Glossary

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  • Chandelier sign

    Intense pelvic and lower abdominal pain brought on by palpation of the cervix. The sign points to the presence of pelvic inflammatory disease.  

  • Beaten-silver skull sign

    The thinned, irregular appearance of the skull, as seen on x-ray examination of children with obstructive hydrocephalus.  

  • Air bronchogram sign

    Radiographic appearance of an air-filled bronchus as it passes through an area of increased anatomic density as in pulmonary edema and pneumonia.  

  • Sigmoidovesical

    Concerning a pathological connection between the sigmoid colon and the urinary bladder secondary to malignancy, inflammatory bowel disease, or diverticulitis.  

  • Sigmoidosigmoidostom

    Surgical creation of a connection between two segments of the sigmoid colon.  

  • Flexible sigmoidoscope

    A sigmoidoscope that uses fiberoptics. This permits the tubular extension to flex, enabling the examiner to visualize a greater portion of the colon than would be possible with a rigid sigmoidoscope.  

  • Sigmoidoproctostomy

    The establishment of an artificial passage by anastomosis of the sigmoid colon with the rectum. Surgical excision of an afflicted section of the sigmoid colon and the rectum, followed by the reconnection of the severed ends; a procedure now infrequently carried out.  

  • Sigmoidopexy

    Fixation of the sigmoid colon by suturing it to the presacral fascia. Surgical stabilization of the sigmoid colon, undertaken to rectify a prolapse of the colon or rectum.  

  • Sigma Theta Tau

    The international honor society of nursing, founded in 1922 by six students and one alumna of Indiana University Training School. There are 424 chapters in the U.S., Taiwan, Australia, Canada, and Korea. The national headquarters is at Indiana University in Indianapolis.  

  • Sighted guide technique

    A means of assisting a blind person’s ambulation, e.g., through a cramped or difficult passage. A sighted person offers assistance and, if it is accepted, makes contact with the blind person by tapping him or her on the hand and offering an arm for support. The sighted person then walks just ahead of and to…

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