Category: G

An approach to understanding human psychology that holds that experience affects the entire body and mind and can be understood only in terms of the total effects throughout the person’s being in the present time. Gestalt therapists focus on the here and now, deal with the past only insofar as it affects the present, and…

Dietary therapy in which the body’s self-healing abilities are thought to be boosted by the consumption of large doses of enzymes and other nutrients. Gerson therapy was developed in the 1920s by Max Gerson, a medical doctor who believed that degenerative diseases such as cancer, tuberculosis, severe headaches, arthritis, and diabetes mellitus are caused by…

A private case or care manager who helps caregivers locate and coordinate health and social services. Usually a nurse or social worker with special training in geriatrics, a geriatric are manager will evaluate an older person’s situation, make recommendations for care, and arrange services. Areas covered may include the person’s health care needs, housekeeping, and…

The construction of detailed guides that plot the type and location of genes on chromosomes. One goal of the Human Genome Project, a long-term international research program, is to create accurate genetic maps of the human genome, or the complete set of chromosomes inherited by humans from their parents. The human genome is estimated to…

A device used to absorb scattered radiation produced during an x-ray examination in the body of the patient. Such scatter does not contribute to the useful information and thus constitutes a source of unwanted noise. A grid selectively absorbs radiation that is not heading along straight lines from the x-ray source to the film. A…

Low-energy x rays used for treatment of skin conditions. They have very little penetrating ability and are frequently applied by dermatologists rather than radiotherapists. A low-energy x-ray photon with an average wavelength of 2 A.U. (range from 1 to 3 A.U.); obtained with peak voltage of less than 10 kV. Grenz rays lie between ultraviolet…

A magnetic field that changes in strength in a certain given direction. Such fields are used in NMR imaging to select a region for imaging and also to encode the location of NMR signals received from the object being imaged.  

A pulled muscle that occurs suddenly during vigorous activity in a fall, twisting injury, or during a fast run. A groin strain causes pain in the area just below the crease between the lower abdomen and the thigh. What distinguishes a groin strain, or groin pull, is that the pain comes on suddenly. Pain in…

Ocular examination of the front portion (anterior chamber) of the eye. Gonioscopy is used primarily for viewing the angle between the iris (the colored part of the eye) and the cornea (the clear outer covering on the exposed part of the eye). This examination is important in diagnosing and managing glaucoma, a disease in which…

The hormones regulating the levels of estrogen and progesterone in the body. The hypothalamus produces GnRH (gonadotropin-releasing hormone) in response to declining levels of estrogen at the end of the menstrual cycle. When estrogen levels are low, production of GnRH increases markedly.