle which is responsible for moving extremities and external areas of the body is called “skeletal muscle.” Heart muscle is called “cardiac muscle.” Muscle that is in the walls of arteries and bowel…

A sound due to vibrations from the flow of blood through the heart or great vessels. A murmur may be innocent and be of no significance. Or it may be pathologic and reflect disease. A murmur is usually heard with a stethoscope.

Recurrent feigning of catastrophic illnesses. Munchhausen syndrome is a psychological disorder that is characterized by the recurrent presentation of the patient for treatment of an acute and often dire illness that is, in reality, not present. The person with Munchhausen syndrome usually gives a plausible and dramatic history. All of it is entirely false. The patient tends to…

A parenting disorder in which the parent either fabricates an illness or induces an illness in their child. Munchausen syndrome by proxy (MSBP) differs from other forms of parenting disorder in that the offending parent is almost always the mother, she usually appears to be a model mother, there is little or no indication of family discord,…

The failure of two or more systems in the body as, for example, the cardiovascular and renal systems. Multiple system failure is also known as multiple organ failure, as when both the heart and kidney give out. Multiple organ or system failure is often given as the cause of death on the death certificate. However, the National Center for Health…

A disease that is characterized by loss of myelin (demyelinization). Abbreviated MS. Myelin, the coating of nerve fibers, is composed of lipids (fats) and protein. It serves as insulation and permits efficient nerve fiber conduction. In MS, demyelinization usually affects white matter in the brain, but sometimes it extends into the gray matter. When myelin is damaged, nerve fiber conduction is…

A bone marrow cancer that involves a type of white blood cell called a plasma (or myeloma) cell. The tumor cells in myeloma can form a single collection (plasmacytoma) or many tumors (multiple myeloma). Plasma cells are normally part of the immune system; they make antibodies. Because myeloma patients have an excess of identical plasma cells, they have…

A woman who has had two or more pregnancies resulting in potentially viable offspring. The term para refers to births. A para III has had three such pregnancies; a para VI or more is also known as a grand ‘multipara.