Category: Pa-Pb

The development of a disease and the chain of events leading to that disease.

A prefix derived from the Greek “pathos” meaning “suffering or disease.” Patho- serves as a prefix for many terms including pathogen (disease agent), pathogenesis (development of disease), pathology (study of disease), etc. The corresponding suffix is -pathy.

A device giving exclusive control and possession. Before the commercialization of biomedical inventions, the word “patent” in this sense had no place in a medical dictionary. Now the patent is the foundation of the biotechnology industry.

Open, unobstructed, affording free passage. Thus, for example, the bowel may be patent (as opposed to obstructed). Pronounced “pa-tent” with the accent on the first syllable.

The commonest cause of chronic knee pain, PFS characteristically causes vague discomfort of the inner knee area, aggravated by activity (running, jumping, climbing or descending stairs) or by prolonged sitting with knees in a moderately bent position (the so-called “theater sign” of pain upon arising from a desk or theater seat). The knee may be…

Paroxysmal atrial tachycardia.

A method of treating food by heating it to a certain point to kill pathogenic (disease-causing) organisms but not harm the flavor or quality of the food. Milk is pasteurized by heating it to about 145?F (63?C) for 30 minutes or, using the “flash” method, by heating it to 160?F (71?C) for 15 seconds, followed by rapid…

Movement of the body, usually of the limbs, without effort by the patient. The patient is passive.

1. Physician-assisted suicide. 2. Personal alert system (an alarm system for an elderly or infirm person). 3. Periodic acid-Schiff (a stain used to detect carbohydrates in tissue).

Infection with one of a family of small single-stranded DNA viruses. (Parvovirus means small virus, from the Latin parvus, small.) One type, parvovirus B19, infects only humans. There are also animal parvoviruses, but they do not infect humans. A person cannot catch parvovirus B19 from a dog or cat. The diagnosis of parvovirus B19 can be…