Medical Terms Used in HHARP and their Definitions

To that end, they describe clearly appropriate care, clearly inappropriate care, or care about which the scientific evidence and consensus are equivocal. In the process of creating medical terms and definitions certain rules of language apply. The word root is developed to include a vowel sound following the term to add a smoothing action to the sound of the word when applying a suffix.

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The Spine-health Medical Glossary provides accurate, easy-to-understand definitions for common (and not-so-common) terms related to chronic pain, spine surgery, back pain, and more. This section was developed for ‘speed learning’ of medical terminology. Start by reviewing the meanings for a block of medical terms, and then go back and choose a previous term randomly and try to recall the meaning of that particular medical term before hovering over the term to determine the answer. These frequent mini-tests will accelerate the learning process and in a relatively short period of time, you will be able to quickly recall the meaning of all of the listed medical terms.

ISCHEMIA – Inadequate circulation of blood generally due to a blockage of an artery. INTRAOPERATIVE CISTERNOGRAPHY – Administration of a contrast dye into the ventricles, which are chambers in the brain that contain brain fluid. HEMORRHAGE – Bleeding due to the escape of blood from a blood vessel. GLIOBLASTOMA – A rapidly growing tumor composed of primitive glial cells, mainly arising from astrocytes. GLASGOW COMA SCALE – The most widely used system of classifying the severity of head injuries or other neurologic diseases. GAMMA KNIFE – Equipment that precisely delivers a concentrated dose of radiation to a predetermined target using gamma rays.

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MRI – Magnetic Resonance Imaging – Scanning technique for views of the brain or spinal cord. No radiation is involved, but rather pulsed magnetic waves are used to delineate the structures within the brain. HYPOTHALAMUS – A collection of specialized nerve cells at the base of the brain that controls the anterior and posterior pituitary secretions, and is involved in other basic regulatory functions such as temperature control and attention.

Also called degenerative joint disease, hypertrophic arthritis, and osteoarthrosis. Gain a better understanding of medical terminology by searching our dictionary of more than 1,300 terms. It is not a substitute for professional medical advice, and it should not be used to diagnose or treat a health problem or disease. Please consult your healthcare provider if you have any questions or concerns.

Top of page governance – Method or system of government or management. Full-Time Equivalent – A standardized measure used in converting the number of persons in part-time employment to the number of persons in full-time employment. Employed Person – A person aged 15 years or more who, during the reference week of the labour force survey, worked for one hour or more for pay, profit or commission. Diagnosis – A decision based on the recognition of clinically relevant symptomatology, the consideration of causes that may exclude a diagnosis of another condition, and the application of clinical judgment. Depression – A mood disorder with prolonged feelings of being sad, hopeless, low and inadequate, with a loss of interest or pleasure in activities and often with suicidal thoughts or self-blame.

The committee’s primary reason for using guidelines as the general label was that the term is used this way in the legislation establishing AHCPR and by other sources such as the Physician Payment Review Commission. The four key terms employed in OBRA 89 have been defined and used in quite disparate ways. Words like guidelines and standards may mean one thing to clinicians, another to purchasers, and yet another to attorneys. (The study directors for this project discovered early in their work that they were using these terms differently.) Moreover, the same person may use the same term differently in different contexts.