Category: Sm-St

One of several conditions characterized by intense inflammation of the skin, such as from erysipelas or ergotism. Erysipelas is a type of spreading hot, bright-red strep skin infection. Ergotism is an intensely painful burning sensation in the limbs and extremities caused by ergotamines from a fungus (Claviceps purpurea) that can contaminate rye and wheat. The fungus produces…

Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor, one of a family of antidepressant medications (brand names: Celexa, Luvox, Paxil, Prozac, Zoloft) that affect the neurotransmitter serotonin.

Flat cells that look like fish scales that line many body organs. The word “squamous” came from the Latin squama meaning “the scale of a fish or serpent.” Squamous cells make up most of the cells in the outer layer of the skin (the epidermis), the passages of the respiratory and digestive tracts, and the linings of the hollow…

This condition results from an immune (allergic) reaction to gluten, a protein found in wheat and related grains and present in many foods that we eat. Sprue causes impaired absorption and digestion of nutrients through the small intestine. Symptoms include frequent diarrhea and weight loss. A skin condition called dermatitis herpetiformis can be associated with celiac sprue. The…

Also known as “floaters”, blurry spots that drift in front of the eyes but do not block vision. The blur is the result of debris from the vitreous casting a shadow on the retina. The spot is the image formed by a deposit of protein drifting about in the vitreous, the clear jelly-like substance that fills the middle…

An infection caused by the fungus Sporothrix schenckii, typically involving the skin. Persons handling thorny plants, sphagnum moss, or baled hay are at increased risk of developing sporotrichosis. The first sign is usually a small painless bump resembling an insect bite. The bump can be red, pink, or purple in color, and it usually appears on the finger,…

Occurring upon occasion or in a scattered, isolated, or seemingly random way.

A miscarriage, that is, any pregnancy that is not viable (the fetus cannot survive) or in which the fetus is born before the 20th week of pregnancy. Spontaneous abortion occurs in at least 15-20% of all recognized pregnancies and usually takes place before the 13th week of pregnancy. A spontaneous abortion is as opposed to an induced abortion. In a spontaneous abortion,…

Inflammation of one or more of the vertebrae of the spine. Diffuse inflammation of the spine is seen, for example, in the disease ankylosing spondylitis. Localized spondylitis is seen with infections of a certain area of the spine, such as in Pott’s disease (tuberculosis of the spine).

Multiple personality disorder, a neurosis in which the personality becomes dissociated into two or more distinct parts each of which becomes dominant and controls behavior from time to time to the exclusion of the other parts. A modern name for this condition is dissociative identity disorder.