STAT means now. Everything else means consult a specialist.
The skin's middle management layer sitting right below the surface epidermis, packed with all the important infrastructure like blood vessels, nerves, and hair follicles. It's where your skin actually does its heavy lifting, producing collagen and elastin while the epidermis gets all the glory. Think of it as the foundation of a house—nobody sees it, but everything falls apart without it.
Acute confusion and altered mental status, when the brain temporarily goes offline and reality becomes negotiable. It's particularly common in hospitalized elderly patients and makes for very interesting nursing notes.
The medical removal of dead, damaged, or infected tissue to promote healing of remaining healthy tissue. Essentially spring cleaning for wounds, but with scalpels.
The sensation of difficult or labored breathing, what normal people call 'shortness of breath' and medical professionals cloak in Greek terminology. It's the subjective feeling that breathing shouldn't be this much work.
The medical establishment's polite way of saying something in your body or brain isn't functioning according to factory specifications. It's a physical or mental malfunction that ranges from mildly annoying to life-threatening, often requiring professional intervention and a prescription pad. Basically, it's when your biological software has bugs that WebMD will convince you are definitely cancer.
A serious bacterial infection caused by Corynebacterium diphtheriae that inflames the mucous membranes of your upper respiratory tract, essentially turning your throat into a hostile environment. Thanks to vaccines, it's now mainly something parents use to scare anti-vaxxers back to reality. Before immunization, this disease was a legitimate childhood nightmare that actually warranted the fear.
The controlled electrocution of someone's heart to reset its rhythm when it's freaking out and beating chaotically. It's shocking a fibrillating heart back to normal function, preferably before brain damage sets in from lack of oxygen. Basically, it's turning your heart off and on again, except the stakes are slightly higher than rebooting your computer.
In clinical settings, someone experiencing depression—a serious medical condition that's much more than just feeling sad. Not to be confused with pessimistic people at parties, though the end result might look similar.
Abnormal cell growth that's not cancer (yet) but looks suspicious enough to make pathologists concerned—basically cancer's suspicious cousin.
In mental health, a serious clinical condition involving prolonged lowered mood and loss of life enjoyment—distinct from everyday sadness, requiring professional support and patience with yourself.