Medical Dictionary Definitions A-Z List
Medical Dictionary Definitions A - Z - «H»:
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Hereditary prostate cancer
Hereditary prostate cancer: A genetic form of prostate cancer. The risk of prostate cancer is clearly genetic. Men with a father or brother with prostate cancer are twice as likely to develop prostate cancer as men with no affected relatives. The risk increases with increasing number of affected rel...
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Hereditary sensory and autonomic neuropathy III
Hereditary sensory and autonomic neuropathy III: See: Familial dysautonomia. ...
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Hereditary spastic paraplegia, autosomal dominant
Hereditary spastic paraplegia,
autosomal dominant: A degenerative disorder of nerves with progressive
spasticity of the legs. Abbreviated as AD-HSP.
Spasticity is a state of increased muscle tone.
Paraplegia refers to the legs (quadriplegia refers to both the arms and legs).
In hereditary spasti...
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Hereditary spherocytosis
Hereditary spherocytosis: A genetic disorder of
the red blood cell membrane clinically characterized by anemia,
jaundice (yellowing) and splenomegaly (enlargement of the spleen).
In HS the red cells are smaller, rounder, and more fragile than
normal. The red cells have a spherical rather than t...
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Heredity
Heredity: Genetic transmission from parent to child. ...
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Heredofamilial tremor
Heredofamilial tremor: See: Essential tremor....
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Hereford genome
Hereford genome: See: Bovine genome....
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Heritability
Heritability: The degree to which something is inherited. ...
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Heritable
Heritable: Capable of being transmitted from parent to child. ...
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Heritable connective tissue disease
Heritable connective tissue disease: A disorder due to mutation of a gene responsible for connective tissue, the material that gives tissues form and strength. These mutations may change the structure and development of skin, bones, joints, heart, blood vessels, lungs, eyes, and ears. Some mutations...
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Hermansky-Pudlak syndrome
Hermansky-Pudlak syndrome: Abbreviated HPS. A genetic disorder characterized by albinism (with lack of pigment in the skin or eye), bruising and prolonged bleeding (due to defective blood platelets), and fibrosis of the lungs. There is occasionally also inflammatory bowel disease and impaired kidney...
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Hernia
Hernia: A general term referring to a protrusion of a tissue through the wall of the cavity in which it is normally contained.
More specifically, a hernia often refers to an opening or weakness in the muscular structure of the wall of the abdomen. This defect causes a bulging of the abdominal wall...
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Hernia repair
Hernia repair: Also called a herniorrhaphy, a surgical repair of a hernia. Hernia repair may be done under local or general anesthesia using a conventional incision or a laparoscope.
The alternative term "herniorrhaphy" comes from hernio-, referring to a hernia + the Greek rhaphe, a seam = putting a...
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Hernia, diaphragmatic
Diaphragmatic hernia: Passage of a loop of bowel through the
diaphragm muscle. This type of hernia occurs as the bowel from the abdomen
"herniates" upward through the diaphragm into the chest (thoracic) cavity.
Diaphragmatic hernias may be congenital or acquired. Congenital diaphragmatic hernias are...
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Hernia, hiatus
Hernia, hiatus: Protrusion of the stomach up into the
opening normally occupied by the esophagus in the diaphragm, the great dome of muscle that separates the thoracic (chest) cavity from the abdomen.
Normally, the esophagus passes down through the chest, crosses the diaphragm, enters the abdomen...
