Category: H

A condition in which bodies of vertebrae hypertrophy; it occurs in most people over 50. Bony changes such as facet degeneration and the formation of bone spurs commonly occur.  

Enlarged spleen associated with hemolytic anemia. The increased rigidity of red blood cell membranes results in their increased destruction as they attempt to move from splenic cords into the vascular sinuses.  

A 5-in (45 mm) long brown spider with gray markings found in northwestern North America. Males are more venomous than females. A bite causes erythema, blisters, subsequent necrosis of the skin, and sometimes severe, persistent headaches. Systemic corticosteroid therapy may be helpful. Aplastic anemia, intractable diarrhea, or vomiting may occur and, although rare, may be…

Twitching of facial muscles that usually begins in one eyelid but may generalize after many years to half of the face or even to both sides of it. It usually results from an aneurysm of the vertebral or basilar artery or a tumor of the cerebellopontine angle. In some patients, the twitching can be treated…

A syphilitic chancre; primary lesion of syphilis.  

A solution with a specific gravity greater than one, or greater than the solution to which it is being compared. This is important in injecting medicines or anesthetic agents into the spinal fluid in the spinal canal.  

A solution of unfractionated heparins that was used in the past to keep intravenous infusion devices from clotting. Heparin flushes are now infrequently used because they are more expensive than saline flushes and because they pose a risk of heparin related thrombocytopenia, a potentially life-threatening allergy.  

Sleep induced by hypnotic suggestion.  

Graft made of living human skin grown in a laboratory and used, e.g., to treat leg ulcers in patients with peripheral vascular disease or diabetes mellitus. The graft bonds with healthy tissue in a wound from which necrotic tissue has been removed, improving healing. It is grown from foreskin removed from neonates but also contains…

The sinus formed when hair is embedded in the skin and acts as a foreign body.