Category: H

An inflammation of any hilum, especially the hilum of the lung.  

A safety device built into a ventilator circuit that protects the patient from excessively high airway pressures by venting excess pressure into the atmosphere.  

An institution that consistently makes fewer mistakes than others working in the same field despite conditions that are stressful, fast-paced, or full of risk. Health care institutions strive to be HROs, i.e., to copy the performance achieved by other industries such as airlines, power plants, and utilities. Becoming an HRO requires a commitment to quality…

The combined use of antiviral agents from three or more classes of drugs to treat patients with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. HAART reduces the number of viruses circulating in the blood (viral load), and prolongs life and disease-free survival. Reverse transcriptase inhibitors, nonnucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors, and protease inhibitors are used in HAART. HIV/AIDS…

A noninvasive treatment in which ultrasonic energy is used to generate heat for therapeutic purposes within the body. HIFU has been used, for example, to cauterize internal blood vessels that are bleeding or to cavitate or coagulate growths or solid malignancies (such as breast, liver, pancreatic, or prostate cancers). The ultrasound transducer is placed on…

A premalignant squamous lesion, found on Papanicolaou test, which may be moderate dysplasia, severe dysplasia, or carcinoma in situ.  

During emergency cardiac care, chest compressions that are given at a rate of more than 100 per minute.  

In ophthalmology, a refractive error that cannot be corrected by bending light into the eye with eyeglasses or contact lenses.  

A postcapillary venule found in gut-associated lymphoid tissue, e.g., Peyer’s patches, and in lymph nodes. It regulates the movement of lymphocytes in and out of the blood.  

Irrigation of the bowel with large volumes of fluid. It is promoted as a form of internal cleansing and detoxification.