The following are health and medical definitions of terms that appear in the Sciatica article. Absenteeism: The frequent absence from work or other duty without good reason. See also: Presenteeism.
Adjacent: Lying nearby. Related terms include superjacent, subjacent, and circumjacent. From ad-, near + the Latin jacere, to lie = to lie near.
Analysis: A psychology term for processes used to gain understanding of complex emotional or behavioral issues.
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Bone: Bone is the substance that forms the skeleton of the body. It is composed chiefly of calcium phosphate and calcium carbonate . It also serves as a storage area for calcium, playing a large role in calcium balance in the blood.
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Disc: Shortened terminology for an intervertebral disc, a disk-shaped piece of specialized tissue that separates the bones of the spinal column.
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Herniation: Abnormal protrusion of tissue through an opening. For example, a intervertebral disk (one situated between the vertebral bodies) can protrude and impinge on a nerve root.
Inflammation: A basic way in which the body reacts to infection , irritation or other injury, the key feature being redness, warmth, swelling and pain . Inflammation is now recognized as a type of nonspecific immune response .
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Injury: Harm or hurt. The term "injury" may be applied in medicine to damage inflicted upon oneself as in a hamstring injury or by an external agent on as in a cold injury. The injury may be accidental or deliberate, as with a needlestick injury. The term "injury" may be synonymous (depending on the context) with a wound or with trauma.
Intervention: The act of intervening, interfering or interceding with the intent of modifying the outcome. In medicine, an intervention is usually undertaken to help treat or cure a condition. For example, early intervention may help children with autism to speak. "Acupuncture as a therapeutic intervention is widely practiced in the United States," according to the National Institutes of Health. From the Latin intervenire, to come between.
Knee: The knee is a joint which has three parts. The thigh bone (the femur) meets the large shin bone (the tibia) to form the main knee joint. This joint has an inner (medial) and an outer (lateral) compartment. The kneecap (the patella) joins the femur to form a third joint, called the patellofemoral joint. The patella protects the front of the knee joint.
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Limb: The arm or leg.
Lumbar: Referring to the 5 lumbar vertebrae which are situated below the thoracic vertebrae and above the sacral vertebrae in the spinal column. The 5 lumbar vertebrae are represented by the symbols L1 through L5. There are correspondingly 5 lumbar nerves.
Muscle: Muscle is the tissue of the body which primarily functions as a source of power. There are three types of muscle in the body. Muscle which is responsible for moving extremities and external areas of the body is called "skeletal muscle." Heart muscle is called "cardiac muscle." Muscle that is in the walls of arteries and bowel is called "smooth muscle."
Nerve: A bundle of fibers that uses chemical and electrical signals to transmit sensory and motor information from one body part to another. See: Nervous system.
New England Journal of Medicine: Despite its regional name, The New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) is far from provincial. It is an eminent weekly national and international general medical journal, devoted to no single specialty, but to all of medicine. The Journal is published by the Massachusetts Medical Society and is closely associated with the medical schools (Boston University, Harvard and Tufts) in the Boston area.
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Pain: An unpleasant sensation that can range from mild, localized discomfort to agony. Pain has both physical and emotional components. The physical part of pain results from nerve stimulation. Pain may be contained to a discrete area, as in an injury, or it can be more diffuse, as in disorders like fibromyalgia . Pain is mediated by specific nerve fibers that carry the pain impulses to the brain where their conscious appreciation may be modified by many factors.
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Physical therapy: A branch of rehabilitative health that uses specially designed exercises and equipment to help patients regain or improve their physical abilities. Physical therapists work with many types of patients, from infants born with musculoskeletal birth defects, to adults suffering from sciatica or the after- effects of injury, to elderly post-stroke patients.
Primary: First or foremost in time or development. The primary teeth (the baby teeth) are those that come first. Primary may also refer to symptoms or a disease to which others are secondary.
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Rest: 1. Repose. Relaxation.
2. A fragment of embryonic tissue that has been retained after the period of embryonic development. Also called an embryonic rest.
Sciatic nerve: The largest nerve in the body, the sciatic nerve begins from nerve roots in the lumbar part of the spinal cord (in the low back) and extends through the buttock area to send nerve endings down to the legs.
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Sciatica : Pain resulting from irritation of the sciatic nerve, typically felt from the low back to behind the thigh and radiating down below the knee. While sciatica can result from a herniated disc directly pressing on the nerve, any cause of irritation or inflammation of this nerve can reproduce the painful symptoms of sciatica. Diagnosis is by observation of symptoms, physical and nerve testing, and sometimes by X-ray or MRI if a herniated disk is suspected.
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Spinal cord: The major column of nerve tissue that is connected to the brain and lies within the vertebral canal and from which the spinal nerves emerge. Thirty-one pairs of spinal nerves originate in the spinal cord: 8 cervical , 12 thoracic , 5 lumbar, 5 sacral, and 1 coccygeal. The spinal cord and the brain constitute the central nervous system ( CNS ). The spinal cord consists of nerve fibers that transmit impulses to and from the brain. Like the brain, the spinal cord is covered by three connective-tissue envelopes called the meninges . The space between the outer and middle envelopes is filled with cerebrospinal fluid ( CSF ), a clear colorless fluid that cushions the spinal cord against jarring shock. Also known simply as the cord.
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Syndrome: A set of signs and symptoms that tend to occur together and which reflect the presence of a particular disease or an increased chance of developing a particular disease.
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Therapy: The treatment of disease .
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Thigh: The thigh extends from the hip to the knee. The thigh has only one bone, the femur which is the largest bone in the human body.
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Watchful waiting: Closely monitoring a patient's condition but withholding therapy until the sign and symptom appear or change. Also called observation.
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From the Doctors at MedicineNet.com  |
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- CT Scan - CAT Scan / CT Scan (Computerized Axial Tomography) information. Learn what a CAT Scan is, why it is performed, risks, and how to prepare for a CAT scan Source:MedicineNet
- MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging Scan) - Medical information on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) used in detecting structural abnormalities of the body. Learn uses, risks, and how to prepare for an MRI scan Source:MedicineNet
- Electromyogram - EMG (electromyogram) can detect abnormal muscle electrical activity in many diseases and conditions. Source:MedicineNet
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