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Food and Drug Administration.

In medicine, familial colorectal cancer (not the Federal Communications Commission).

A condition characterized by hemolytic anemia (breakup of red blood cells) after eating fava beans (Vicia fava) or being exposed to the pollen of the fava plant. This dangerous reaction occurs exclusively in people with a deficiency of the enzyme glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD), an X-linked genetic trait. However, not all G6PD-deficient families appear at risk for favism, indicating the additional…

Molecules that are long chains of lipid-carboxylic acid found in fats and oils and in cell membranes as a component of phospholipids and glycolipids. (Carboxylic acid is an organic acid containing the functional group -COOH.) Fatty acids come from animal and vegetable fats and oils. Fatty acids play roles outside the body; they are used as lubricants,…

A condition characterized by a lessened capacity for work and reduced efficiency of accomplishment, usually accompanied by a feeling of weariness and tiredness. Fatigue can be acute and come on suddenly or chronic and persist.

1: Along with proteins and carbohydrates, one of the three nutrients used as energy sources by the body. The energy produced by fats is 9 calories per gram. Proteins and carbohydrates each provide 4 calories per gram. 2: Total fat; the sum of saturated, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats. Intake of monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats can help reduce blood cholesterol when substituted for…

A test to determine how much glucose (sugar) is in a blood sample after an overnight fast. The fasting blood glucose test is commonly used to detect diabetes mellitus. A blood sample is taken in a lab, physician’s office, or hospital. The test is done in the morning, before the person has eaten. The normal range for blood glucose is 70 to…

Fasting: : going without food or drink. Patients may be advised to fast for a certain period of time prior to surgery, medical procedures, or certain blood tests.

Involuntary contractions or twitchings of groups of muscle fibers. Fasciculations can occur in normal individuals without an associated disease or condition, or as a result of illness, such as muscle cramps, nerve diseases, and metabolic imbalances.

This is not an accepted medical word for passing gas. Excess gas in the intestinal is medically termed “flatulence.” (But what is excess gas is difficult to define since symptom-free individuals have recorded approximately 14 passages of gas per 24 hours!) The Oxford English Dictionary (OED), in its inimitable way, notes that the word “fart”…