Medical Glossary

This is a medical glossary for any medical vocabulary that appears in Grey's Anatomy and Private Practice. The items listed here may vary from surgical instruments to diseases surgeries and surgery specialties. If you wish to find information on the anatomy, please go here.

1

 * 10-Blade: The type of blade used on a scalpel. (See scalpel for further details)


 * 15-Blade: The type of blade used on a scalpel. (See scalpel for further details)

A

 * ALS: Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis. It is a progressive and fatal form of motor neuron disease.


 * Alzheimer's Disease: The most common form of dementia. It is degenerative and terminal.


 * American College of Surgeons: The association responsible for setting the standards for surgical training and education.


 * Analgesia: Drugs that act as pain-killers.


 * Anesthesia: Removing all sensation, usually by chemical means (i.e. drugs/medication)


 * Aortic Valve: The aortic valve prevents blood flow back into the heart from the aorta (one of the major blood vessels from the heart).


 * Appendectomy: (Also called an Appy) The surgical removal of the appendix. (See appendectomy and General Surgery for further details)


 * Arrest: See cardiac arrest


 * Asystole: A condition of the heart in which there is no activity from the heart (electrical or muscular)


 * Atropine: A drug used to resolve slow heart beats (bradycardia) or as part of resuscitation.


 * Attendings: An attending physician is a physician who has completed residency and practices medicine in a clinic or hospital.

B

 * Bovie: A tool used to stop bleeding. (See electrocautery for further details


 * BP: Pressure exerted by circulating blood on the walls of the blood vessels. It is one of the main vital signs that should always be monitored on a patient. Normal values are 120 for systolic and 80 for diastolic.


 * Bradycardia: An abnormally slow heartbeat (defined as less than 60 beats per minute).

C

 * C. diff: a species of Gram-positive bacteria of the genus Clostridium that causes severe diarrhea and other intestinal disease when competing bacteria in the gut flora have been wiped out by antibiotics.


 * Caesarean section: A C-section or Caesarean, is a surgical procedure in which incisions are made through a mother's abdomen (laparotomy) and uterus (hysterotomy) to deliver one or more babies. It is usually performed when a vaginal delivery would put the baby's or mother's life or health at risk, although in recent times it has been also performed upon request for childbirths that could otherwise have been vaginal.


 * Cancer: A disease where cells undergo uncontrolled growth.


 * Cardiac Arrest: blood circulation stops throughout the body due to some malfunction of the heart.


 * Cardiomyopathy: Cardiomyopathy literally means "Heart muscle disease".


 * Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR): CPR is an emergency medical procedure for a victim of cardiac arrest or, in some circumstances, respiratory arrest. CPR is performed in hospitals, or in the community by laypersons or by emergency response professionals.


 * Cardiothoracic surgery: Cardiothoracic surgery is a surgical specialty treating diseases affecting organs inside the thorax (the chest) including the lungs, heart and thoracic diaphragm.


 * CBC: Complete Blood Count


 * Central Line: A catheter placed into a large vein in the neck (internal jugular vein), chest (subclavian vein) or groin (femoral vein). (See central venous catheter for further details)


 * Cholecystectomy: Surgical removal of the gallbladder. (See cholecystectomy and General Surgery for further details)


 * Circulatory System: The body system including the heart, veins, arteries, and blood.


 * Computed tomography: A CT is used to generate a three-dimensional image of the inside of an object from a large series of two-dimensional X-ray images.


 * Coronary Artery Bypass Graft Surgery (Also known as CABG): Arteries and veins from elsewhere in the body (most cases the leg) are used to replace the body (the vessels that supply oxygen and energy to the heart) (See coronary artery bypass surgery and Cardiothoracic Surgery for further details)


 * Craniotomy: Cutting through the skin and drilling through and removing part of the skull to gain access to the brain. (See craniotomy and Neurosurgery for further details)


 * Crike (Cricothyrotomy): when the throat is cut to insert a direct tube for breathing when an intubation is not possible due to blockage of the throat.

D

 * Dermatology: Dermatology is a medical speciality dealing with the skin and its diseases.


 * Diarrhea: the condition of having three or more loose or liquid bowel movements per day


 * DNR: Do Not Resuscitate. It is a written order from a doctor that clarifies that resuscitation should not be attempted if a person suffers cardiac or respiratory arrest.

E

 * ECG (Electrocardiograph) A small computer that monitors the patients heart rate and other heart information.


 * Ectopia Cordis: It is a birth defect in which the heart is abnormally located, typically outside of the chest, but still attached to the body through a split sternum.


 * Endocrinology: Endocrinology is the medical specialty involved with disorders relating to hormones and the endocrine organs and glands.


 * ENT: See Otolaryngology.


 * Epidural: A form of regional anesthesia involving injection of drugs through a catheter, usually done by blocking the action of the nerves in the spine from a certain region.


 * Epinephrine: (commonly shortened to epi, UK equivalent: Adrenaline) A hormone released in the body in response to stress, used in medical settings for resuscitation.


 * ER: emergency room


 * Esophageal: Of, or relating to the esophegus (the "tube" connecting the mouth to the stomach).

F

 * Fasciotomy: a surgical procedure where the fascia (the outer layers surrounding muscle, cartilage, ligaments, organs etc.) is cut to relieve tension or pressure and treat the resulting loss of circulation to an area of tissue or muscle.


 * Fibrodysplasia Ossificans Progressiva (FOP): an extremely rare, congenital disease (estimated 600 worldwide) that causes muscles and connective tissue to turn to bone when injured.

G

 * GCS: Glasgow Coma Scale - a scale used to identify consciousness and responsiveness of a patient following a head injury.


 * General Surgery: General Surgery is a surgical specialty that focuses on abdominal organs.


 * GSW: Gun shot wound.


 * Gurney: A gurney is the U.S. term for a type of stretcher used in hospitals and ambulances. A hospital gurney is a kind of narrow bed on a wheeled frame and has straps to secure the patient.

H

 * Harper Avery: The Harper Avery award is a fictional, prestigious medical award in the Grey's Anatomy & Private Practice Universe.


 * Heterotopic transplant (Also known as a piggy-back transplant): A cardiac (heart) transplantation without removing the native heart, leaving both donor and native heart in the body.

I

 * Inebriated: When someone is inebriated, they are Drunk.


 * Internal Medicine: Internal Medicine is a medical speciality focused on the diagnosis and treatment for a wide range of medical problems, ranging from severe to minor diseases on their own or as multiple diseases at one time.


 * Internship: A medical intern is a term used for a physician in training who has completed medical school. Internship is the first year of residency.


 * Intubation: Generally, the insertion of a tube into the throat to allow a bag or machine to breathe for the patient.


 * IV: Intravenous therapy - a catheter is inserted into a vein to deliver liquid substances into the body, typically saline (water), medications or blood. (See intravenous therapy for further details)

J

 * John/Jane Doe: term used to describe a patient whose identity is unknown. A male patient would be classified as a John Doe, and a female patient Jane Doe.

L

 * Laparoscopic procedures (Also known as minimally invasive surgeries): Surgery performed using small incisions into the body. Commonly used for appendectomies and cholecystectomies (lap coly). (See laparoscopic surgery and General Surgery for further details)


 * Laparotomy: Cutting into the abdomen to gain access to the abdominal organs. (See laparotomy and General Surgery for further details)


 * Line: Generally referring to an IV.

M

 * Mastectomy: The surgical removal of one or both breasts to treat breast cancer.


 * Medical school: A medical school is an educational institution — or part of such an institution — that teaches medicine to train the next generation of doctors.


 * Medical Specialties: Medical specialties are areas of medical science used to treat disease.


 * Metastasis: Often abbreviated mets; it is the spread of a disease from one organ or part to another non-adjacent organ or part (they are also a baseball team).


 * MRI: Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is primarily a medical imaging technique most commonly used in radiology to visualize the structure and function of the body.

N

 * Neurocysticercosis: Neurocysticercosis is the medical definition for "parasites in the brain".


 * Neurosurgery: Neurosurgery is a surgical specialty focused on treating the nervous system including the spinal cord and the brain.

O

 * Obstetrics and Gynecology: OB/GYN are the two surgical specialties combined to form a single medical speciality, with gynecology dealing with the female reproductive organs, and obstetrics dealing with the care of the woman and her offspring during pregnancy, childbirth, and for a period of time following birth.


 * Operating Rooms (O.R.): A sterile room where surgery is performed.


 * Organ Harvest: A surgical procedure by which the major organs are removed from a donor to be used in transplants and/or research. Harvesting often takes place after a donor has been declared 'brain dead' but their heart and other vital organs continue to be kept alive via artificial means.


 * Orthopedic Surgery: A surgical specialty concerned with conditions involving bones and muscle.


 * Orthotopic transplant: Surgical procedure of removing the patients diseased heart and replacing it with a healthy donor heart.


 * Otolaryngology: Also known as ENT, it is the surgical specialty that focuses in the diagnosis and treatment of ear, nose, throat, and head and neck disorders

P

 * Pediatrics: Pediatrics is the branch of medical science that deals with the care of children, typically unto adolescence, but can vary. It can deal with congenital defects or genetically inherited defects, but is not always the case.


 * Plastic surgery: Plastic surgery is a surgical specialty concerned with the correction or restoration of form and function, and can deal with problems such as burns, surgery on hands and limbs and aesthetic surgery.


 * Porcine valve replacement: Surgical procedure for replaceing a diseased valve with a pig valve.


 * Post-op: After operation.


 * Pre-op: Before operation.


 * Psychiatry: Psychiatry is a specialty of medical sciences with the prevention, study and treatment of mental disorders. This specialty has many different approaches with a variety of different treatment options available for patients.

R

 * Residency: Residency is a stage of post-graduate medical training. A resident physician is a doctor who has received a medical degree and practices medicine under the supervision of fully licensed physicians, usually in a hospital or clinic.

S

 * Saline: Sterile water mixed with sodium chloride (table salt). See saline solution for further details)


 * Scalpel: A scalpel is a small but extremely sharp knife used for surgery.


 * Scrubs: Attire worn by most medical personnel inside a hospital, usually consisting of pants and a short-sleeved top. A scrub cap may be worn, usually during surgery.


 * SJS: Stevens–Johnson syndrome. It's a life-threatening condition affecting the skin in which cell death causes the epidermis to separate from the dermis.


 * Surgery: Surgery is a medical specialty that uses operative manual and instrumental techniques on a patient to investigate and/or treat a pathological condition such as disease or injury.


 * Syphilis: Syphilis is a sexually transmitted disease. Syphilis can generally be treated with antibiotics, including penicillin, but one of the oldest and still the most effective method is an injection of benzathine penicillin.

T

 * Tachycardia: An abnormally high heart rate (defined for adults as above 100 beats per minute)


 * Tracheotomy: A tracheotomy is an emergency procedure done to aid the patient's breathing. It is the opening of the trachea (throat) with a sharp instrument, usually a scalpel (in "Dream a Little Dream of Me, Part 1," Owen Hunt performs one using a pen).


 * Trauma surgery: Trauma surgeons are physicians who have completed residency training in general surgery and fellowship training in trauma or surgical critical care.

U

 * U&Es (Us and Es): Urea and Electrolytes.


 * UTI: Urinary Tract Infection. It's a bacterial infection that affects any part of the urinary tract.

V

 * V-Fib- Ventricular Fibrillation is when muscle fibers in the lower area of the heart are uncontrolled. This causes the heart to no longer pump blood throughout the body and can cause sudden death. It can be treated with an external defribillator (immediate 911 attention


 * V-Tach- Ventricular Tachycardia is when the pulse rate is at the rate of or more than 100 beats per minute (BPM) and there is at least three consecutive uneven heart beats.

W

 * Whipple: Known formally as a Pancreaticoduodenectomy, this operation is used most commonly to treat Pancreatic Cancer. The procedure involves removing the head of the pancreas along with the Gallbladder, duodenum, part of the stomach, bile duct, and sometimes lymph nodes close to the pancreas. Once these have been removed, the remainder of the pancreas, stomach, and bile duct are directly attached to the small bowel. (See pancreaticoduodenectomy for further details)

X

 * X-radiation: X-rays are a form of (electromagnetic) radiation, used for diagnostic purposes to see inside the body without having to cut open. It can also be used as a form of cancer treatment. It has a medical specialty devoted to it, Radiology.