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Glossary
Serous
Relating to or resembling serum; or containing
or producing serum, such as a serous gland.
Shunt
To divert or bypass bodily fluid from one channel,
path, or part to another; a passage or anastomosis
between two natural channels, especially between
blood vessels, established by surgery or occurring as
an abnormality.
Soma
The body of an organism as distinguished from
the mind; all of an organism, excluding germ cells;
the body of a cell.
Spasticity
The condition characterized by spasms
or other uncontrolled contractions of the skeletal
muscles. (Adjective: spastic)
Spatial
Relating to, having the character of, or occupy-
ing space.
Sphincter
A ringlike band of muscle fibers that con-
stricts a passage or closes a natural orifice of the body.
Stenosis
An abnormal condition characterized by the
narrowing or stricture of a duct or canal.
Stochastic
Involving a random process.
Stria
A streak or a linear scarlike lesion that often
results from rapidly developing tension in the skin;
or a narrow bandlike structure, especially the longi-
tudinal collections of nerve fibers in the brain.
Stricture
An abnormal temporary or permanent
narrowing of the lumen of a duct, canal, or other
passage, as the esophagus, because of inflammation,
external pressure, or scarring.
Stroma
The supporting tissue or the matrix of an
organ as distinguished from its functional element,
or parenchyma.
Stupor
A lowered level of consciousness characterized
by lethargy and unresponsiveness in which a person
seems unaware of his or her surroundings.
Subchondral
Beneath a cartilage.
Subcutaneous
Beneath the skin.
Subluxation
An incomplete or partial dislocation in
which the relationship between joint surfaces is
altered, but contact remains.
Sulcus
A shallow groove, depression, or furrow on the
surface of an organ, such as a sulcus on the surface
of the brain, separating the gyri.
Supination
Assuming the position of lying horizontally
on the back, or with the face upward. (Adjective:
supine)
Suppuration
The formation of pus, or purulent
matter.
Symbiosis
Mode of living characterized by close
association between organisms of different species,
usually in a mutually beneficial relationship.
Sympathomimetic
An agent or substance that produces
stimulating effects on organs and structures simi-
lar to those produced by the sympathetic nervous
system.
Syncope
A brief lapse of consciousness due to general-
ized cerebral ischemia.
Syncytium
A multinucleate mass of protoplasm
produced by the merging of a group of cells.
Syndrome
A complex of signs and symptoms that
occur together to present a clinical picture of a
disease or inherited abnormality.
Synergist
An organ, agent, or substance that aids or
cooperates with another organ, agent, or substance.
Synthesis
An integration or combination of various
parts or elements to create a unified whole.
Systemic
Pertaining to the whole body rather than to a
localized area or region of the body.
Systole
The contraction, or period of contraction,
of the heart that drives the blood onward into the
aorta and pulmonary arteries.
Tamponade
Stoppage of the flow of blood to an organ
or a part of the body by pathologic compression,
such as the compression of the heart by an accumu-
lation of pericardial fluid.
Teratogen
Any agent or factor that induces or
increases the incidence of developmental abnormali-
ties in the fetus.
Thermistor
A device that is used to measure extremely
small changes in temperature.
Thrombus
A stationary mass of clotted blood or other
formed elements that remains attached to its place
of origin along the wall of a blood vessel, frequently
obstructing the circulation. (Plural: thrombi)
Tinnitus
A tinkling, buzzing, or ringing noise heard in
one or both ears.
Tophus
A chalky deposit containing sodium urate
that most often develops in periarticular fibrous
tissue, typically in individuals with gout. (Plural:
tophi)
Torsion
The act or process of twisting in either a
positive (clockwise) or negative (counterclockwise)
direction.
Trabecula
A supporting or anchoring stand of con-
nective tissue, such as the delicate fibrous threads
connecting the inner surface of the arachnoid to the
pia mater.
Transmural
Situated or occurring through the wall of
an organ.
Transudate
A fluid substance passed through a mem-
brane or extruded from the blood.
Tremor
Involuntary quivering or trembling movements
caused by the alternating contraction and relaxation
of opposing groups of skeletal muscles.
Trigone
A triangular-shaped area.
Ubiquitous
The condition or state of existing or being
everywhere at the same time.
Ulcer
A circumscribed excavation of the surface of
an organ or tissue, which results from necrosis that
accompanies some inflammatory, infectious, or
malignant processes. (Adjective: ulcerative)
Urticaria
A pruritic skin eruption of the upper dermis,
usually transient, characterized by wheals (hives) of
various shapes and sizes.
Uveitis
An inflammation of all or part of the uveal
tract of the eye.
Vector
An invertebrate animal (e.g., tick, mite,
mosquito) that serves as a carrier, transferring
an infective agent from one vertebrate host to
another.
Ventral
Pertaining to a position toward the belly of the
body; or situated or oriented toward the front or
anterior of the body.
