Category: B
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Beclomethasone
A steroid drug usually used in an inhaler to treat asthma or hay fever. Inhaled corticosteroid anti-inflammatory agent used in the treatment of asthma and in allergies. A corticosteroid drug that reduces inflammation and is applied externally in the treatment of various skin disorders. High dosage may cause retention of sodium and water and delayed…
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beat joint
An inflammation of a joint such as the elbow (beat elbow) or knee (beat knee) caused by frequent sharp blows or other pressure.
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Bearing-down pain
Pain felt in the uterus during the second stage of labour. Rectal pressure and discomfort occurring during the second stage of labor, related to fetal descent and the woman’s straining efforts to expel the fetus.
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Bearing down
Stage in childbirth when the woman starts to push out the baby from the uterus. Sensation and effort by a pregnant woman to expel the fetus; it is characteristic of the second stage of labor. The expulsive effort of a parturient woman in the second stage of labor. Valsalva’s maneuver is used, causing increased pressure…
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Bazin’s disease
Same as erythema induratum [Described 1861. After Pierre Antoine Ernest Bazin (1807-78), dermatologist at Hépital St Louis, Paris, France. He was an expert in parasitology associated with skin conditions.] A disease of young women in which tender nodules develop under the skin in the calves. The nodules may break down and ulcerate though they may…
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Battledore placenta
A placenta where the umbilical cord is attached at the edge and not at the centre. A form of insertion of the umbilical cord into the margin of the placenta in which it spreads out to resemble a paddle or badminton racket. A placenta where the umbilical cord attaches to its outer rim.
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Battered baby syndrome
A condition in which a baby or small child is frequently beaten, usually by one or both of its parents, sustaining injuries such as multiple fractures. Battered-child syndrome describes children who are chronically exposed to physical, sexual, or psychological abuse or neglect. The physical abuse may range from moderate injuries to severe ones that require…
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Batten’s disease
A hereditary disease which affects the enzymes of the brain, causing cells in the brain and eye to die. Batten disease is one of a group of degenerative encephalopathic diseases known as the neuronal ceroid- lipofuscinoses (NCLs). Batten originally described the disease in 1903. In all the NCLs ceroid or lipofuscin accumulates within neurons and…
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Bathe
To wash a wound.
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Batchelor plaster
A plaster cast which keeps both legs apart [After J.S. Bachelor (b. 1905), British orthopaedic surgeon].