Body systems

The two outer folds of skin and fat of the vulva, covered with hair after puberty, that run back from the mons pubis on each side.

The two thin, hairless folds of skin inside the labia majora that enclose the vestibule, with the urethral and vaginal openings.

The process of childbirth, from the start of regular contractions that open the cervix to the delivery of the baby and placenta.

A lip of fibrocartilage around the rim of a joint socket, as in the shoulder and the hip, that deepens the socket.

A cut or tear in the skin or other tissue, often with jagged edges.

Having to do with tears or the glands and ducts that make and drain them.

The gland in the upper outer part of each eye socket that makes tears.

The making and release of milk by the breasts.

The tiny lymph vessel inside each villus of the small intestine that takes up digested fats.

Relating to milk, or to lactic acid, a substance cells make when they break down glucose without enough oxygen.

A type of metabolic acidosis in which lactic acid (lactate) builds up in the blood.

One of the milk ducts of the breast: each drains one lobe of the mammary gland and opens on the nipple.

A thin, flat plate; most often one of the two flat plates of bone that form the roof of a vertebra's arch.

Lines of tension in the skin that follow the direction of the fibers in the dermis; a cut along them usually heals with a finer scar.

Fine, soft, downy hair that covers the body of a fetus.

Describes a newborn who weighs more than 90 out of 100 babies born after the same number of weeks of pregnancy.

The last part of the digestive tract, from the end of the small intestine to the anus, where water is absorbed and stool forms.

Inflammation of the larynx, the voice box.

The lowest part of the throat, below the back of the mouth, where the airway and the food passage separate.

The voice box: the part of the airway in the neck, above the windpipe, that holds the vocal cords.

The first day of a person's most recent menstrual period.

A gradual drop in the fetal heart rate that starts and hits its lowest point after the peak of a contraction.

Toward the side of the body, away from the middle line.

An allergic reaction to proteins in natural rubber latex, found in some gloves, catheters and other products.

The broad, flat, triangular muscle of the mid and lower back that pulls the arm down, back and in.

Harm to the body from a buildup of lead, a toxic metal, usually over months or years.

The lower left quarter of the abdomen, when it is divided into four parts by lines crossing at the navel.

The upper left quarter of the abdomen, on the patient's left, when two lines crossing at the navel divide it into four parts.

The heart's lower left chamber, which pumps oxygen-rich blood into the aorta and out to the body.

Heart failure in which the left ventricle cannot pump enough blood out to the body.

The clear, flexible disc behind the iris and pupil that focuses light on the retina; also any clear piece of glass or plastic that bends light, as in a scope.

An area of tissue that has been damaged or has changed from normal, such as a sore, wound, lump or spot.

The reflex that pushes milk out of the breast's milk glands toward the nipple during breastfeeding.

A cancer of the blood-forming cells in the bone marrow, in which abnormal white blood cells are made in large numbers.

A thickened white patch on a mucous membrane, such as the mouth or vocal cords, that will not rub off.

How awake, alert and aware of their surroundings a person is.

Sexual desire: a person's interest in or drive toward sexual activity.

The whole length of a person's life, from conception or birth to death.

A tough band of tissue that connects one bone to another at a joint.

The band that holds up the bend where the duodenum ends and the jejunum begins, in the left upper quadrant of the abdomen.

The round, cordlike ligament in the lower edge of the falciform ligament, from the navel to the liver: what remains of the umbilical vein.

An arm or a leg.

The narrow border, about 1 to 2 mm wide, where the clear cornea meets the white sclera.

The vertical band of fibrous tissue down the middle of the abdominal wall, from the xiphoid to the pubic bone, where the rectus sheaths join.

The curved line along the outer edge of each rectus abdominis muscle, where the flat muscles of the side of the abdomen join the rectus sheath.

A fat or fat-like substance in the body or food, such as cholesterol and triglycerides.

A particle made of fat and protein that carries cholesterol and other fats through the blood.

A large organ in the right upper abdomen that processes nutrients, makes bile and clotting factors, and clears drugs and toxins from the blood.

Any condition that damages the liver or keeps it from working normally.

The purple or red color of the skin after death where blood settles in the lowest parts of the body.