Glossary

Author: Glossary

  • Choked disk

    A swollen optic disk due to inflammation or edema.  

  • Disjoint

    To disarticulate or to separate bones from their natural positions in a joint.  

  • Disintegrative disorder

    A personality disorder of children marked by regression in many areas of functioning after at least 2 yr of normal development. Individuals exhibit social, communicative, and behavioral characteristics similar to those of autistic disorder. Also called Heller’s syndrome, dementia infantalis, or disintegrative psychosis.  

  • Disinfection of field of operation

    Disinfection of the area of the body where surgery is to be performed. Universally accepted fields of preparation for most surgical procedures have been widely published.  

  • Concurrent disinfection

    Prompt disinfection and suitable disposal of infected excreta during the entire course of a disease.  

  • Tuberculocidal disinfectant

    Any disinfectant certified by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration as having the ability to kill Mycobacterium tuberculosis as well as less resistant microorganisms (e.g. other bacteria, viruses, and fungi). A tuberculocidal disinfectant is not certified to kill bacterial spores.  

  • Disentanglement

    A rescue technique used to free a trapped victim that involves removing the wreckage from around the patient (rather than removing the patient from the wreckage). For example, freeing a person trapped in a crushed car often requires the car to be pried apart with heavy rescue tools capable of cutting through metal.  

  • Disengagement

    The emergence of the fetal head from within the maternal pelvis.  

  • Disease state management program

    A program of health care specific to a designated population (e.g., diabetic patients), offering an organized, systematic pathway to guide clinicians and patients through predetermined steps to measurable outcomes. The program encompasses five elements: clinical guidelines, a coordinated delivery system, health care provider support, patient support and education, and outcomes management,  

  • Disease of meaning

    Any disease or condition that potentially results from a life situation or circumstance that diminishes engagement and personal meaning and creates anomie, desperation, or the need to withdraw (e.g., into unipolar depression, substance abuse, alcoholism, self-inflicted injury).