Medical Dictionary Definitions A-Z List
Medical Dictionary Definitions A - Z - «P»:
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Poisoning
Poisoning: Taking a substance that is injurious to
health or can cause death. Poisoning is still a major hazard to
children, despite child-resistant (and sometimes adult-resistant)
packaging and dose-limits per container. See also poison, Poison
Control Centers....
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Poisoning, alcohol
Poisoning, alcohol: A condition in which a toxic
amount of alcohol (ethanol, ethyl alcohol) has been drunk, usually in a short period of time. The toxicity is related to the blood level of the alcohol.
The individual may become extremely
disoriented, unresponsive or unconscious, with shallow
bre...
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Poisoning, antifreeze
Poisoning, antifreeze: Poisoning from antifreeze which today is usually ethylene glycol -- a clear, colorless, odorless liquid with a sweet taste -- that can produce dramatic and dangerous toxicity.
Ethylene glycol is found most commonly in automotive cooling systems, and hydraulic brake fluid. In ...
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Poisoning, carbon monoxide
Poisoning, carbon monoxide: See: Carbon monoxide poisoning....
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Poisoning, cyanide
Poisoning, cyanide: See: Cyanide....
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Poisoning, ethylene glycol
Poisoning, ethylene glycol: Poisoning from ethylene glycol (a clear, colorless, odorless liquid with a sweet taste) that can produce dramatic and dangerous toxicity.
Ethylene glycol is found most commonly in antifreeze, automotive cooling systems, and hydraulic brake fluid. In an industrial setting...
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Poisoning, lead
Poisoning, lead: An environmental hazard capable of causing brain
damage. In the US lead poisoning is formally defined as having at least 10
micrograms of lead per deciliter of blood. (The average level of lead, for
people ages 1 to 70, is 2.3 micrograms.)
The lead may come, for example, from lead-c...
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Poisoning, mercury
Poisoning, mercury: The metallic element mercury is poisonous to humans. Mercury poisoning can occur in both acute and chronic forms.
Acute mercury poisoning (which today is less common) is associated with ulcerations of the stomach and intestine and with toxic changes in the renal (kidney) tubules....
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Poisoning, sea
Poisoning, sea: An intensely itchy rash due to contact with the tiny thimble jellyfish (Linuche unguiculata).
These jellyfish are common between March and August in the waters off of Florida and in the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea. There may be no adult jellyfish around as a warning. The je...
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Poisoning, silver
Poisoning, silver: Silver poisoning, medically termed argyria, causes ashen gray discoloration of the skin (and other tissues of the body). Due to chronic use of silver salts.
For example, a medical report related the case of a woman, now in her 50s, with discolored skin. At 11 she had been given no...
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Poland anomaly
Poland anomaly: A unique pattern of one-sided
malformations characterized by a defect of the chest (pectoralis) muscle on one side of the body and webbing of the fingers (cutaneous syndactyly) of the ipsilateral hand (the
hand on the same side). Often called Poland syndrome.
It is right-sided three...
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Poland sequence
Poland sequence: A unique pattern of one-sided
malformations characterized
by
a defect of the chest (pectoralis) muscle on one side of
the body and
webbing of the fingers (cutaneous syndactyly) of the
ipsilateral hand (the
hand on the same side). Often called Poland syndrome.
It is right-sided th...
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Poland syndactyly
Poland syndactyly: A unique pattern of one-sided
malformations characterized
by a defect of the chest (pectoralis) muscle on one side of
the body and
webbing of the fingers (cutaneous syndactyly) of the
ipsilateral hand (the
hand on the same side). Often called Poland syndrome.
It is
right-side...
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Poland syndrome
Poland syndrome: A developmental disorder of the chest wall involving a unique pattern of one-sided malformations characterized by a defect (absence or underdevelopment) of the main chest muscle (the pectoralis major) on one side of the body and webbing of the fingers (cutaneous syndactyly) of the i...
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Policosanol
Policosanol: A product derived from the waxy coating of sugar cane that lowers both the total cholesterol and the "bad" low density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol and
raises the levels of the "good" high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol. A review of placebo-controlled studies using policosanol ...