Category: L

A child who returns from school or play to an empty home, so called because the child must carry a key to enter the house or apartment. With the rise in single parents and working couples, increasing numbers of children fall into this category, often because of the inadequacy, unavailability, or expense of child care.…

The automatic response of an infant three to 12 months old, when laid face downward, to raise the head and arch the back; absence of this reflex can suggest possible problems that affect motor skills, such as cerebral palsy or mental retardation. An infantile reflex in which the body flexes when the head is passively…

People who offer advice on breastfeeding, generally with experience and some training, though not necessarily any formal certification, and often associated with local groups formed especially to advise new mothers.  

In traditional hospital births, the room where the woman waits during labor until delivery is imminent, at which point she is moved into the delivery room. A room tor maternity patients who are in labor. A labor room is not to be confused with the delivery room, where actual birth takes place. A room in…

The limb girdle muscular dystrophies are a heterogenous group of progressive myopathies or dystrophies in which the shoulder or pelvic girdle musculature is affected first or to a greater degree than other symptoms. The mode of transmission is genetic, and there are several different forms, including at least three autosomal dominant and eight autosomal recessive…

Lymphangioleiomyomatosis is a very rare (although predominantly found in women of childbearing age, childhood cases have been reported), progressive lung disease characterized by misdifferentiated unusual muscle cells that invade lung tissue and blood and lymph vessels. Leiomyomatosis, resultant from LAM, form to create bundles growing into the lung walls, blood and lymph vessels, obstructing these…

Lujan-Fryns Syndrome (LFS) is a very low-incidence, X- linked disorder that is characterized primarily by the presence of a tall yet stooped posture, hyperextensible fingers and toes, large forehead, long yet narrow face that includes an extended nose with a high bridge, thin upper lip, arched palate, and maxillary hypoplasia. A review and report of…

First described in 1952, Lowe syndrome is an X-linked recessive (chromosome location Xq26.1) disorder, of unknown etiology resulting in an ocular, cerebral, and renal syndrome. The incidence of Lowe syndrome is rare (about 50 cases worldwide), and males are at more risk than females. Lowe’s syndrome is an infrequent genetic disorder that follows an X-linked…

Low vision involves a severe visual impairment, after correction, with visual functioning that can be improved through the use of adaptive aids. The term low vision involves visual impairments that prohibit the ability to read a newspaper even with the use of eyeglasses or contacts. For special education purposes, low vision is referred to as…

Low birth weight (LBW) infants may be born preterm (premature), at term but small for gestational age (SGA), or both preterm and SGA. LBW, very LBW (VLBW), extremely LBW (ELBW), and micropremie describe, respectively, those with birth weights of less than 2,500, 1,500, 1,000, or 800 grams. Premature and extremely premature infants are born before…