Category: B

Inflammation of the Bartholin’s glands, usually caused by bacteria, and characterized by swelling, pain, and abscess formation. Inflammation of the mucus-secreting glands alongside the vaginal opening (Bartholin’s glands). In chronic bartholinitis cysts may form in the glands. In acute bartholinitis the glands are blocked and an abscess develops. Bartholin’s gland infection, located at the vaginal…

The nursing of someone who has an infectious disease. It involves keeping them away from other patients and making sure that faeces and soiled bedclothes do not carry the infection to other patients. The nursing of a patient suffering from an infectious disease in such a way that the risk of their passing on the…

A method of contraception in which the entry of sperm to the womb is blocked by a protective device such as a condom or diaphragm. Contraceptive barrier methods are employed to prevent pregnancy by obstructing the passage of sperm to the uterus. Examples of barrier methods include the use of condoms or diaphragms.  

A chest formed like a barrel, caused by asthma or emphysema. Large, rounded chest that is normal in some stocky persons and in some persons living in high- altitude areas where the oxygen content of the air is low, but is abnormal in others; often a sign of emphysema. An increase in the anteroposterior diameter…

A dense clump of chromatin found only in female cells, which can be used to identify the sex of a baby before birth [Described 1949. After Murray Llewellyn Barr (1908-95), head of the Department of Anatomy at the University of Western Ontario, Canada.] Mass of chromosomal material normally seen within female body cells. Though females…

An injury caused by a sharp increase in pressure. Damage to alveoli resulting from mechanical ventilation. Injury to the middle ear caused by a change in air pressure. The conditions inside the pressurized cabin of an airplane during takeoff and especially during landing are typically responsible for barotrauma. Scuba divers and high-altitude pilots face similar…

Pain in the ear caused by differences in air pressure, e.g. during air travel. Discomfort in the ears due to changing air pressure during air travel or while in a rapidly moving elevator.  

A test for congenital dislocation of the hip, in which a sudden movement is felt and sometimes a sound is heard when the joint is manipulated.  

Scurvy in children, caused by a lack of vitamin C [Described 1882. After Sir Thomas Barlow (1845-1945), physician at various London hospitals and to Queen Victoria, King Edward VII and King George V.] A deficiency disease due to lack of vitamin C (ascorbic acid). It occurs in both breast-fed and bottle-fed babies (usually between 6…

A salt of barium not soluble in water and which shows as opaque in X-ray photographs. A radio-opaque white powder used in X-ray examinations of the stomach and gastrointestinal tract. The barium sulphate may be swallowed to enable the oesophagus, stomach and small and large intestines to be assessed for disorders such as ulceration, tumours,…