Free Understanding a Medical Report Essay Sample
Palpitations – a subjective perception of a pounding heart. Patients may feel it in their chest; however, it can also be felt in the neck or throat. Palpitations can manifest as an unpleasant feeling that the heart is beating too fast. It can also be a feeling of the heart skipping its beats. Palpitations do not always mean a heart problem.
Parkinson’s disease – a chronic, progressive disorder affecting the nervous system. Symptoms include tremor and difficulty moving around. Muscle stiffness is one of the most typical signs of Parkinson’s disease. For example, patients with Parkinson’s disease may have difficulty with handwriting.
Hernia – a gap in the tissue that keeps abdominal muscles in place; it usually develops because abdominal muscles weaken, pushing the inner tissue through the gap and creating a small sac.
Inguinal hernia – a gap that appears down the inguinal canal.
Diaphragmatic hernia – a gap in the patient’s diaphragm.
Inguinal hernia repair or diaphragmatic hernia repair – a surgical intervention aimed to remove the gap in the tissue holding the abdominal muscles or the gap in the diaphragm. Depending on the type of hernia, surgeons may need to push the sac back into place or remove it.
Splenectomy – a surgical intervention to remove the patient’s spleen.
Thrombocytopenia – the same as low platelet count. Platelets are blood cells that thicken the patient’s blood. In patients with low platelet count, the risk of bleeding is much higher than in healthy subjects.
Hepatitis – an inflammatory liver disease, which may or may not have visible signs and symptoms. The relationship between alcoholism and hepatitis is well-known. Alcohol damages the liver tissue, causing inflammation that may lead to hepatitis and other liver conditions, such as cirrhosis.
Hematemesis – a condition when the patient vomits blood.
Hemoptysis – a situation when the patient coughs up blood or notices traces of blood in the mucus.
Melena – black stools, which usually indicate the presence of blood and may be a sign of abdominal or rectal bleeding.
Pedal edema – swelling of lower extremities caused by the accumulation of fluid.
Orthopnea – difficulty breathing or shortness of breath when the patient is lying down.
Dyspnea on exertion – a subjective feeling of shortness of breath when the patient is physically active.
Paroxysmal nocturnal dyspnea – acute shortness of breath while sleeping.
Thyromegaly – enlarged thyroid gland.
Adenopathy – problems with the patient’s lymph nodes, such as when they are enlarged.
Auscultation – using a stethoscope or any other device to evaluate the patient’s breathing and heartbeat.
Carotid bruit – a sound heart on auscultation, a murmur, which is usually located within the carotid artery area. It can be a sign of a local narrowing of the carotid artery.
Bilateral femoral bruits – a murmur heard over the femoral arteries; usually a sign of a local narrowing, which disrupts the blood flow.
The Romberg sign – a neurological test used to evaluate the patient’s postural control in darkness. Patients who have their Romberg sign positive have difficulty maintaining their balance with their eyes closed.
White count – the number of white blood cells in the patient’s blood.
Hematocrit – the ration (percentage, proportion) of red blood cells against the entire blood volume.
Vertigo – a set of symptoms that are suggestive of problems with brain or the inner ear, including dizziness, poor balance, wooziness, and disorientation.
Cerebral basilar insufficiency; vertebral basilar insufficiency – reduced or problematic blood flow to certain parts of the brain, which often causes headache, vertigo, physical weakness, and imbalance.
Parkinsonism – a combination of symptoms that are noted in patients with Parkinson’s disease, such as gait problems and tremor.