Q-Z 2

Tangentiality

Abandoning one’s ideational objective in pursuit of thoughts peripheral to the original goal. Used to describe a thought and speech pattern wherein the individual never gets to the point or answers the question.

Tardive Dyskinesia

A chronic disorder of the nervous system characterized by involuntary jerky or writhing movements of the face, tongue, jaws, trunk, and limbs, usually developing as a late occurring side effect of prolonged treatment with antipsychotic drugs.

Targeted Therapy

A type of treatment that uses drugs or other substances to identify and attack specific types of cancer cells with less harm to normal cells.

tendinosis

Tendon degeneration without accompanying inflammation.

tenesmus

Difficulty with bowel evacuation despite the urgency to defecate

Teratogenic

Causing malformation in the development of the embryo or fetus.

Terminal secretions

The noise produced by the oscillatory movements of secretions in the upper airways in association with the inspiratory and expiratory phases of respiration. It is also known as “death rattle”.

Tetany

A condition marked by intermittent muscular spasms, caused by malfunction of the parathyroid glands and a consequent deficiency of calcium.

Thelarche

Onset of breast development.

Third spacing

Fluid moving from the intravascular space into the interstitial or “third” space or into a body cavity.

Thought Blocking

Speech is halted, often in mid-sentence, and then picked up later, usually at another point in the thought process

Thrombin

An enzyme formed from prothrombin which converts fibrinogen to fibrin and also activates platelets. It is the principal driving force in the clotting cascade.

Thrombocytopenia

A condition whereby the number of circulating platelets are abnormally low due to decreased production of new cells, possibly secondary to medication toxicities

Thrombocytosis

Increased number of platelets in the blood.

Thrombogenesis

The process of forming a blood clot.

Thrombolysis-

The process of enzymatically dissolving or breaking apart a blood clot.

Thrombolytic

An enzyme that dissolves or breaks apart blood clots.

Thrombophlebitis

Inflammation of a blood vessel (eg, vein) associated with the stimulations of clotting and formation of a thrombus (or blood clot).

Thromboplastin

A substance that triggers the coagulation cascade. Tissue factor is a naturally occurring thromboplastin and is used in the prothrombin time test.

Thrombosis

A condition in which blood changes from a liquid to a solid state and produces a blood clot.

Thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura

Condition characterized by formation of small clots within the circulation resulting in the consumption of platelets and a low platelet count.

Thrombus.

Blood clot attached to the vessel wall and consisting of platelets, fibrin, and clotting factors. It may partially or completely occlude the lumen of a blood vessel compromising blood flow and oxygen delivery to distal tissue.

Thyroglobulin

A thyroid hormone-containing protein, usually stored in the colloid within the thyroid follicles.

Thyroid peroxidase

Enzyme that catalyzes the organification and coupling steps of thyroid hormone synthesis.

thyroiditis.

Inflammation of the thyroid gland.

Thyrotoxicosis

A syndrome caused by elevated levels of thyroid hormone. It is often caused by hyperthyroidism, a condition in which the thyroid gland produces excessive levels of thyroid hormone.

Tocolytic

Medication used to stop premature labor.

Tonometry

A method by which the cornea is indented or flattened by an instrument. The pressure required to achieve corneal indentation or flattening is a measure of intraocular pressure.

Tophi

Collections of monosodium urate crystals that develop in tissues and generally appear as firm nodules under the skin.

Topoisomerase-I

Enzymes that cut one of the two strands of double-stranded DNA, relax the strand, and reanneal the strand.

Torsade de pointes

Very rapid ventricular tachycardia characterized by a gradually changing QRS complex in the electrocardiogram; may change into ventricular fibrillation.

Total abdominal hysterectomy and bilateral salpingooophorectomy

Surgical removal of the uterus, fallopian tubes, and ovaries which results in immediate menopause.

Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis

A life-threatening skin disorder characterized by blistering and peeling of the top layer of skin.

Toxoid

Bacterial toxin which has been inactivated.

Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation

A technique that involves the use of electrical coils on the head to generate a brief magnetic field which reaches the cerebral cortex.

Transesophageal Echocardiogram

Procedure (Doppler ultrasound) used to generate an image of the heart via sound waves, via a probe introduced into the esophagus (rather than the traditional transthoracic view) to obtain a better image of the left atrium.

Transferrin Saturation

The ratio of serum iron and total ironbinding capacity, multiplied by 100.

Translocation

Movement of viable bacteria from gastrointestinal tract into other areas of the body

Transmural

Existing or occurring across the entire wall of an organ or blood vessel.

Transsphenoidal Pituitary Microsurgery

Surgery through the nasal cavity to access the pituitary gland through the sphenoid bone.

Transthoracic Echocardiogram

A Doppler ultrasound to visualize the heart through placing the device on the patient’s chest or abdomen; views may be limited by the size of the vegetation or patient’s body habitus.

Traveler's Diarrhea

An acute infectious diarrhea that afflicts travelers during or immediately upon return and is due to ingestion of contaminated food or beverages resulting in diarrhea and other gastrointestinal symptoms.

Trigeminal Neuralgia

A disorder of the fifth cranial (trigeminal) nerve characterized by excruciating paroxysms of pain in the face.

Troponin T or I

Proteins found predominately in the myocardium. They are released into the blood from the myocytes at the time of myocardial cell necrosis secondary to infarction. These biochemical markers become elevated and are used in the diagnosis of myocardial infarction.

Trousseau sign

Elicited by inflating a blood pressure cuff on the patient’s upper arm, whereby hypocalcemic patients will experience tetany of the wrist and hand as evidenced by thumb adduction, wrist flexion, and metacarpophalangeal joint flexion.