Medical Dictionary Definitions A-Z List
Medical Dictionary Definitions A - Z - «V»:
-
Ventricular assist device
Ventricular assist device: A mechanical pump that takes over the function of the damaged ventricle of the heart and restores normal blood flow.
Left ventricular assist devices (LVADs) were originally developed for patients with heart disease from which they were not expected to recover and who nee...
-
Ventricular beat, premature
Ventricular beat, premature: See: Extrasystole....
-
Ventricular fibrillation
Ventricular fibrillation: An abnormal irregular heart
rhythm whereby there are very rapid uncoordinated fluttering contractions of the lower
chambers (ventricles) of the heart. Ventricular fibrillation disrupts the synchrony between
the heartbeat and the pulse beat. Ventricular fibrillation is most ...
-
Ventricular septal defect (VSD)
Ventricular septal defect (VSD): A hole in the septum (the wall) between the lower chambers of the heart (the ventricles).
Ventricular Septal Defect is the most common type of heart malformation (congenital heart disease). At least 1 baby in every 500 is born with a VSD.
A VSD lets blood from th...
-
Ventricular septum
Ventricular septum: The wall between the two lower chambers (the right
and left ventricles) of the heart....
-
Ventricular tachycardia
Ventricular tachycardia: An abnormally rapid heart rhythm
that originates from a ventricle, one of the lower chambers of the heart. Although the beat is regular, ventricular tachycardia is life-threatening because it can lead to a dreaded condition, ventricular fibrillation.
In ventricular fibril...
-
Ventriculopleural shunt
Ventriculopleural shunt: A shunt that drains
fluid from a cerebral ventricle into the pleural (chest) cavity. The shunt is designed to relieve hydrocephalus ("water on the brain")....
-
Venule
Venule: A little vein. Venules go from capillaries to
veins, vessels that carry blood low in oxygen content from the body
back to the heart. The deoxygenated form of hemoglobin
(deoxyhemoglobin) makes the blood in veins and venules appear dark.
Veins and venules are part of the afferent wing of ...
-
VER
VER: Visual evoked response. A type of electrophysiologic retinal testing....
-
Verbal child abuse
Verbal child abuse: Also known as emotional child abuse,
this is the third most frequently reported form of child abuse (after
child neglect and physical child abuse), accounting 17% of all cases
of child abuse.
It is likely that emotional child abuse is greatly underreported,
since it can be d...
-
Vernix
Vernix: More formally known as vernix caseosa, the vernix is a white cheesy substance that covers and protects the skin of the fetus and is still all over the skin of a baby at birth. Vernix is composed of sebum (the oil of the skin) and cells that have sloughed off the fetus' skin.
"Vernix" is the ...
-
Vernix caseosa
Vernix caseosa: A white cheesy substance that covers and protects the skin of the fetus and is still all over the skin of a baby at birth. Vernix caseosa is composed of sebum (the oil of the skin) and cells that have sloughed off the fetus' skin.
"Vernix" is the Latin word for "varnish." The vernix ...
-
Verruca
Verruca: A wart by another name, a local growth of the outer layer of the skin
(the epidermis) caused by a virus. The virus of warts (a human
papillomavirus) is transmitted by contact. The contact can be with a
wart on someone else or one on oneself (autoinoculation).
Warts that occur on the ha...
-
Version
Version: 1. In obstetrics, the process of turning the fetus. A cephalic version brings the fetal head into the birth canal.
2. In gynecology, the tilting of the uterus. Uterine retroversion indicates the uterus is tilted backwards.
3. In ophthalmology, the conjugate rotation (turning) of both eyes...
-
Vertebra
Vertebra: A vertebra is one of 33 bony segments that
form the spinal column of humans. There are 7 cervical, 12 thoracic,
5 lumbar, 5 sacral (fused into one sacrum bone) and 4 coccygeal
(fused into one coccyx bone). ...
