Category: Ti-Tr

An infection caused by a single-celled parasite named Toxoplasma gondii that may invade tissues and damage the brain, especially of the fetus and newborn. The parasite Toxoplasma gondii is very common (more than 60 million people in the US carry it) but few are aware of it because the immune system often keeps the parasite from causing illness. The…

A poison produced by certain animals, plants, or bacteria.

The degree to which a substance (a toxin or poison) can harm humans or animals. Acute toxicity involves harmful effects in an organism through a single or short-term exposure. Subchronic toxicity is the ability of a toxic substance to cause effects for more than one year but less than the lifetime of the exposed organism. Chronic toxicity…

Toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN) is a potentially life-threatening disorder that produces widespread blistering and peeling of the skin. TEN is most commonly induced by a drug (for example, an antibiotic or other medication), but other triggers occasionally cause TEN (triggers like an infection or a malignancy). With severe TEN, occasionally the barrier and containment properties of the skin are…

A condition in pregnancy, also known as pre-eclampsia (or preeclampsia) characterized by abrupt hypertension (a sharp rise in blood pressure), albuminuria (leakage of large amounts of the protein albumin into the urine) and edema (swelling) of the hands, feet, and face. Pre-eclampsia is the most common complication of pregnancy. It affects about 5% of pregnancies. It occurs in the third trimester (the last third) of pregnancy. Pre-eclampsia…

Intravenous feeding that provides patients with all the fluid and the essential nutrients they need when they are unable to feed themselves by mouth. Abbreviated TPN.

A surgical procedure in which damaged parts of the knee joint are replaced with artifical parts. The surgery is done by separating the muscles and ligaments around the knee to expose the inside of the joint. The ends of the thigh bone (femur) and the shin bone (tibia) are removed as is often the underside…

A class of enzymes that alter the supercoiling of double-stranded DNA. (In supercoiling the DNA molecule coils up like a telephone cord, which shortens the molecule.) The topoisomerases act by transiently cutting one or both strands of the DNA. Topoisomerase type I cuts one strand whereas topoisomerase type II cuts both strands of the DNA to relax the…

Pertaining to a particular surface area. For example, a topical agent is applied to a certain area of the skin and is intended to affect only the area to which it is applied. Whether its effects are indeed limited to that area depends on whether the agent stays where it is put or is absorbed…

A chronic form of gout. Nodular masses of uric acid crystals (tophi) are deposited in different soft tissue areas of the body. Even though tophi are most commonly found as hard nodules around the fingers, at the tips of the elbows, and around the big toe, tophi nodules can appear anywhere in the body. They have been reported…