In the Midst of Life (56 page)

Excoriated:
when skin becomes raw, sore, and the top layers are removed.

Exudate:
a fluid that filters from the circulatory system into lesions or areas of inflammation.

Feed-pegs: or peg tubes:
tubes inserted directly into the stomach through the skin which can allow liquid feed to be given to the patient. Useful when patients lose the ability to swallow such as after a stroke.

Fehlings solution:
used to detect sugar in the urine.

Fibrillating:
when the heart muscle is rapidly twitching in an uncoordinated way.

Flavine gauze:
gauze soaked in flavine, an antiseptic.

Gastrectomy or gastric resection:
this is when part or the whole of the stomach is removed.

Gastric intubation and suction:
A tube inserted through the person’s nose into their stomach (called a naso-gastric tube) which can then be used to drain the fluids away more comfortably and cleanly. A syringe can be attached to the tube and used to remove the stomach’s contents by ‘suction’.

Gastro-enterologist:
a specialist in the gastro-intestinal tract, digestion and its disorders.

Glucose and saline infusion:
(see ‘infusion’ as well) an infusion into the vein of a mix of weak saline (salt) and glucose (sugar) solution.

Glyceryl trinitrate:
a drug used to treat angina.

Glycosuria:
the excretion of glucose into the urine.

Haemoglobin levels:
haemoglobin is a protein in red blood cells which carries oxygen.

Hallucinogenic:
substances causing hallucinations.

Hardened arteries:
arteries are normally elastic to cope with the pressure of blood being pushed around the body: this elasticity allows the arteries to maintain the blood pressure.

Hemiplegic:
one-sided weakness of
the body.

Hiatus hernia:
caused by the upper part of the stomach pushing through the hole in the diaphragm.

Hippocratic Oath:
historically, an oath taken by doctors to practise ethically in medicine. It has been taken over by another oath in the USA. In the UK it has been taken over by a different code of conduct.

Huntingdon’s chorea:
a degenerative disease of the brain, whereby the person suffers physical, cognitive and functional effects. It is hereditary and always fatal.

Hydraulic air bed:
a specialised bed used to prevent pressure and bedsores in someone with reduced mobility.

Hypoglycaemia:
low blood sugar levels. Can occur in diabetics when they do not take in enough glucose from their diet.

Hyper-glycaemia
is high blood sugar levels, again caused by diabetes. Symptoms build up over several days but if not treated it can affect vision, nerves and circulation.

Hypothalamus:
a very small part of the brain, which controls temperature, hunger, thirst and circadian rhythms (the twenty-four-hour body clock).

Iliac crest:
part of the pelvic bone.

Iliac vein:
main veins of the pelvis.

Infarction:
the process of tissue death caused by lack of circulation to the area.

Involuntary reflexes:
these are the body’s responses to certain things and which cannot be controlled by the mind.

Irritable bowel:
a disease in which the bowel becomes irritated by something, either an allergy, disease or drugs, which causes profuse diarrhoea or constipation.

Ischaemic heart disease:
death of heart tissue caused by blockage of blood vessels.

IV’s:
short for intravenous, a term used for anything given via a vein.

Jugular:
the largest vein in the body, situated in the
neck.

Ketones:
a by-product of the breakdown of fatty tissue in the body, usually occurring in diabetics.

Lapatoromy:
This is the name of the surgical incision to the abdomen.

Laying out:
often called ‘Last Offices’. This is the process of preparing the body of someone who has just died for burial.

Leukaemia:
Cancer of the bone marrow.

Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) - Health and Welfare:
the only legally recognised way a person can make a medical decision on behalf of another. This power only comes into effect when the person loses capacity i.e. the ability to make a decision. It must be registered (proven by a hologram sticker on the document, and an official rubber stamp) and must be seen by the medics and people treating that person at the time. The person acting as the attorney can only make decisions within the remit of what they think the person they are representing would have wanted in that situation.

Lumbar puncture:
an investigative procedure in which cerebrospinal fluid is removed for analysis.

Mastectomy:
removal of all or part of the breast.

Mersalyl:
an early diuretic which contained mercury.

Metastasis:
a single site where the cancer has spread, a single secondary. Metastases is the plural and means multiple secondaries.

MRSA: Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus:
a highly contagious and resistant bacterial infection requiring strong skin cleansers, and antibiotics.

Multiple sclerosis:
when the myelin sheath (insulation) around certain nerves is affected which slows down the passage of nerve messages. There are several types of MS, some more progressive and damaging than others.

Nasojejunostomy tube:
tube that is inserted through the nasal passage, into the gullet, through the stomach and into the small bowel, the jejunum.

Necrotic:
dead and decaying: e.g. necrotic skin is blackened skin caused by lack of
circulation.

Neurodegenerative disease:
disease which causes deterioration of the nervous systems.

Neurologist:
a specialist of the nerves, the nervous system and related disorders.

Oedema:
swelling of the tissues of the body caused by poor circulation.

Oestrogen / Progesterone:
these are female steroids, better known as female sex hormones.

Oncologist:
a doctor specialising in treating cancer.

Oncotic pressures:
when blood is more concentrated and attracts water into the circulatory system.

Open heart resuscitation (direct manual compression):
heart compressions applied directly to the heart through an incision made through the skin, sternum and membranes.

Palliative care:
care of patients with incurable disease and their families. In chronic disease it will begin when the disease can no longer be assisted by drug therapy.

Paraldehyde:
a substance originally used to control convulsions, and as a sedative and hypnotic.

Paralytic ileus:
when the small bowel paralyses itself.

Paramedics:
specially trained professionals who attend emergencies in the community.

Parenteral:
given via external route instead of via the gastrointestinal route.

Path lab analysis (short for pathology laboratory analysis):
analysis of certain body tissues or fluids.

Pathologist:
a specialist of pathology.

Pelvic colon:
the colon is the large bowel.

Peripheral:
on the edges of the body.

Peritoneal cavity:
the abdominal cavity, which is surrounded by the peritoneal membrane.

Peritonitis:
inflammation of the peritoneum, the membrane
lining the abdominal cavity. It can be caused by infection, disease or injury. It needs to be treated with strong antibiotics or an operation, and can be fatal.

Placebo:
a substance with no active element or drug, often used in trials against a real drug to see whether the latter is more effective.

Plaques:
in Alzheimer’s dementia, small clumps of proteins that grow around brain cells and prevent normal functioning.

Pleural aspiration:
drainage of fluid, which has built up between the pleural membranes surrounding the lungs.

Pneumococcal organisms:
the bacterial cause of pneumonia.

There is now a vaccination to protect people from this.

Polyuria:
excessive production and excretion of urine.

Positive pressure:
when the pressure within a system is higher than that of the environment it is in.

Potassium citrate:
a substance used to dilute acidic urine.

Primary progressive aphasia:
when words are muddled and mixed up, and speech is then lost altogether.

Prostatectomy:
surgical removal of the prostate gland.

Psycho-geriatric ward:
now called Elderly Mentally Ill (EMI) wards. This is a ward specially designed to care for elderly people who have mental health problems.

Psychosomatic paralysis:
paralysis caused by the unconscious mind.

Pulmonary oedema:
fluid congestion in the lungs which may be caused by heart conditions.

Radiotherapy:
treatment of cancer using radium.

Remedial therapy:
treatment to aid recovery: it tends to be non-pharmacological in nature.

Respiratory drive:
this is controlled by a part of the brain which measures how much carbon dioxide is present in the blood and controls how the person breathes.

Retractor:
a surgical instrument which is used to hold back skin, muscle or bone to allow better access and vision during surgery.

Rheumatism:
a condition of the joints and connective
tissue.

Rigor mortis:
after a certain period following death, the muscles of the body begin to stiffen.

Sarcoma:
a cancer of connective tissue, i.e. bone, cartilage or muscle.

Sclera:
the white part of the eyeball, which is made up of elastic fibrous tissue.

Septicaemia:
infection in the blood.

Serum:
the watery part of blood, which carries the red and white blood cells, and platelets.

Shock:
bodily collapse or near collapse caused by inadequate delivery of oxygen to the cells from decreased heart functioning, e.g. from excessive loss of blood.

Sigmoid colon:
this links the anus and rectum to the large bowel.

Sloughing:
when part of the body becomes detached, usually linked with wounds and skin in humans.

Staphylococcal infection:
a particular type of bacterial infection caused by the
Staphylococcus
bacterium.

Statins:
a group of drugs used to reduce the blood cholesterol level.

Sternum:
the bone that connects both sides of the rib cage at the front.

Stertorous:
heavy mouth breathing, characterised by loud snoring or gasping noises.

Suppuration:
the formation and production of pus.

Supra-pubic catheter:
a tube placed directly into the bladder through the skin, just above the pubic bone.

Surgical shock:
similar to normal shock, but caused by surgery.

Thrombosis:
a blood clot occurring in a blood vessel.

Tibia and fibula:
the two bones of the lower leg, between knee and ankle.

Titrated / titration:
when a drug or treatment is given according to how much is needed by the patient before too many side effects, or intolerance, develops.

Total parenteral nutrition:
complete nutritional diet given
intravenously. It is mixed in sterile conditions according to the individual’s daily blood tests and contains all the calories, nutrients, vitamins and minerals a person needs.

Tracheostomy:
a hole made in the throat wall into which a tube is placed into the bronchus, the main breathing tube into the lungs. A tracheostomy tube is placed in this man-made hole to keep it patent, e.g. a Durham’s tube.