Author: Glossary

In refractive eye surgeries such as LASIK, too small a change in shape of the cornea that results in inadequate focusing of light rays (failure of light to fall onto the retina).  

Functioning at less than full efficiency or productivity; said, for example, of glands such as the thyroid or the adrenals.  

An antifungal drug used topically to treat tinea pedis.  

For radiation protection purposes, an area occupied by the general public.  

Profound uninterest or nonchalance out of proportion to societal norms. It is a characteristic of some brain diseases, including certain forms of brain injury, dementias, intoxications, and strokes.  

Not joined or associated with complement and thus inactive.  

A rare disorder, typically identified in childhood, in which hair grows in unruly bundles, sometimes called a “spun glass arrangement.” The hair is dry, shiny, or blond, and easily broken. Cross-sectioning often reveals a triangular or grooved shaft. The condition is often associated with other birth defects.  

The release of viral nucleic acids from the capsid that covers them. Uncoating of viruses can be complete or incomplete and can occur before a virus enters the cell or after it penetrates a cell membrane.  

Pressure applied with the use of a blunt hook to arrest bleeding.  

A seizure marked by olfactory and gustatory hallucinations, usually disagreeable; a sense of unreality; and sometimes convulsions and temporary loss of senses of taste and smell. This is associated with lesions of the uncinate gyrus of the temporal lobe of the brain.