STAT means now. Everything else means consult a specialist.
An irregular heartbeat, when your cardiac rhythm section decides to improvise instead of following the conductor. It ranges from harmless quirks to life-threatening emergencies.
A neurological condition affecting communication, sensory processing, and social interaction across the lifespan. Modern medicine recognizes it as a neurodevelopmental difference, not a deficit—though the internet has its own... creative definitions.
Any undesirable medical occurrence in a patient, whether or not it's related to treatment—basically the healthcare equivalent of 'well, that wasn't supposed to happen.' Ranges from mild side effects to major complications.
Having a disease or condition without showing any symptoms. The medical equivalent of finding out your house is on fire after the fact.
The medical equivalent of Google Maps for your cardiovascular system, using X-rays and contrast dye to create detailed roadmaps of your blood vessels and heart chambers. This imaging technique lets doctors play detective, hunting for blockages, aneurysms, or other vascular drama. It's essentially giving your circulatory system its close-up, whether it wants one or not.
A type of cancer that originates in glandular tissue—the cells that produce and secrete substances like mucus, digestive juices, or hormones. It's one of the most common forms of cancer, affecting everything from lungs to colon to prostate, because apparently glandular cells are overachievers at malignant transformation. The word doctors use before explaining why you need surgery, chemo, or both.
A minimally invasive procedure where doctors thread a catheter into your blocked arteries and physically widen the narrowed passages—basically the medical equivalent of using a plunger on your cardiovascular system. Often followed by stent insertion to keep things open.
What happens when food, liquid, or vomit goes down the wrong pipe and throws a party in your lungs, inviting bacteria along for the fun. The medical world's reminder that the epiglottis has one job and sometimes fails spectacularly.
A localized collection of pus surrounded by inflamed tissue. Your body's way of walling off infection like a biological maximum security prison.
Acute = sudden onset, dramatic, demands immediate attention. Chronic = long-term houseguest that won't leave and requires ongoing management. Medicine's version of uninvited guests.
A protein produced by your immune system that's basically a molecular bounty hunter, trained to recognize and neutralize specific invaders.
Fatty tissue—your body's biological storage unit for excess calories, serving as insulation and energy reserves. It's not malicious; it's just doing its job a little too well.
Additional treatment given after the main therapy to improve outcomes—basically backup singers for your cancer treatment.
To examine by listening, usually with a stethoscope—the method that makes everyone think doctors are contemplative.
When your blood performs a disappointing job of oxygen delivery—courtesy of too few red blood cells or hemoglobin skipping work. The result: paleness, fatigue, and the sudden discovery that climbing stairs is now a cardio event.
A substance that kills bacteria or inhibits their growth—humanity's favorite chemical weapon against microscopic invaders.
The aggressive, obsessive-compulsive practice of murdering germs before they can throw a bacterial rave in your open wound—basically what happens when cleanliness meets paranoia in a sterile field.
A weakened bulge in an artery wall—basically, your blood vessel has developed an embarrassing weakness and might rupture catastrophically without warning.