Glossary

Category: B

  • Bronchiectasis

    A condition in which the airways within the lungs (bronchial tubes) become damaged and widened. A disease caused by an accumulation of pus in the small pouches that are formed in the bronchi as the secondary result of some infection of the lungs. A disorder of the bronchi which become wide, infected and filled with…

  • Bright’s disease

    Chronic nephritis. Inflammation of the kidneys, characterized by albuminuria and high blood pressure. A vague and obsolete term for kidney disease. It usually refers to non-suppurative inflammatory or degenerative kidney disease marked by proteinuria and hematuria and sometimes by edema, hypertension, and nitrogen retention. A condition known as acute or chronic nephritis was originally named…

  • Brain derived neutrophic factor (BDNF)

    A protein member of the neutrophin family that plays an important role in the growth, maintenance, function and survival of neurons. The protein molecule is involved in the modulation of cognitive and emotional functions and in the treatment of a variety of mental disorders.  

  • Bradyphrenia

    Referring to the slowness of thought common to many disorders of the brain. The slowing of thought processes. Bradyphrenia can occur in parkinson’s disease and is one of the extrapyramidal side effects of antipsychotic medications. Slowness of thought and information processing, seen in some forms of dementia.  

  • Bradicardia

    As applied to adult medicine, is defined as a resting heart rate of under 60 beats per minute.  

  • Bouillon

    Bouillon

    A broth in French cuisine. A French term for stock or broth, a clear soup usually made from beef. A clear broth made from meat or vegetables. It may be used as a culture medium for bacteria. Bouillon is a broth made from beef stock that has a more robust flavor than consomme. Typically, it…

  • Bowman Birk inhibitors

    Type of serine proteinase inhibitor.  

  • Borborygmus

    Rumbling noise caused by the muscular contractions of peristalsis, the process that moves the contents of the stomach and intestines downward. A dictionary published in 1719 entitled Glossographia Anglicana Nova defined borborygmus as “a rumbling noise in the guts.” That definition is hard to beat: borborygmus is indeed the gurgling growls that emanate from one’s…

  • Boil

    Furunculosis; Localized pyrogenic, painful infection, originating in a hair follicle. To heat a liquid or to cook in water or other liquid until it reached 212°F or 100°C at sea level. Furuncle; tender, swollen areas of infection that usually form around hair follicles. A tender raised mass of infected tissue and skin, usually caused by…

  • Blood brain barrier (BBB)

    Is a separation of circulating blood and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) in the central nervous system (CNS). A double layer of cells that inhibits substances from crossing from the bloodstream into brain tissues. It protects the brain by slowing or stopping the passage of certain chemical compounds, including some drugs, and disease-causing organisms (such as viruses)…