|
| | |
Ehrlichiosis
Ehrlichiosis An acute (abrupt onset) disease, clinically similar to Rocky Mountain spotted fever with high fever, headache, malaise, and muscle pain but without a rash. Laboratory features include leukopenia (low white blood cell count), thrombocytopenia (low platelet count), mild anemia, and elevation in the levels of hepatic aminotransferase enzymes. Clinical symptoms and laboratory abnormalities respond promptly to therapy with the antibiotics tetracycline or doxycycline, and the majority of patients become afebrile within 24 to 48 hours after the start of such treatment. The diagnosis of ehrlichiosis rests on the detection of ehrlichia either by direct means or by the indirect means of serologic studies. Three methods are available for detection: inspection of peripheral-blood smears, PCR testing, and tissue culture.
RELATED TERMS--------------------------------------
Acute
1. Of short course. 2. Severe, but of a short duration. Not chronic.
Disease
Illness or sickness often characterized by typical patient problems (symptoms) and physical findings (signs). Disruption sequence: The events that occur when a fetus that is developing normally is subjected to a destructive agent such as the rubella (German measles) virus.
Fever
When body temperature rises above its normal level - defined as 98.6 degrees F, though it varies by individual and time of day. A fever is the sign of an immune system at work and usually indicates an infection.
Headache
Primary - includes tension (muscular contraction), vascular (migraine), and cluster headaches not caused by other underlying medical conditions. Secondary - includes headaches that result from other medical conditions. These may also be referred to as traction headaches or inflammatory headaches.
Muscle
Tissue made up of bundles of long, slender cells that contract when stimulated.
Pain
An unpleasant sensory or emotional experience primarily associated with tissue damage, or described in terms of tissue damage, or both.
Rash
A reddish spot or patch of irritated skin. Rashes can be caused byillnesses, allergies, and heat and are usually temporary.
Leukopenia
Reduction in the number of leukocytes in the blood.
Blood
The life-maintaining fluid which is made up of plasma, red blood cells (erythrocytes), white blood cells (leukocytes), and platelets; blood circulates through the body's heart, arteries, veins, and capillaries; it carries away waste matter and carbon dioxide, and brings nourishment, electrolytes, hormones, vitamins, antibodies, heat, and oxygen to the tissues.
Cell
Fundamental structural unit of all life. The cell consists primarily of an outer plasma membrane, which separates it from the environment; the genetic material (DNA), which encodes heritable information for the maintainance of life; and the cytoplasm, a heterogeneous assemblage of ions, molecules, and fluid.
Thrombocytopenia
Decrease in blood platelets.
Platelet
Small, irregularly-shaped bodies in the blood that contain granules. These cells are important components of the blood coagulation (clotting) system.
Anemia
Anemia is a condition in which a deficiency in the size or number of erythrocytes (red blood cells) or the amount of hemoglobin they contain limits the exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide between the blood and the tissue cells. Most anemias are caused by a lack of nutrients required for normal erythrocyte synthesis, principally iron, vitamin B-12, and folic acid. Others result from a variety of conditions, such as hemorrhage, genetic abnormalities, chronic disease states or drug toxicity.
Hepatic
Related to the liver.
Aminotransferase
An enzyme that catalyzes the transfer of an amino group from a donor molecule to a recipient molecule. The donor molecule is usually an amino acid while the recipient (acceptor) molecule is usually an alpha-2 keto acid. An aminotransferase is also called a transaminase. Two of the better known enzymes in this class are serum glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase (SGOT) and serum glutamic pyruvic transaminase (SGPT). Both of these transaminases (SGOT and SGPT) are normally found primarily in cells in the liver and heart, are released into the bloodstream as the result of liver or heart damage, and so are used as liver and heart tests.
Enzymes
Proteins that act as a catalysts in mediating and speeding a specific chemical reaction.
Clinical
That which can be observed in patients. Research that uses patients to test new treatments, as opposed to laboratory testing or research in animals.
Tetracycline
Tetracycline is an antibiotic produced by the streptomyces bacterium, indicated for use against many bacterial infections.
Doxycycline
A tetracycline derivative; an antibiotic that inhibits many of the microorganisms infecting the reproductive tract. Often used for treating ureaplasma infections. Many physicians find routine treatment with this antibiotic more cost-effective than performing multiple cultures on both the husband and wife looking for infection.
Diagnosis
The determination of the presence of a specific disease or infection, usually accomplished by evaluating clinical symptoms and laboratory tests.
Ehrlichiosis
An acute (abrupt onset) disease, clinically similar to Rocky Mountain spotted fever with high fever, headache, malaise, and muscle pain but without a rash. Laboratory features include leukopenia (low white blood cell count), thrombocytopenia (low platelet count), mild anemia, and elevation in the levels of hepatic aminotransferase enzymes. Clinical symptoms and laboratory abnormalities respond promptly to therapy with the antibiotics tetracycline or doxycycline, and the majority of patients become afebrile within 24 to 48 hours after the start of such treatment. The diagnosis of ehrlichiosis rests on the detection of ehrlichia either by direct means or by the indirect means of serologic studies. Three methods are available for detection: inspection of peripheral-blood smears, PCR testing, and tissue culture.
Tissue
Biological tissue is a group of cells that perform a similar function.The study of tissues is known as histology, or, in connection with disease, histopathology.The classical tools for studying the tissues are the wax block, the tissue stain, and the optical microscope, though developments in electron microscopy, immunofluorescence, and frozen sections have all added to the sum of knowledge in the last couple of decades.
Culture
Growth of cells, tissues or embryos in vitro on an artificial nutrient medium in the laboratory.
SIMILAR TERMS--------------------------------------
PREVIOUS AND NEXT TERMS--------------------------------------
EGD
Esophagogastroduodenoscopy.
EGF
Epidermal growth factor. A polypeptide (small protein) that is a powerful mitogen. (It stimulates cells to enter mitosis, cell division. ) EGF promotes cell growth and differentiation, is essential in embryogenesis, and is important in wound healing. It is produced by many normal cell types and is made in large amounts by some tumors. The EGF gene is on chromosome 4q25 (whereas the gene for its receptor, EGFR, is on chromosome 7). The kidney is the main source of circulating EGF. EGF is also known as urogastrone (URG).
Egg sac
The "egg sac" or ovary is one of a pair of reproductive glands in women. They are located in the pelvis, one on each side of the uterus. Each ovary is about the size and shape of an almond. The ovaries have two functions: production of eggs (ova) and female hormones. Each month, during the menstrual cycle, an egg is released from one ovary. The egg travels from the ovary through a fallopian tube to the uterus.
Ehlers-Danlos syndrome
A heritable disorder of connective tissue with easy bruising, joint hypermobility (loose joints), skin laxity, and weakness of tissues. There are a number of different types of Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS) which share the foregoing features but can be categorized into at least nine different types.
Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, dermatosparaxis type
A genetic disorder characterized by extremely fragile and sagging skin caused by mutation in the ADAMTS2 gene. People with this form of Ehlers-Danlos syndrome have soft, doughy skin that is very fragile and bruises easily. The skin sags and wrinkles, and extra (redundant) folds of skin may be present as children get older. Joints are very loose, which can delay the development of motor skills such as sitting, standing, and walking. Infants with the condition are born with a soft out-pouching called a hernia around the belly-button. Other symptoms include a small chin, a blue tinge to the part of the eyeball that is usually white (the sclera), and mild overgrowth of body hair.
Ehrlichiosis
Eicosapentaenoic acid
One of the principal omega-3 fatty acids. Abbreviated EPA. The body has a limited ability to manufacture EPA by converting the essential fatty acid, alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) which is found in flaxseed oil, canola oil or walnuts.
Eight-day measles
An acute highly contagious viral disease with fever, runny nose, cough, red eyes, and a spreading skin rash. The eight-day measles is the ordinary measles, also known as rubeola, a potentially disastrous disease. Measles may be complicated by ear infections, pneumonia, encephalitis (that can cause convulsions, mental retardation. and even death), the sudden onset of low blood platelet levels with severe bleeding (acute thrombocytopenic purpura) or a chronic brain disease that occurs months to often years after an attack of measles (subacute sclerosing panencephalitis). During pregnancy measles may trigger miscarriages or premature delivery. Measles can be prevented through vaccination. The disease is also called the hard measles and (depending on how long you think it lasts) the seven- day measles, the nine-day measles, or the ten-day measles, and morbilli.
Eighth cranial nerve
The eighth cranial nerve is the vestibulocochlear nerve. The vestibulocochlear nerve is responsible for the sense of hearing and it is also pertinent to balance, to the body position sense. Problems with the vestibulocochlear nerve may result in deafness, tinnitus (ringing or noise in the ears), dizziness, vertigo and vomiting. The 12 cranial nerves, the vestibulocochlear nerve included, emerge from or enter the skull (the cranium), as opposed to the spinal nerves which emerge from the vertebral column.
Eisoptrophobia
An abnormal and persistent fear of mirrors. Sufferers experience undue anxiety even though they realize their fear is irrational. Because their fear often is grounded in superstitions, they may worry that breaking a mirror will bring bad luck or that looking into a mirror will put them in contact with a supernatural world inside the glass.
Ejaculatory duct
A canal in the male formed by union of the vas deferens and the duct from the seminal vesicle. The ejaculatory duct passes through the prostate. Semen passes through them at the time of ejaculation.
We thank you for using the Health Dictionary to search for Ehrlichiosis. If you have a better definition for Ehrlichiosis than the one presented here, please let us know by making use of the suggest a term option. This definition of Ehrlichiosis may be disputed by other professionals. Our attempt is to provide easy definitions on Ehrlichiosis and any other medical topic for the public at large.This dictionary contains 25007 terms. |
|
|
