chapter 45: Geriatrics

Collagen

The most abundant structural protein found in skin and other connective tissue. It provides strength and cushioning to many parts of the body

Dermatome

Skin surface areas supplied by a single afferent spinal nerve

Elastin

A highly elastic protein in connective tissue that allows tissues to resume their shapes after stretching or contracting;found abundantly in the dermis of the skin

Explicit

Fully and clearly expressed or demonstrated, leaving nothing merely implied

Insidious

Proceeding in a gradual,subtle way, but with harmful effects

Lacrimation

The secretion or discharge of tears

Ménière disease

Chronic disease of the inner ear causing recurrent episodes of vertigo, progressive sensorineural hearing loss and tinnitus

Mortality

The relatively frequency of deaths in a specific population

Nocturia

Frequent urination at night

Oophorectomy

Surgical removal of the ovaries

Orthostatic hypotension

A temporary fall in blood pressure when a person rapidly changes from a recumbent position to a standing position

Osteoporosis

Abnormal thinning of the bone structure, causing bones to become brittle and weak

Ototoxic

A medicine or substance capable of damaging cranial nerve VIII or the organs of hearing and balance

Peristalsis

Rythmic contraction of involuntary muscles lining the gastrointestinal tract

Posthereptic neuralgia

Nerve pain that occurs after a shingles outbreak that may become chronic

Pressure injuries

Sores or ulcers that develop over a bony prominence as the result of ischemia from prolonged pressure also called bed sores or pressure sores