Body systems

A hormone released by the heart's lower chambers when they are stretched, measured with a blood test.

The presence of bacteria in the bloodstream.

Relating to the care and treatment of obesity, including weight-loss surgery and equipment built for heavier patients.

A change in the lining of the lower esophagus in which its normal cells are replaced by cells like those lining the intestine.

Two small glands, one on each side of the vaginal opening, that make fluid to moisten the vagina.

The most common type of skin cancer, which starts in the basal cells at the bottom of the skin's outer layer.

Groups of nerve cells deep inside the brain that help start, stop and smooth out movements.

The energy the body uses just to stay alive, measured while a person is awake, lying quietly at rest and fasting.

The least common type of white blood cell, which releases histamine during allergic and inflammatory reactions.

Sudden weakness or loss of movement on one side of the face, from a problem with the facial nerve.

Not cancerous: describing a growth that does not invade nearby tissue or spread; also, mild and not dangerous.

A prostate gland that has grown larger than normal, from growth that is not cancer.

A cell in the pancreas that makes and releases insulin.

A base in the blood that balances acid; the kidneys control it, and its level is measured on blood gas and chemistry tests.

A place where a vessel, airway or other tube divides into two branches.

Having to do with both sides of the body.

A yellow-green fluid made by the liver and stored in the gallbladder that helps digest fats.

One of the tubes that carry bile from the liver and gallbladder to the small intestine.

The branching system of ducts that carries bile from the liver and gallbladder to the duodenum.

Having two poles or two opposite ends; most often used as a short form of bipolar disorder.

A mental health condition with periods of very high mood and energy (mania) and, often, periods of depression.

A problem in how a part of the body is formed or works that is present when a baby is born.

The hollow, stretchy organ in the lower belly that stores urine until it leaves the body.

The fold of peritoneum between the bladder and the front of the uterus, opened and pushed down in a cesarean or abdominal hysterectomy.

Blood escaping from a blood vessel, either out of the body or inside it.

A raised bubble of skin filled with clear fluid.

Any of the cells carried in the blood: red cells, white cells or platelets.

A soft, gel-like clump that forms when blood changes from a liquid to a solid.

The force of blood pushing against the walls of the arteries, written as systolic over diastolic in mm Hg.

Any part of donated blood prepared for transfusion, such as red cells, plasma or platelets.

Giving blood, or a part of blood, from a donor into a person's vein.

The blood flowing through the body's blood vessels.

An infection in which bacteria or fungi are growing in the blood.

A break of the thin floor or inner wall of the eye socket, with the rim around the eye left whole.

Any liquid made in or found inside the body, such as blood, urine, saliva or fluid inside cells.

The degree of heat of the body, measured with a thermometer as one of the vital signs.

The amount of mineral, mostly calcium, packed into a given area of bone, which reflects how strong the bone is.

The soft, spongy tissue inside bones that makes blood cells.

A place where a bone lies close under the skin with little fat or muscle over it, such as the heel or tailbone.

The intestine: the long tube of the digestive tract from the stomach to the anus.

The passing of stool (feces) from the bowel out through the anus.

A partial or complete blockage that stops food, fluid and gas from moving through the small or large bowel.

The cup at the start of each nephron's tubule that wraps the glomerulus and catches the fluid filtered out of the blood.

The network of nerves formed from the spinal nerves C5 to T1 that runs from the neck into the armpit and supplies the shoulder, arm and hand.

A heart rate slower than normal; in an adult, fewer than 60 beats per minute.

A small protein in the body that widens blood vessels, makes them leak fluid and causes pain.

Breathing that is slower than normal for the person's age.

The permanent loss of every function of the whole brain, the brain stem included; in the United States it is legal death.

The lowest part of the brain, which connects it to the spinal cord and controls breathing, heart rate and other automatic functions.

An abnormal mass of cells growing in or on the brain, which may be cancerous or not.