The Official Patient's Sourcebook on Lupus (30 page)

·
Background Topics for Lupus Nephritis

Acute

Web site:

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/002215.htm

Antibodies

Web site:

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/002223.htm

Auscultation

Web site:

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/002226.htm

Incidence

Web site:

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/002387.htm

176 Lupus Nephritis

Inflammatory response

Web site:

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000821.htm

Renal

Web site:

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/002289.htm

Systemic

Web site:

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/002294.htm

Titer

Web site:

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/002328.htm

Online Dictionary Directories

The following are additional online directories compiled by the National

Library of Medicine, including a number of specialized medical dictionaries

and glossaries:

· Medical Dictionaries: Medical & Biological (World Health Organization):
http://www.who.int/hlt/virtuallibrary/English/diction.htm#Medical

· MEL-Michigan Electronic Library List of Online Health and Medical

Dictionaries (Michigan Electronic Library):

http://mel.lib.mi.us/health/health-dictionaries.html

· Patient Education: Glossaries
(DMOZ Open Directory Project):

http://dmoz.org/Health/Education/Patient_Education/Glossaries/

· Web of Online Dictionaries (Bucknell University):

http://www.yourdictionary.com/diction5.html#medicine

Glossary 177

LUPUS NEPHRITIS GLOSSARY

The following is a complete glossary of terms used in this sourcebook. The

definitions are derived from official public sources including the National

Institutes of Health [NIH] and the European Union [EU]. After this glossary, we list a number of additional hardbound and electronic glossaries and

dictionaries that you may wish to consult.

Abdomen:
That portion of the body that lies between the thorax and the pelvis. [NIH]

Acidosis:
A pathologic condition resulting from accumulation of acid or depletion of the alkaline reserve (bicarbonate content) in the blood and body

tissues, and characterized by an increase in hydrogen ion concentration. [EU]

Alkalosis:
A pathologic condition resulting from accumulation of base, or from loss of acid without comparable loss of base in the body fluids, and

characterized by decrease in hydrogen ion concentration (increase in pH).

[EU]

Alleles:
Mutually exclusive forms of the same gene, occupying the same locus on homologous chromosomes, and governing the same biochemical

and developmental process. [NIH]

Amenorrhea:
Absence or abnormal stoppage of the menses; called also

amenia. [EU]

Angiitis:
Inflammation of a vessel, chiefly of a blood or a lymph vessel; called also vasculitis. [EU]

Antibody:
An immunoglobulin molecule that has a specific amino acid

sequence by virtue of which it interacts only with the antigen that induced

its synthesis in cells of the lymphoid series (especially plasma cells), or with antigen closely related to it. Antibodies are classified according to their ode of action as agglutinins, bacteriolysins, haemolysins, opsonins, precipitins,

etc. [EU]

Antigen:
Any substance which is capable, under appropriate conditions, of inducing a specific immune response and of reacting with the products of

that response, that is, with specific antibody or specifically sensitized T-

lymphocytes, or both. Antigens may be soluble substances, such as toxins

and foreign proteins, or particulate, such as bacteria and tissue cells;

however, only the portion of the protein or polysaccharide molecule known

as the antigenic determinant (q.v.) combines with antibody or a specific

receptor on a lymphocyte. Abbreviated Ag. [EU]

Antihypertensive:
An agent that reduces high blood pressure. [EU]

178 Lupus Nephritis

Antioxidant:
One of many widely used synthetic or natural substances

added to a product to prevent or delay its deterioration by action of oxygen

in the air. Rubber, paints, vegetable oils, and prepared foods commonly

contain antioxidants. [EU]

Assay:
Determination of the amount of a particular constituent of a mixture, or of the biological or pharmacological potency of a drug. [EU]

Asymptomatic:
Showing or causing no symptoms. [EU]

Atrophy:
A wasting away; a diminution in the size of a cell, tissue, organ, or part. [EU]

Auscultation:
The act of listening for sounds within the body, chiefly for ascertaining the condition of the lungs, heart, pleura, abdomen and other

organs, and for the detection of pregnancy. [EU]

Autoimmunity:
Process whereby the immune system reacts against the

body's own tissues. Autoimmunity may produce or be caused by

autoimmune diseases. [NIH]

Benign:
Not malignant; not recurrent; favourable for recovery. [EU]

Biochemical:
Relating to biochemistry; characterized by, produced by, or involving chemical reactions in living organisms. [EU]

Biopsy:
The removal and examination, usually microscopic, of tissue from the living body, performed to establish precise diagnosis. [EU]

Calculi:
An abnormal concretion occurring mostly in the urinary and biliary tracts, usually composed of mineral salts. Also called stones. [NIH]

Capillary:
Any one of the minute vessels that connect the arterioles and venules, forming a network in nearly all parts of the body. Their walls act as semipermeable membranes for the interchange of various substances,

including fluids, between the blood and tissue fluid; called also vas capillare.

[EU]

Capsules:
Hard or soft soluble containers used for the oral administration of medicine. [NIH]

Captopril:
A potent and specific inhibitor of peptidyl-dipeptidase A. It blocks the conversion of angiotensin I to angiotensin II, a vasoconstrictor and important regulator of arterial blood pressure. Captopril acts to suppress the renin-angiotensin system and inhibits pressure responses to exogenous

angiotensin. [NIH]

Carbohydrate:
An aldehyde or ketone derivative of a polyhydric alcohol, particularly of the pentahydric and hexahydric alcohols. They are so named

because the hydrogen and oxygen are usually in the proportion to form

water, (CH2O)n. The most important carbohydrates are the starches, sugars,

celluloses, and gums. They are classified into mono-, di-, tri-, poly- and

heterosaccharides. [EU]

Glossary 179

Cataract:
An opacity, partial or complete, of one or both eyes, on or in the lens or capsule, especially an opacity impairing vision or causing blindness.

The many kinds of cataract are classified by their morphology (size, shape,

location) or etiology (cause and time of occurrence). [EU]

Chemotherapy:
The treatment of disease by means of chemicals that have a specific toxic effect upon the disease - producing microorganisms or that

selectively destroy cancerous tissue. [EU]

Cholesterol:
The principal sterol of all higher animals, distributed in body tissues, especially the brain and spinal cord, and in animal fats and oils. [NIH]

Collagen:
The protein substance of the white fibres (collagenous fibres) of skin, tendon, bone, cartilage, and all other connective tissue; composed of

molecules of tropocollagen (q.v.), it is converted into gelatin by boiling.

collagenous pertaining to collagen; forming or producing collagen. [EU]

Coronary:
Encircling in the manner of a crown; a term applied to vessels; nerves, ligaments, etc. The term usually denotes the arteries that supply the

heart muscle and, by extension, a pathologic involvement of them. [EU]

Cyclophosphamide:
Precursor of an alkylating nitrogen mustard

antineoplastic and immunosuppressive agent that must be activated in the

liver to form the active aldophosphamide. It is used in the treatment of

lymphomas, leukemias, etc. Its side effect, alopecia, has been made use of in

defleecing sheep. Cyclophosphamide may also cause sterility, birth defects,

mutations, and cancer. [NIH]

Cytokines:
Non-antibody proteins secreted by inflammatory leukocytes and some non-leukocytic cells, that act as intercellular mediators. They differ

from classical hormones in that they are produced by a number of tissue or

cell types rather than by specialized glands. They generally act locally in a

paracrine or autocrine rather than endocrine manner. [NIH]

Cytoplasm:
The protoplasm of a cell exclusive of that of the nucleus; it consists of a continuous aqueous solution (cytosol) and the organelles and

inclusions suspended in it (phaneroplasm), and is the site of most of the

chemical activities of the cell. [EU]

Cytotoxic:
Pertaining to or exhibiting cytotoxicity. [EU]

Degenerative:
Undergoing degeneration : tending to degenerate; having the character of or involving degeneration; causing or tending to cause

degeneration. [EU]

Dermatology:
A medical specialty concerned with the skin, its structure, functions, diseases, and treatment. [NIH]

Diarrhea:
Passage of excessively liquid or excessively frequent stools. [NIH]

Distal:
Remote; farther from any point of reference; opposed to proximal. In dentistry, used to designate a position on the dental arch farther from the

180 Lupus Nephritis

median line of the jaw. [EU]

Eczema:
A pruritic papulovesicular dermatitis occurring as a reaction to many endogenous and exogenous agents, characterized in the acute stage by

erythema, edema associated with a serous exudate between the cells of the

epidermis (spongiosis) and an inflammatory infiltrate in the dermis, oozing

and vesiculation, and crusting and scaling; and in the more chronic stages by

lichenification or thickening or both, signs of excoriations, and

hyperpigmentation or hypopigmentation or both. Atopic dermatitis is the

most common type of dermatitis. Called also eczematous dermatitis. [EU]

Edema:
Excessive amount of watery fluid accumulated in the intercellular spaces, most commonly present in subcutaneous tissue. [NIH]

Electrolyte:
A substance that dissociates into ions when fused or in solution, and thus becomes capable of conducting electricity; an ionic solute. [EU]

Empyema:
Accumulation of pus in a cavity of the body; when used without a descriptive qualifier, it refers to thoracic empyema (q.v.). [EU]

Endogenous:
Developing or originating within the organisms or arising

from causes within the organism. [EU]

Enzyme:
A protein molecule that catalyses chemical reactions of other

substances without itself being destroyed or altered upon completion of the

reactions. Enzymes are classified according to the recommendations of the

Nomenclature Committee of the International Union of Biochemistry. Each

enzyme is assigned a recommended name and an Enzyme Commission (EC)

number. They are divided into six main groups; oxidoreductases,

transferases, hydrolases, lyases, isomerases, and ligases. [EU]

Exogenous:
Developed or originating outside the organism, as exogenous disease. [EU]

Exudate:
Material, such as fluid, cells, or cellular debris, which has escaped from blood vessels and has been deposited in tissues or on tissue surfaces,

usually as a result of inflammation. An exudate, in contrast to a transudate,

is characterized by a high content of protein, cells, or solid materials derived from cells. [EU]

Fatigue:
The state of weariness following a period of exertion, mental or physical, characterized by a decreased capacity for work and reduced

efficiency to respond to stimuli. [NIH]

Fibrosis:
The formation of fibrous tissue; fibroid or fibrous degeneration [EU]

Filtration:
The passage of a liquid through a filter, accomplished by gravity, pressure, or vacuum (suction). [EU]

Fistula:
An abnormal passage or communication, usually between two

internal organs, or leading from an internal organ to the surface of the body; frequently designated according to the organs or parts with which it

Glossary 181

communicates, as anovaginal, brochocutaneous, hepatopleural,

pulmonoperitoneal, rectovaginal, urethrovaginal, and the like. Such

passages are frequently created experimentally for the purpose of obtaining

body secretions for physiologic study. [EU]

Genotype:
The genetic constitution of the individual; the characterization of the genes. [NIH]

Glomerulonephritis:
A variety of nephritis characterized by inflammation of the capillary loops in the glomeruli of the kidney. It occurs in acute,

subacute, and chronic forms and may be secondary to haemolytic

streptococcal infection. Evidence also supports possible immune or

autoimmune mechanisms. [EU]

Helicobacter:
A genus of gram-negative, spiral-shaped bacteria that is pathogenic and has been isolated from the intestinal tract of mammals,

including humans. [NIH]