Glossary

Category: O

  • Oligofructose (or fructo-oligosaccharide)

    Polymer of fructose made from sucrose or inulin, a non-digestible oligosaccharide.  

  • Oligodipsia

    Reduced sense of thirst. A condition in which a person does not want to drink.  

  • Oligoallergenic diet

    Comprised of very few foods or an elemental diet used to diagnose whether particular symptoms are the result of allergic response to food.  

  • Oleic acid

    Mono-unsaturated fatty acid (08:1 ω9). A fatty acid that is naturally present in the fat of animals and also in oils extracted from oil-seed plants (e.g., soybean, canola, etc.). For example, the soybean oil produced from traditional varieties of soybeans tends to contain 24% oleic acid. An 18-carbon fatty acid that contains one double bond…

  • Office of dietary supplements (ODS)

    Office of the US National Institutes of Health; website http:/ / dietary-supplements.info.nih.gov.  

  • Oestrogens

    Are steroid hormones principally secreted by the ovaries, which maintain female characteristics. A female sex hormone. Any steroid hormone which stimulates the development of secondary sexual characteristics in females at puberty. Natural or synthetic substances that induce the changes in the uterus preceding ovulation. They are also responsible for the development of the secondary sex…

  • Oedema

    Oedema

    Excess retention of fluid in the body; may be caused by cardiac, renal, or hepatic failure or by starvation (famine oedema). The presence of abnormally large amounts of fluid in the intercellular tissue spaces of the body. Swelling of tissue due to an accumulation of fluids, often caused by kidney or heart failure. The swelling…

  • Obstructed labour

    Failure of descent of the fetal presenting part (usually the head) because of disproportion between the size of the head, which may be unusually large, and the size of the bony birth canal, which may be unusually small. An important cause of maternal and/or fetal death if caesarean section is not available to the labouring…

  • Obstipation

    Extreme and persistent constipation caused by obstruction of the intestinal tract. Severe constipation, often caused by a blockage in the intestines. Extreme constipation, caused by obstruction in the intestinal system.  

  • Obsessive-compulsive personality disorder

    Also known as compulsive personality; characterized by preoccupation with perfectionism, mental and interpersonal control, and orderliness, all at the expense of flexibility, openness, and efficiency. Some of the manifestations are preoccupation with rules, lists, or similar items; excessive devotion to work, with little attention paid to recreation and friendships; limited expression of warm emotions; reluctance…