Dictionary

Body systems

Anatomy and the conditions of each body system, from the heart and lungs to the skin.

prolapseThe slipping or falling of an organ or part from its normal position.

prolonged decelerationA drop in the fetal heart rate of at least 15 beats per minute below baseline that lasts 2 minutes or more but less than 10.

pronationTurning the forearm so the palm faces down or backward; for the foot, rolling it so the weight is on the inner edge.

proprioceptionThe sense of where the parts of the body are and how they are moving, without looking.

prostaglandinA hormone-like fatty substance made in many tissues that acts on pain, inflammation, blood flow and uterine contractions; also drugs that copy it.

prostateA walnut-sized gland below the bladder in males that surrounds the urethra and makes part of the fluid in semen.

prostate cancerCancer that starts in the prostate, the gland below the bladder in males that helps make semen.

prostatitisInflammation of the prostate gland.

prosthesisAn artificial body part that replaces one that is missing or does not work, such as an artificial leg, joint, eye or heart valve.

prostheticDescribes an artificial part made to replace a missing or damaged body part, such as a limb, joint, eye or heart valve.

proteinA nutrient made of chains of amino acids that the body uses to build and repair tissue.

proximalNearer the center of the body, or nearer the place where a part is attached.

pruritusItching of the skin.

psoriasisA long-term immune-related skin disease in which skin cells grow too fast and pile up on the surface.

psychiatricRelating to psychiatry, the branch of medicine that diagnoses and treats mental illness.

psychosisA mental state in which a person loses contact with reality.

pubertyThe stage of growth when a child's body matures into an adult body able to reproduce.

pubisThe front part of each hip bone, low in the pelvis; the two meet in the middle at the pubic symphysis.

pulmonaryRelating to the lungs.

pulmonary arteryThe large blood vessel that carries blood low in oxygen from the right side of the heart to the lungs.

pulmonary circulationThe path blood takes from the heart to the lungs, where it picks up oxygen, and back to the heart.

pulmonary diseaseAny disease of the lungs.

pulmonary edemaA buildup of fluid in the air sacs and tissues of the lungs.

pulmonary embolismA blockage of an artery in the lungs, usually by a blood clot that has traveled there from elsewhere in the body.

pulmonary function testsBreathing tests that measure how much air the lungs hold and how fast air moves in and out.

pulmonary hypertensionHigh blood pressure in the arteries that carry blood from the heart to the lungs.

pulmonary tuberculosisTuberculosis of the lungs, caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

pulmonary veinOne of the four veins that carry oxygen-rich blood from the lungs to the left atrium of the heart.

pulseThe throb of an artery felt with each heartbeat, used to count the heart rate and judge blood flow.

pulse oximetryA painless test that uses light through a finger, toe or earlobe to estimate how much oxygen the blood is carrying.

pulse pressureThe difference between the systolic and the diastolic blood pressure.

pulse rateHow many times the heart beats each minute, counted by feeling a pulse.

punctureA small hole made by a pointed object, or the act of making one, either by injury or on purpose with a needle.

pupilThe round black opening in the center of the colored part of the eye, which lets light in.

Purkinje fibersSpecial fibers in the walls of the heart's ventricles that spread the electrical signal so the ventricles contract.

purpuraPurple or red-brown patches on the skin caused by bleeding under the skin, which do not fade when pressed.

pustuleA small raised bump on the skin filled with pus.

pyelonephritisA bacterial infection of the kidney, usually spread up from the bladder.

pyloric stenosisA narrowing of the outlet of the stomach in a young infant, caused by thickening of the pylorus muscle.

QRS complexThe tall, spiky wave on an ECG that shows the electrical signal spreading through the ventricles.

quadrantOne of four parts; in nursing, usually one of the four areas the belly is divided into for assessment.

quadriplegiaParalysis of all four limbs and usually the trunk, also called tetraplegia.

quickeningThe first movements of the fetus that a pregnant person can feel.

radialHaving to do with the radius, the forearm bone on the thumb side, or spreading out from a center.

radial pulseThe pulse felt at the wrist, on the thumb side, over the radial artery.

radiationEnergy that travels as waves or particles, such as X-rays, used to make images or treat cancer; also pain that spreads from its starting point.

radiation therapyTreatment that uses high-energy rays or radioactive material to kill cancer cells or shrink tumors.

range of motionHow far a joint can move in each of its normal directions, and the exercises that move joints through it.

Raynaud phenomenonA condition in which small arteries of the fingers and toes narrow too much in response to cold or stress.

reabsorptionThe taking back of water and dissolved substances from the fluid in the kidney tubules into the blood.