Category: D

Impairment of speech resulting from a brain lesion. Difficulty in speaking, usually caused by a lesion in the central nervous system. Difficulty in speaking and putting words into the correct order. A kind of communication disorder, involving inability to speak the words in one’s mind or to find the correct words to speak, as well…

Connection between the aorta and the pulmonary artery in the fetus; it allows most of the blood pumped by the left ventricle to bypass the lungs (which do not function in the fetus) and enter the systemic circulation. In some infants, the connection persists after birth; the condition is known as patent ductus arteriosus. A…

Inability to maintain defense mechanisms in response to stress, resulting in personality disturbance or psychological imbalance.  

A ring of cartilage and fibrous tissue with a pulpy or gel-like center located between the vertebrae of the spine. Disks act as shock absorbers and contribute to the spine’s flexibility. The flat, circular structure firmly embedded between the vertebrae (bones of the spine) to serve as a shock absorber for the spine by separating…

Result from medicines reacting with foods or beverages. Foods can interact with drugs in a variety of ways: by either slowing down or speeding up the time the medication takes to travel to the part of the body where it’s needed, or by preventing a drug from being absorbed properly. In addition, the natural and…

May take place when an existing medical condition makes certain medicines potentially harmful. If a person has diabetes or asthma, for example, unwanted reactions may occur with nasal decongestants.  

The therapeutic regimen governing the size, frequency, and number of doses, or amounts, of a medicine to be administered. A specific, calculated amount of a drug to be taken or administered at a particular time, dose. A measured quantity of a drug calculated to be necessary for someone. The amount of medication that is appropriate…

An excretion or substance evacuated from the body. The secretion of liquid from an opening. The process of sending a patient away from a hospital because the treatment has ended. The formal release of a patient from a physician’s care or from a hospital (in Canada, a hospital discharge is called a “separation”). Sometimes called…

An agent for the relief or reduction of congestion.