Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.

Inactive, resting. For example, tuberculosis can be a quiescent (inactive) infection.

Inactivity, quietness. In cells, quiescence is the state of not dividing. In neurons (nerve cells), quiescence is the state of not firing. The word comes from the Latin “quiescere”, to become quiet. Quiescence suggests a temporary cessation of activity.

Seen on a prescription, qid (or q.i.d.) means 4 times a day (from the Latin quater in die). The abbreviation qid or q.i.d. is also sometimes written without a period in capital letters as “QID”. However it is written, it is one of a number of hallowed abbreviations of Latin terms that have been traditionally used in prescriptions…

Pattern of inheritance that seems due to a dominant trait but is in fact due to the mating of a person who has a recessive disorder (with two copies of a gene causing the disease) with someone who is an asymptomatic carrier (with one copy of the same gene but no symptoms).

A period of isolation decreed to control the spread of infectious disease. Before the era of antibiotics and other medications, quarantine was one of the few available means for halting the spread of infectious diseases.

Seen on a prescription, qd (or, written with periods, q.d.) means one a day (from the Latin quaque die). The abbreviation is sometimes written without a period in capital letters as “QD”. However it is written, it is one of a number of hallowed abbreviations of Latin terms that have been traditionally used in prescriptions to…

If a medicine is to be taken every so- many hours, it is written “q_h”; the “q” standing for the Latin word for once “quaque” and the “h” indicating the number of hours. So, for example, “2 caps q4h” means “Take 2 capsules every 4 hours.” However it is written, it is one of a…

The patient’s ability to enjoy normal life activities. Quality of life is an important consideration in medical care. Some medical treatments can seriously impair quality of life without providing appreciable benefit, whereas others greatly enhance quality of life.

Weakness of all four limbs, both arms and both legs, as from muscular dystrophy.

Although the term “quadriceps” technically may refer to any four-headed muscle, it usually refers to and is synonymous with the quadriceps muscle of the thigh, the large muscle that comes down the?femur?(the bone of the upper leg), goes over the?patella?(the kneecap) and anchors into the top of the?tibia?(the big bone in the lower leg). The function of…