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A
Abscess: A localized
collection of pus buried in tissues, organs or confined
spaces. Usually due to an infective process.
Acute-Phase
Reactant: These proteins are secreted into the
blood in increased or decreased quantities by hepatocytes
in response to trauma, inflammation, or disease. They
can serve as inhibitors or mediators of the inflammatory
processes. Certain acute-phase proteins have been used
to diagnose and follow the course of diseases or as
tumor markers. These plasma proteins (in addition to
fibrinogen) increase 25% or more in response to inflammation
and injury and are under direct control of interleukin-6
(IL-6) (hepatocyte-stimulating factor). Other proteins
which increase are ceruloplasmin, C3 and C4 which increase
50% or more; alpha1-acid glycoprotein, alpha1-antitrypsin,
haptoglobin and fibrinogen (the major determinant of
viscosity) which increase two- to four-fold; C-reactive
protein (CRP) and serum amyloid A which increase several
hundred-fold.
Albumin:
The major plasma protein (approximately 60 per cent
of the total), which is responsible for much of the
plasma colloidal osmotic pressure and serves as a transport
protein carrying large organic anions such as fatty
acids, bilirubin and many drugs; also carries certain
hormones such as cortisol and thyroxine when their specific
binding globulins are saturated. Albumin is synthesized
in the liver. Low serum levels occur in protein malnutrition,
active inflammation and serious hepatic and renal disease.
Alpha1-Acid
Glycoprotein: An acute-phase protein manufactured
in the liver and found in the blood. Detection of elevated
levels of AGP indicates illness or other stressors before
clinical symptoms are apparent. AGP is elevated by inflammation,
infectious diseases, surgery, malignant tumors, autoimmune
diseases, liver cirrhoses, and with all types of stress
in general.
Alpha1-Antitrypsin:
Plasma glycoprotein member of the serpin superfamily
which inhibits trypsin, neutrophil elastase, and other
proteolytic enzymes. Commonly referred to as alpha 1-proteinase
inhibitor (a1pi), it exists in over 30 different biochemical
variant forms known collectively as the PI (protease
inhibitor) system.
Alpha2-Macroglobulin:
A general endoproteinase inhibitor. Inhibits most endoproteinases,
but does not inhibit endoproteinases that are highly
specific for one or a limited number of sequences (e.g.,
tissue kallikrein, urokinase, coagulation factor XIIa,
and endoproteinase Lys-C).
Amino
Acids: Organic compounds that generally contain
an amino (NH2) and a carboxyl (COOH) group.
Twenty alpha-amino acids are the subunits which are
polymerized to form proteins.
Anemia:
A disorder due to a deficiency in the number of red
blood cells or of their hemoglobin content, or of both
in the bloodstream, resulting in insufficient oxygen
to tissues and organs.
Anions:
Negatively charged atoms or radicals.
Anthropometrics:
The technique that deals with the measurement of the
size, weight, and proportions of the human or other
primate body.
Arteriosclerosis:
Imprecise term for various disorders of arteries, particularly
hardening due to fibrosis or calcium deposition; often
used as a synonym for atherosclerosis.
B
Bone Marrow Transplant:
A procedure in which a section of bone marrow is taken
from one person and transplanted into another. It is
used to replace bone marrow that has been damaged or
diseased.
C
Cachexia: A profound
and marked state of constitutional disorder, general
ill health and malnutrition.
Cellulitis:
An acute, diffuse, spreading, edematous, suppurative
inflammation of the connective tissues (deep subcutaneous)
tissues and sometimes muscle, which may be associated
with abscess formation.
Ceruloplasmin:
A blue copper containing dehydrogenase protein (135
kD) found in serum (200-500 g/mL) that is apparently
involved in copper detoxification and storage and possibly
also in mopping up excess oxygen radicals or superoxide
anions.
Chronic
Renal Failure: Chronic renal failure represents
a slow decline in kidney function over time. Chronic
renal failure may be caused by a number of disorders,
which include long-standing hypertension, diabetes,
congestive heart failure, lupus or sickle cell anemia.
If renal function declines to a low enough level (end-stage
renal disease) kidney dialysis may be necessary. A sudden
decline in renal function may be triggered by a number
of acute disease processes.
Coagulation:
The process of clot formation.
Complement:
A term originally used to refer to the heat labile
factor in serum that causes immune cytolysis, the lysis
of antibody coated cells and now referring to the entire
functionally related system comprising at least 20 distinct
serum proteins that is the effector not only of immune
cytolysis but also of other biologic functions.
Copper:
A trace element with the atomic symbol Cu, atomic
number 29, and atomic weight 63. It is essential in
nutrition, being a component of various proteins, including
ceruloplasmin, erythrocuprein, cytochrome c oxidase,
tyrosinase, etc. Deficiency, which is rare, may result
in hypochromic microcytic anemia, neutropenia, or bone
changes.
C-Reactive
Protein (CRP): This blood test is used as an
indicator of acute inflammation. C-reactive protein
is a protein of the pentraxin family, produced by the
liver during periods of inflammation and detectable
in serum in various disease conditions particularly
during the acute phase of immune response.
D
Dialysis: A medical
procedure that uses a machine to filter waste products
from the bloodstream and restore the blood’s normal
constituents. A necessary form of treatment in the patient
with end-stage renal disease. In most circumstances,
kidney dialysis is administered in a fixed schedule
of three times per week.
Dyspigmentation:
Any abnormality in the formation or distribution of
pigment, especially in the skin; usually applied to
an abnormal reduction in pigmentation (depigmentation).
E
Endopeptidase: An
enzyme that cleaves protein at positions within the
chain. Formally, the enzymes are peptidyl peptide hydrolases,
more usually known as proteinases or proteolytic enzymes.
F
Ferritin: An iron
storage protein of mammals, found in liver, spleen and
bone marrow.
Fibrinogen:
Soluble plasma protein (340 kD, 46 nm long) composed
of 6 peptide chains and present at about 2-3 mg/mL.
Free
Fatty Acids: Any number of saturated aliphatic
monocarboxylic acids. A metabolic byproduct from the
breakdown of fats. The common fatty acids of biological
origin are linear chains with an even number of carbon
atoms. Free fatty acids are present in living tissue
at low concentrations. The esterified forms are important
both as energy storage molecules and structural molecules.
G
Gammopathy, See Also
Monoclonal Gammopathy and Polyclonal Gammopathy: A
primary disturbance in immunoglobulin synthesis.
Gastrointestinal
Hemorrhage: Bleeding in the gastrointestinal
tract.
H
Half-life: The period
over which the concentration of a specified chemical
or drug takes to fall to half its original concentration
in the specified fluid or blood.
Haptoglobin:
Plasma glycoprotein that binds to oxyhemoglobin that
is free in plasma and the complex is then removed in
the liver.
Hormones:
Chemical substances having a specific regulatory effect
on the activity of a certain organ or organs. The term
was originally applied to substances secreted by various
endocrine glands and transported in the bloodstream
to the target organs. It is sometimes extended to include
those substances that are not produced by the endocrine
glands but that have similar effects.
Hypermetabolic
State: Above normal heat production by the body,
as in thyrotoxicosis.
Hyperthyroidism:
Excessive functional activity of the thyroid
gland. The abnormal condition resulting from hyperthyroidism
marked by increased metabolic rate, enlargement of the
thyroid gland, rapid heart rate, high blood pressure
and various secondary symptoms.
I
Ig/Light Chain Type Lambda:
The lighter of the two types of polypeptide chains
that is found in immunoglobulin and antibody molecules.
Also used as a non-specific term for the smaller subunits
of several multimeric proteins such as immunoglobulin,
myosin, dynein, clathrin.
Immune
System: The body system made up of many organs
and cells that defends against infection, disease and
foreign substances.
Immunocompromised:
A condition in which the immune system is not functioning
normally.
Inflammation:
A localized protective response elicited by injury or
destruction of tissues, which serves to destroy, dilute
or wall off (sequester) both the injurious agent and
the injured tissue. It is characterized in the acute
form by the classical signs of pain, heat, redness,
swelling, and loss of function. Histologically, it involves
a complex series of events, including dilatation of
arterioles, capillaries and venules, with increased
permeability and blood flow, exudation of fluids, including
plasma proteins and leukocytic migration into the inflammatory
focus.
K
Kwashiorkor, See Also
Protein Calorie Malnutrition: A nutritional deficiency
illness in children who are not getting enough protein.
This results in anemia, poor growth, weakness, and edema
(which is particularly characterized by a pronounced
pot belly). In famine-stricken regions, children typically
develop kwashiorkor right after they are weaned.
M
Malnutrition: Faulty
or inadequate nutrition. Under nourishment.
Marasmus:
Extreme weakness and wasting secondary to malnutrition.
Metabolic
Rate: Rate of metabolism; the amount of energy
expended in a give period.
Metabolism:
The sum of all the physical and chemical processes by
which a living substance is produced and maintained
(anabolism) and also the transformation by which energy
is made available for the uses of the organism (catabolism).
Minerals:
Native, inorganic or fossilized organic substances
having a definite chemical composition and formed by
inorganic reactions. They may occur as individual crystals
or may be disseminated in some other mineral or rock.
Monoclonal
Gammopathy, See Also Gammopathy and Polyclonal
Gammopathy: Any one of a group of disorders due
to proliferation of a single clone of lymphoid or plasma
cells (visible on electrophoresis as a single peak)
and characterized by the presence of monoclonal immunoglobulin
in serum or urine.
Morbidity:
A diseased condition or state; the incidence of a disease
or of all diseases in a population.
Mortality:
The death rate. The ratio of the total number of deaths
to the total population.
Myocardial
Infarction: A term used to describe irreversible
injury to heart muscle. Common symptoms include substernal,
crushing chest pain that may radiate to the jaw or arms.
Chest pain may be associated with nausea, sweating or
shortness of breath.
N
Nephropathy: Any
disease of the kidneys.
Nitrogen:
A colorless nonmetallic element, tasteless and odorless,
comprising four-fifths of the atmosphere by volume.
It is chemically inert in the free state, and as such,
is incapable of supporting life (hence the name azote
still used by French chemists); but it forms many important
compounds, such as ammonia, nitric acid, the cyanides,
etc., and is a constituent of all living tissues, animal
or vegetable.
Nourish:
To feed and cause to grow; to supply with matter
which increases bulk or supplies waste, and promotes
health; to furnish with nutriment.
Nutrients:
A nutritious substance, food or a component of food.
Nutrition:
All foods; the physical and chemical process by which
food is converted into body tissue.
P
Plasma Protein: One
of the hundreds of different proteins present in blood
plasma, including carrier proteins (such albumin, transferrin
and haptoglobin), fibrinogen and other coagulation factors,
complement components, immunoglobulins, enzyme inhibitors,
precursors of substances such as angiotensin and bradykinin
and many other types of proteins.
Pneumonia:
Inflammation of the lungs with consolidation.
Polyclonal
Gammopathy: See
Also gammopathy
and monoclonal gammopathy: A gammopathy in which
there is a heterogeneous increase in immunoglobulins
involving more than one cell line; may be caused by
any of a variety of inflammatory, infectious, or neoplastic
disorders.
Prealbumin:
A tetrameric protein, molecular weight between 50,000
and 70,000, consisting of 4 equal chains, and migrating
on electrophoresis in 3 fractions; more mobile than
serum albumin. Its concentration ranges from 7 to 33
percent in the serum, but levels decrease in liver disease.
Prevalence:
The proportion of individuals in a population having
a disease.
Prognostic
Inflammatory & Nutrition Index (PINI): Developed
by Ingenbleek et al. (1984). Calculated using the following
equation: PINI = a1-acid glycoprotein] x [C-reactive
protein] / [albumin] x [prealbumin]
Progressive
Weight Loss: Advancing weight loss, going forward,
going from bad to worse, increasing in scope or severity.
Protease:
A proteinase which is any enzyme that catalyzes the
splitting of interior peptide bonds in a protein. Any
enzyme that digests protein.
Protein:
Highly complex nitrogenous compounds found in all animal
and vegetable tissues. Proteins, the principal constituents
of the protoplasm of all cells, are of high molecular
weight and consist essentially of combinations of amino
acids in peptide linkages. Twenty different amino acids
are commonly found in proteins and each protein has
a unique, genetically defined amino acid sequence that
determines its specific shape and function. They serve
as enzymes, structural elements, hormones, immunoglobulins,
etc. and are involved in oxygen transport, muscle contraction,
electron transport and other activities throughout the
body and in photosynthesis.
Protein
Calorie Malnutrition, See Also Kwashiorkor:
Severe deficiency of protein + inadequate caloric intake
= kwashiorkor.
Protein
Energy Malnutrition: The lack of sufficient energy
or protein to meet the body's metabolic demands, as
a result of either an inadequate dietary intake of protein,
intake of poor quality dietary protein, increased demands
due to disease, or increased nutrient losses.
Protein
Synthesis: The process in which individual amino
acids, whether of exogenous or endogenous origin, are
connected to each other in peptide linkage in a specific
order dictated by the sequence of nucleotides in DNA;
this governing sequence is conveyed to the synthesizing
apparatus in the ribosomes by mRNA, formed by base-pairing
on the DNA template.
R
Rectal Resection: Excision
of a portion or all of the rectum.
Retinol-Binding
Protein: Proteins that bind with retinol. The
retinol-binding protein found in plasma has an alpha-1
mobility on electrophoresis and a molecular weight of
21,000-22,000. The protein has one binding site for
retinol and is responsible for the transport of vitamin
A. The retinol-protein complex (molecular weight 80,000
to 90,000) circulates in plasma in the form of a protein-protein
complex with prealbumin. The retinol-binding protein
found in tissue has a molecular weight of 14,000 and
carries retinol as a non-covalently-bound ligand.
Rheumatic
Diseases: Disorders of connective tissue, especially
the joints and related structures, characterized by
inflammation, degeneration, or metabolic derangement.
S
Sepsis: The state
of being infected with pus-producing organisms.
T
Thyroxine: Thyroid
hormone.
Trace
Elements: A group of chemical elements that are
needed in minute quantities for the proper growth, development,
and physiology of an organism.
Transferrin:
A protein that carries iron in the bloodstream
(80 kD) found in mammalian serum; a beta globulin. The
percentage of transferrin that has iron bound to it
is increased in situations of iron overdose and in the
disease hemochromatosis. Serum transferrin is decreased
in cases of protein deficiency.
Transurethral
Prostatectomy: The surgical removal of the prostate
gland, which is performed through the urethral canal
of the penis.
V
Vitamin A Deficiency: Lack
or suboptimal amounts of this vitamin interferes with
the production of rhodopsin in the eye resulting in
night blindness and xerophthalmia.
Vitamin:
An essential low molecular weight organic compound
required in trace amounts for normal growth and metabolic
processes. They usually serve as components of coenzyme
systems. For humans, vitamin A, the B series, C, D1
and D2, E and K are required. Deficiencies of one or
more vitamins in the nutrient supply result in deficiency
diseases.
*
This glossary was compiled from various sources, including
Steadman's Medical Dictionary 24th Edition and On-line
Medical Dictionary.
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