Glossary

Author: Glossary

  • Neisseria sicca

    Species found in mucous membrane of the respiratory tract. Occasionally, this species may cause bacterial endocarditis.  

  • Negri bodies

    Inclusion bodies found in the cells of the central nervous system of animals infected with rabies. They are acidophilic masses appearing in large ganglion cells or in cells of the brain, esp. those of the hippocampus and cerebellum. Their presence is considered conclusive proof of rabies.    

  • Negotiation

    A form of conflict resolution in which two or more parties discuss their differences in the hope of reaching a mutually acceptable conclusion. A bargain or compromise for a peaceful solution to a conflict. A series of communication exchanges made with the objective of reaching a mutually satisfying outcome.  

  • Ordinary negligence

    Failure to exercise the care that an ordinary prudent person would exercise under similar circumstances.  

  • Gross negligence

    Any voluntary, intentional, and conscious act or omission committed by an individual, with reckless disregard for the consequences, especially how they may affect another person’s life or property.  

  • Corporate negligence

    Failure of a corporation to meet its legal obligations to its clients. With regard to health care facilities, responsibilities included under the doctrine of corporate negligence are monitoring and supervision of the competence of medical and nursing personnel within the facility; investigating physicians’ credentials before granting staff privileges; and negligent hiring of health care professionals…

  • Contributory negligence

    In forensic medicine, the concept that the plantiff’s negligence in combination with the defendant’s negligence is the cause of the plaintiff’s injuries or damages.  

  • Negative study

    An investigation in which no benefit of a treatment, or no association between a risk factor and an outcome, is demonstrated; also called negative trial. Such studies may be important in disproving misconceptions about a disease, treatment, or presumed associations between risk factors and outcomes.  

  • Negative sign

    Minus sign (-) used in subtraction, to denote something that is below zero, or to indicate a lack.  

  • Negative pressure pulmonary edema

    Pulmonary edema occurring in a patient with upper airway obstruction and negative intrapleural pressures, e.g., in a child with epiglottitis.