Author: Glossary

An instrument for piercing the skull and other bones.  

An abdominal crisis in which a hole forms in a wall of the gastrointestinal tract, resulting in the release of intestinal fluids into the peritoneum. The leakage may produce a localized abscess, phlegmon, or diffuse peritonitis.  

Any of several rare conditions associated with diabetes mellitus and/or chronic kidney disease in which dermal components, such as collagen or elastin, protrude through the epidermis. The perforating disorders include elastosis perforans serpiginosa, Kyrle disease, perforating folliculitis, and reactive perforating collagenosis, but some experts believe that all of these conditions reflect the same disease.  

Perforating or penetrating, as a nerve or blood vessel through a nerve or a muscle.  

A class of solvent molecules that can carry nonpolar gases, such as oxygen, nitrogen, and carbon dioxide. They have been used experimentally in transfusion medicine and in some ophthalmic surgeries. Perfluorocarbons are also used as blood gas controls when prepared in buffered solutions equilibrated with C02 and 02.  

The process of blowing air into a cavity to expand its walls or to force out secretions or other matter. The act of introducing air into a cavity, either to force out its contents or to facilitate their removal.  

A personality trait in which the individual strives for achievement in a manner that borders on the obsessive or the depressive.  

The removal of stones from the urinary tract with a needle inserted through the skin and into the urinary collecting system. The collecting system near the stone is dilated, and the stone is grasped and/or crushed.