My name is Alexis Cyr, and I am studying to become a paramedic. I have accomplished two years in my program and I love it. The purpose of this glossary is to define certain complicated words related to my field of study. There will be fifteen of them.
angiogenesis
noun
The formation and differentiation of blood vessels.
Example: Research in blood vessel cells suggests that the application of extracellular thymosin beta-4 may also regulate processes such as cell motility and angiogenesis.
fr: angiogenèse
arrhythmia
noun
An alteration in rhythm of the heartbeat either in time or force.
Example: That mechanical force against the heart can disrupt the rhythm of the heart and cause an arrhythmia to occur.
fr: arythmie
boiengineer
noun
An expert or specialist in bioengineering.
Example: So when building new lungs, Yale bioengineer Laura Niklason prefers not to start from scratch.
fr: bioingénieur
cancer
noun
A very serious disease in which cells in one part of the body start to grow in a way that is not normal.
Example: Shauna had cancer as a child, which stunted the growth of her pituitary gland.
fr: cancer
cell
noun
The smallest part of a living thing that can exist independently.
Example: In patients with leukemia, leukemic cells take over bone marrow function, decreasing the blood’s ability to fight infection, carry oxygen and clot correctly.
fr: cellule
drug
noun
A substance used as a medication or in the preparation of medication.
Example: Despite the drug's effectiveness, uptake remains low in the U.S., partially out of fears for Paxlovid 'rebound.
fr: drogue
dysregulation
noun
Impairment of a physiological regulatory mechanism (as that governing metabolism, immune response, or organ function).
Example: Excessive crying, feeding and sleeping problems: Commonalties among preverbal syndromes of behavioral DYSREGULATION Infant Behavior and Development , Volume 21 , 115 Sadeh, A. (2005).
fr: dérégulation
electrocardiograph
noun
An instrument for recording the changes of electrical potential occurring during the heartbeat used especially in diagnosing abnormalities of heart action.
Example: With the Apple Watch Series 4, Apple unveiled a full electrocardiograph feature to help monitor heart activity.
fr: électrocardiographe
embolism
noun
The sudden obstruction of a blood vessel by an embolus.
Example: Rocky, a former professional wrestler, died of a pulmonary embolism in January 2020.
fr: embolie
nanoparticle
A microscopic particle whose size is measured in nanometers.
Example: Researchers loaded up lipid nanoparticles, the tiny clusters of fat, with cellular instruction manuals in the form of mRNA — the same basic construction as the Covid mRNA vaccines.
fr: nanoparticule
oncology
noun
The part of medical science that deals with cancer and tumors.
Example: The deal will move Dana-Farber’s inpatient oncology care away from Brigham and Women’s Hospital, which has provided it since the mid-90s, after Boston Globe health columnist Betsy Lehman died of an overdose of chemotherapy drugs while undergoing treatment at Dana-Farber.
pathology
noun
The structural and functional deviations from the normal that constitute disease or characterize a particular disease.
Example: Typically, a woman’s cancer type is determined by her pathology report and other general clinical factors.
fr: pathologie
stretcher
noun
A device for carrying a sick, injured, or dead person.
Example: They carried her out to the ambulance on a stretcher.
fr: civière
tumor
noun
An abnormal benign or malignant new growth of tissue that possesses no physiological function and arises from uncontrolled usually rapid cellular proliferation.
Example: This intermediate stage of cancer, in which the malignancy has begun to extend from the primary tumor to surrounding tissues, is still highly treatable.
fr: tumeur
wound
noun
An injury to the body (as from violence, accident, or surgery) that typically involves laceration or breaking of a membrane (such as the skin) and usually damage to underlying tissues.