Category: Na-Ne

Prefix referring to the nose, as in nasogastric tube (a tube that is passed through the nose and to the stomach).

Benign growths that originate in the mucous membranes lining the nasal passages or paranasal sinuses. Polyps are believed to arise in the nasal mucosa as a result of chronic inflammation. Up to 4% of adults have nasal polyps; they can also occur in children, particularly those with chronic respiratory conditions such as cystic fibrosis. Symptoms include postnasal drainage, snoring, headaches, sinusitis, and a reduced sense of smell and taste.…

A channel for airflow through the nose. The walls of the nasal passages are coated with respiratory mucous membranes, which contain innumerable tiny hair-like cells that move waves of mucus toward the throat. Dust, bacteria, and other particles inhaled from the air are trapped by the mucus in the nose, carried back, swallowed, and dropped into the gastric juices so that…

Having to do with the nose.

1. A drug that causes insensibility or stupor. A narcotic induces narcosis, from the Greek “narke” for “numbness or torpor.”2. A drug such as marijuana which is subject to regulatory restrictions comparable to those for addictive narcotics.

Narcolepsy is a neurological disorder that is marked by the recurrent, sudden, uncontrollable compulsion to sleep. Narcolepsy is often associated with cataplexy (a sudden loss of muscle tone and paralysis of voluntary muscles associated with a strong emotion), sleep paralysis (immobility of the body that occurs in the transition from sleep to wakefulness), hypnagogic hallucinations (pre-sleep dreams), and automatic behaviors (such as doing something ‘automatically’ and not remembering afterward how…

A drug that antagonizes morphine and other opiates. Naloxone is a pure opiate antagonist and prevents or reverses the effects of opioids including respiratory depression, sedation and hypotension. Sold under the brand name of Narcan and in combination with buprenorphine as Suboxone.

Transverse lines or grooves across the fingernails; transverse depressions in the nail plate caused by temporary cessation of cell division in the proximal nail matrix. The condition may be caused by local disease of the nail fold, physical trauma to it, or a systemic insult, such as an illness or a drug as, for example, chemotherapy. Also known as Beau’s lines.

Care of the fingernails and toenails. Many nail problems are due to poor nail care. Recommendations for maintaining nail health include keeping nails clean and dry to keep bacteria and other infectious organisms from collecting under the nails, cutting nails straight across with only slight rounding at the tip, using a fine-textured file to keep nails…

The lowest point. The nadir may refer, for example, to the lowest blood count after chemotherapy or the lowest concentration of a drug in the body.