Below is a glossary of abbreviations and terms that describes various medical terms in layman’s terms.
If you come across medical terms that are not yet included in this list, please send us an email , including the new medical word so we can expand the list.
| Abbreviation/term | Description |
|---|---|
| Atrophy | Decrease of tissue or organ mass, e.g., muscle atrophy caused by prolonged muscular inactivity. |
| Glaucoma | Elevated eye pressure due to impaired drainage of aqueous fluid. If this persists it can lead to the death of optic nerve fibers and ultimately to blindness. |
| Hemihypotrophy | Relatively smaller size and length of a body half as compared with the rest of the body. |
| Hypermobility | A state whereby elastic and stretchy ligaments allow joints that are more mobile than normal. |
| Hypertrophy | Relatively larger size or length of a body part compared with the rest of the body. |
| Hypotrophy | Relatively smaller size or length of a body part compared with the rest of the body. |
| Macrocephaly | Condition where the head is larger than normal (if the circumference of the head is more than two standard deviations above average depending upon the age, gender and race of the subject). |
| Syndromal | A syndromal disorder is one with multiple related illnesses. A syndrome is not always hereditary, but always has a genetic cause. |