Dictionary
The MyPetsDoctor.com Dictionary is not meant to be all-inclusive or to compete with a formal dictionary such as Webster’s. The definitions included herein are meant to illuminate the MyPetsDoctor.com articles and reading/educational experience.
Words within a definition which appear bold have a definition entry elsewhere in the MyPetsDoctor.com Dictionary.
auricular hematoma occurs when blood collects between the skin layers and cartilage of the ear. See auricular hematoma article for details.
Junior's ear immediately after Auricular Hematoma surgical repair
axilla: the “armpit” area where a pet’s front leg meets the trunk of the body.
axillae: plural of axilla.
bacilli: are rod-shaped bacteria. No connotations may be derived from their shape regarding their virulence.
bacillus: is the singular form of bacilli.
board-certified
calculus: is the material that hard, solid material which appears on teeth as a result of the action of normal oral bacteria on food particles we eat combined with minerals in the saliva. Bacteria form a matrix, a microscopic geometric pattern into a material called plaque. If the plaque and matrix are undisturbed by toothbrushing for 24 hours the plaque hardens and becomes calculus. Plaque can be brushed away, calculus must be removed by scaling the teeth.
cerumen: is ear wax, produced by the ceruminous glands of the ears.
clinician: is a doctor who works in a clinical environment. as opposed to a doctor who works in research or a pathology laboratory.
clinical pathologist:
Clinical sign: indicates evidence of a disease or physical abnormality a clinician observes during physical examination.
coccus: is the singular of cocci.
cranium: skull
debridement: is the surgical process of removing damaged tissue as part of the healing process or preparing a damaged area for surgical repair.
Demodicosis: is a condition of parasitized skin that affects people, dogs and cats. The causative agent of the condition in dogs is Demodex canis and in catsDemodex felis.
Definitive diagnosis: is obtained when physical signs and/or test results sufficiently fit a particular disease process to make the practitioner positive of the patient’s diagnosis.
Differential: (1) a part of the Complete Blood Count (CBC) that tells us how many of each different type of white blood cell is present in a blood sample. (2) short for differential diagnosis:.
Differential diagnoses: are the items on a list of possibilities a doctor considers when narrowing down possible causes for a patient’s illness.
emesis: the act of vomiting
enucleation: (from the Latin, enucleate, to remove the kernel): surgical removal of they globe or eyeball. The term may also refer to any surgical removal of a core or nucleus, such as an encapsulated mass.
entomologist: an expert in the study of insects.
excision: surgical removal of a body part. Contrast with incision.
flea control: products or actions which result in the death of adult fleas.
flea prevention: products or actions aimed at killing pre-adult fleas, usually eggs and larvae, but can also be focused on killing the flea pupa stage.
Flea Bite Allergy:: is a condition of dogs and cats which results in itchiness, hair loss and skin lesions because of the victim’s immune system response to flea saliva.
fomite:
globe: the eyeball.
Hematoma: is a swelling caused by bleeding. Hematomas may occur when a needle is used to take a blood sample and hemostasis was not adequate, allowing bleeding to occur under the skin. Hematomas may also occur in trauma in any part of the body, such as a bleeding in the cranium between the skull and brain.
Histopathology: is the process of microscopically evaluating tissues to determine what is abnormal about the tissue. An example would be histopathology on a tumor suspected to be cancerous.
History: is the information taken about a patient which tells the clinician about the problem for which the patient presents.
incision: a cut made into a body part. An incision can be a cut that begins an excision, but an incision alone does not allow one to remove tissue.
Indicated:
inspissated: being thickened, dried or rendered less fluid. credit Dorland’s Illustrated Medical Dictionary, 25th Edition.
Lenticular Sclerosis: a cloudiness that occurs in the lens of the eye as it hardens, caused by normal aging changes in the proteins of the lens. Eventually Lenticular Sclerosis can result in a true cataract.
Mammal: warm-blooded animals who possess modified sweat glands which can produce milk.
Mammary glands: are the location of breast tissue for production of milk used to sustain and nourish newborn mammals.
Neoplasia: is the term used to describe any new growth. Neoplasia can be cancerous or non-cancerous.
Palpate: is another term for feel. We palpate internal and external body parts by feeling them with our hands and fingers, checking for normal as well as abnormal.
Pathologist: is a board-certified specialist in the abnormalities of the body. Most commonly we think of a pathologist examining dead bodies or parts that have been removed surgically for examination, such as a biopsy of a suspected malignant tumor.
Perineal: is the adjective form of the noun, perineum.
Perineum: is the area around the anus, vulva and/or scrotum.
plaque: is the material that hard, solid material which appears on teeth as a result of the action of normal oral bacteria on food particles we eat combined with minerals in the saliva. Bacteria form a matrix, a microscopic geometric pattern into a material called plaque. If the plaque and matrix are undisturbed by toothbrushing for 24 hours the plaque hardens and becomes calculus. Plaque can be brushed away, calculus must be removed by scaling the teeth.
Pollakiuria is the act of frequent urination. Most commonly there is the implication of urinating small amounts frequently.
Present, Presents or Presented: usually followed by “for,” means a patient came to see the doctor for the purpose of a certain problem, such as, Rufus presented for a cough or Daphne presented with a broken leg.
Pyoderma: is widespread bacterial infection of the skin. By implication the infection is in the pores and hair follicles of the skin.
Radiograph: is the film and image produced when X-rays are released from an X-ray generating machine, passed through a body, body part or object onto film designed to respond to exposure to those rays.
Radiography: is the process of producing radiographs.
Radiology: is the study of producing radiographs.
Renal: of or pertaining to the kidneys.
Rodenticide: poison to kill rats, mice and other rodents. Rodenticides are also toxic to other mammals.
Scaling: is the practice of using dental instruments to remove dental calculus.
Spectrum:
SPF: specific pathogen free: animals raised in an environment which prevents them from becoming infected or infested with a specific pathogen, usually a bacterium, virus, fungus or parasite.
Symptomatic as a noun means that a patient is exhibiting a symptom or symptoms. As an adjective it is usually coupled with treatment, indicating that symptomatic treatment is based on a patient’s symptoms, not on a definitive diagnosis. It can also be phrased “treated symptomatically:.”
Symptom is a description of a disease or physical ailment. Veterinarians prefer the term clinical sign because our patients cannot tell us, or describe, what their symptoms are.
Tumor: literally means swelling, but is commonly (incorrectly) used interchangeably with mass or cancer.
Ureter: the tiny tube that carries urine from each kidney to the urinary bladder.
Virulence: is a measure of an infectious organism’s ability to cause severe or mild disease.
Vomitus: is the material that is produced in the act of vomiting or emesis.
zoonotic: The first syllable is pronounced zo’, with a long “o”, comes from the Greek word for life and has evolved to mean “animal.” “Nosis” is also Greek and refers to disease. In modern usage zoonosis refers to a disease of animals that is transmissible to people. Zoonotic is the adjective form.
