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ADU
ADU Accessory dwelling unit.
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Accessory
Additional, extra, supplementary, subsidiary to the main thing. An accessory digestive organ is an organ that helps with digestion but is not part of the digestive tract. The accessory nerve is so-called because it receives an additional (accessory) root from the upper part of the spinal cord. An accessory placenta is an extra placenta separate from the main placenta.
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Adnexa
"This Latin word (in the plural) is used in medicine in reference to appendages. For example, in gynecology the adnexa are the ""appendages"" of the uterus, namely the ovaries, Fallopian tubes and ligaments that hold the uterus in place."
ADR
Adverse drug reaction. See: Adverse reaction.
Adrenal failure
A condition in which the adrenal glands do not produce enough of the adrenal hormones that control important functions such as blood pressure. The adrenal glands sit on top of the kidneys. The adrenal is made up of an outer layer (the cortex) and an inner portion (the medulla). The adrenal glands produce hormones that help control the heart rate, blood pressure, the way the body uses food, and other vital functions. The adrenal cortex secretes steroid (cortisone-related) hormones and mineralocortoids that regulate the levels of minerals such as sodium and potassium in the blood.
Adrenal medulla
"The inner portion of adrenal gland. (The outer portion is the adrenal cortex). The adrenal medulla makes epinephrine (adrenaline) and norepinephrine (noradrenaline). Epinephrine is secreted in response to low blood levels of glucose as well as exercise and stress; it causes the breakdown of the storage product glycogen to the sugar glucose in the liver, facilitates the release of fatty acids from adipose (fat) tissue, causes dilation (widening) of the small arteries within muscle and increases the output of the heart. Norepinephrine secreted by the adrenal gland acts to narrow blood vessels and raise blood pressure. Underfunction of the adrenal medulla is virtually unknown. However, a tumor called a pheochromocytoma produces norepinephrine and epinephrine and is equivalent to overfunction of the adrenal medulla. Pheochromocytomas arise within the adrenal medulla or elsewhere in the sympathetic nervous system. They typically cause hypertension (high blood pressure) that may be paroxysmal (sharply episodic) with attacks of headaches, feelings of apprehension, sweating, flushing of the face, nausea and vomiting, palpitations and tingling of the extremities (the arms and legs)."
Adrenoleukodystrophy
A rare genetic (inherited) disorder characterized by the breakdown or loss of the myelin sheath surrounding nerve cells in the brain and progressive dysfunction of the adrenal gland. Adrenoleukodystrophy (ALD) is one of a group of genetic disorders called the leukodystrophies that cause damage to the myelin sheath of the nerve fibers in the brain. The myelin sheath is a fatty covering which acts as an electrical insulator.
ADU
Adult acne
Popular name for rosacea. For more information, see: Rosacea.
Adult primary liver cancer
A tumor in which the cancer starts during adulthood in cells in the liver. Also called hepatocellular carcinoma. Primary liver cancer is different from cancer that has metastasized (spread) from another place in the body to the liver.
Adult respiratory distress syndrome
Better known as ARDS. See: ARDS.
Adult T-cell leukemia
"Abbreviated ATL. A malignancy of mature T lymphocytes (T cells) with its onset in adulthood caused by infection with the human T-lymphotropic virus (HTLV) and characterized by circulating malignant T-lymphocytes, skin lesions, lymphadenopathy (enlarged lymph nodes), hepatosplenomegaly (enlarged liver and spleen), hypercalcemia (high blood calcium), lytic (""punched out"") bone lesions, and a tendency to infection. There are four categories of ATL, based on the aggressiveness of the disease -- smoldering, chronic, lymphoma, and acute. The disease is also called adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma and adult T-cell lymphoma. See also: Human T-lymphotropic virus."
Adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma
See: Adult T-cell leukemia.
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