Author: Glossary

A low blood glucose level (<50 mg/dl or 3.3 mmol/L) that occurs after bedtime. It may be asymptomatic, or it may cause nightmares, night sweats, other sleep disturbances, tachycardia, convulsions, or, rarely, death. It typically results from relatively high levels of insulin in insulin-treated diabetic patients. It may be prevented by consuming a bedtime snack…

A rare disorder involving frequent awakenings from sleep to eat or drink. Those affected are unable to return to sleep without eating a meal. The condition is most commonly observed in infants, young children, and people being treated with some sedatives. In adults it is considered to be both a sleep disorder and a binge…

An indication on the chart of a patient that he or she does not want heroic or lifesaving measures to be instituted when death is imminent.  

The perception by the nerve centers of injurious influences or painful stimuli.  

Impulse giving rise to sensations of pain.  

A substance (such as a sugar pill) or an exposure (such as to an odor or fragrance) that makes a person feel ill, even though it has no measurable negative effects. The nocebo effect can be contagious, as in cases of mass sociogenic illness.  

A species pathogenic for humans in which chronic subcutaneous abscesses are formed.  

Swedish chemist and philanthropist who developed nitroglycerin, 1833-1896, and whose will provided funds for awarding the annual prizes] Awards given almost every year since 1901 to honor distinguished contributions to world peace, chemistry, physics, literature, economics, physiology, and medicine.  

An element obtained from the bombardment of curium. Its atomic number is 102. The atomic mass of the most stable isotope of nobelium is 254; other isotopes vary in weight from 252 through 256.  

A chemical reagent used in biological laboratories.