Category: L

The volume of air within the lungs changes with the respiratory cycle. The volumes defined below can be measured, and may be useful indicators of pulmonary disease.    

Destruction of the lumbar chain of sympathetic nerves by means of surgery, diathermy or injection of chemicals (phenol or alcohol). The technique is used to improve the blood flow to the leg in patients with peripheral vascular disease, and to treat some types of chronic leg pain. It has only limited success.  

A compound solution of iodine and potassium iodide used in the preoperative preparation of patients with thyrotoxicosis. A solution composed of iodine and potassium iodide in water, employed to treat hyperactivity of the thyroid gland.  

Drugs used in pulmonary oedema (excess fluid in the lungs), caused by failure of the left ventricle of the heart. Diuretics cause an increase in excretion of urine, thus reducing the amount of fluid in the body. Intravenous administration of loop diuretics relieves patients’ breathlessness. They work by inhibiting resorption of fluid in the renal…

Garrulousness (chatterbox) a feature which may be exaggerated in certain states of mental instability.  

An opioid antagonist drug used to modify the symptoms of addicted patients undergoing opioid-withdrawal treatment.  

Usually shortened to ‘locum’, this means a doctor who stands in for another, for example during absence due to holidays or sickness. A substitute; a physician who temporarily substitutes for another.  

A misnomer applied to the brown macules often seen on the backs of the hands of those chronically exposed to sunlight. They have no connection with any liver disorder. A popular term for pigmentary skin discolorations, usually in yellow-brown patches.  

These drugs reduce the amount of low-density lipoproteins, which transport cholesterol and triglycerides in the blood, or raise the concentration of high-density lipoproteins. The aim is to reduce the progression of atherosclerosis and therefore help prevent coronary heart disease. These drugs should be combined with a reduction of other risk factors for raised lipid concentrations,…

An insecticide used in scabies and lice infestations; however, head lice are now often resistant. Used excessively, lindane may be neurotoxic (damage the nervous system). An erstwhile medication employed to manage infestations caused by scabies and certain varieties of lice. Lindane has been substituted with alternative drugs that pose lower levels of toxicity.