Month: August 2020
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Aerobic capacity (cardiorespiratory endurance)
The ability of the body to remove oxygen from the air and transfer it through the lungs and blood to the working muscles. The maximum amount of oxygen the body can process over a given period of time.
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Adult onset obesity
After age 18, when an individual acquires too much fat due to the increase in the size of his fat cells. Obesity first appearing in the adult years. Also known as recent obesity.
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Adrenaline (epinephrine)
A hormone secreted by the medulla of the adrenal glands, especially under conditions of stress that induces physiologic symptoms such as accelerated heart rate, increased arterial blood pressure, and increase in blood sugar concentration. The hormone, that binds to adrenergic receptors; causes the “fight or flight” response. Substance secreted by part of the adrenal gland…
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Adolescent onset obesity
After puberty, when an individual acquires too much fat due to the sudden increase in the number of fat cells.
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Adaptive shortening
Shortening of muscle fibers and decreased range of motion due to inactivity.
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Withdrawal
A pathological retreat from people or the world of reality, often seen in schizophrenia. A loss of interest in having contact with other people, which leads to a person becoming isolate. A period during which a person who has been addicted to a drug stops taking it and experiences unpleasant symptoms. Group of symptoms the…
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White, William Alanson (1870-1937)
American psychiatrist famous for his early support of psychoanalysis and his contributions to forensic psychiatry.
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Wcyer, Johann (circa 1530)
Dutch physician who was one of the first to devote his major interest to psychiatric disorders. Regarded by some as the founder of modern psychiatry.
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Wemicke-Korsakoff syndrome
A disease of central nervous system metabolism due to a lack of vitamin B1 (thiamine) seen in chronic alcoholism. Wernicke’s disease features irregularities of eye movements, in-coordination, impaired thinking, and often sensorimotor deficits. Korsakoff’s psychosis is characterized by confabulation and, more importantly, by a short-term, but not immediate, disturbance that leads to gross impairment in…
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Wednesday Evening Society
A group of Freud’s fol- lowers and students who formed the basis of the Vienna Psychoanalytic Society.