Glossary
A B C D E F G H I J L M N O P R S T U V WAbnormal: Something not considered normal (ex: a temperature is abnormal if it's more than 2 degrees below or above 97-99 degrees Fahrenheit)
Advocate: Person that gives you support or protects your rights
Activities of Daily Living (ADLs): Basic activities of caring for oneself: eating, dressing, bathing, using the bathroom, moving back and forth from a bed to a chair, and remaining continent
Acute Illness: Illness or condition characterized by sudden onset or marked symptoms
Administrator: Person appointed by the court to manage one's estate when he or she dies without leaving a will. Administrators have the same duties as executors
Adjuvant Treatment: Added treatment to what is already being done
Advance Directives: Legal document in which a patient states his or her medical care preferences, should he or she become incapacitated
Advanced Illness: Serious disease or condition that has progressed too far to be cured
Adverse Effect: Negative side effects of a treatment or medication
Alopecia: Temporary or permanent loss of hair
Alzheimer's Disease: Most common form of dementia, a chronic organic brain disease leading to progressive loss of brain functional and eventual death
Ambulatory: Ability of someone to walk or move freely
Analgesic: Pain-relieving drug
Anaphylaxis: Exaggerated allergic reaction to proteins and other substances
Anemia: Condition in which the blood is deficient in red blood cells, hemoglobin, or total volume
Aneurysm: Swollen or distended area in a blood vessel wall
Angina: Pain that results from not enough blood going to the heart
Antibiotic: Any one of many drugs that can inhibit or destroy microorganisms and control infections
Anticipatory Grief: Deep emotional distress that occurs when someone has a prolonged illness and death is expected (by patient and family)
Antibody: Substance produced by the immune system to fight invading organisms, such as viruses
Antidepressant: Prescribed drugs used to treat depression
Apnea: Extended periods when breathing stops during sleep
Appreciated Property: Personal property that increases in value over time
Arrest: Cessation of bodily activity (ex: cardiac arrest means that the heart has stopped beating; respiratory arrest means cessation of breathing)
Arrhythmia: Any variation from a normal, regular heart beat
Art Therapy: Use of art activities to help children communicate feelings or thoughts about the death of a significant person in their lives. Also used with the elder Alzheimer patients as a memory enhancement
Aspiration: Fluid that gets into the lungs
Assessment: Evaluation of a person's level of physical or mental function and the extent of services needed
Assisted living facility (ALF): Out-of-home care option for elderly persons who continue to lead relatively active, healthy, and independent lives
Asthma: Lung disease characterized by difficulty in breathing and by coughing and wheezing
Assets: All of a person's properties, including real estate, cash, stocks and bonds, art, furniture, etc.
Asymptomatic: Someone without any symptoms
Ataxia: Jerky unsteadiness of the limbs and body due to disease in a particular part of the brain
Atrophy: A wasting or withering away of organs or tissue, usually muscle due to immobility
Autoimmune Deficiency Syndrome: Implies a loss of immune system function (commonly referred to as AIDS)
Autonomy: Principle that individual actions and choices should not be constrained by others
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