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Epidemic
Epidemic The occurrence of more cases of a disease than would be expected in a community or region during a given time period. A sudden severe outbreak of a disease such as SARS.
RELATED TERMS--------------------------------------
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.
SIMILAR TERMS--------------------------------------
Epidemic hemorrhagic fever
A number of diseases characterized by an abrupt onset of high fever and chills, headache, cold and cough, and pain in the muscles, joints and abdomen with nausea and vomiting followed by bleeding into the kidney and elsewhere. Known also as hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome. Many arboviruses (including those in the families Togaviridae, Flaviviridae, Filoviridae, and Bunyaviridae) and the Hantaviruses, spread by rodents or biting insects, can cause epidemic hemorrhagic fever. The Ebola virus is a notorious cause of epidemic hemorrhagic fever.
Epidemic myalgia
Also known as Bornholm disease, this is a temporary illness that is a result of virus infection. The disease features fever and intense abdominal and chest pains with headache. The chest pain is typically worsened by breathing or coughing. The illness usually lasts from 3 to 14 days. The most common virus causing Bornholm disease is an enterovirus called Coxsackie B. Bornholm disease is also called pleurodynia (because of inflammation of the lining tissue of the lungs).
Epidemiologist
A person engaged in epidemiology (not confined to epidemics).
Epidemiology
Study of the incidence of disease in a population.
Epidemiology, classical
The study of populations in order to determine the frequency and distribution of disease and measure risks.
Epidemiology, clinical
Epidemiology focused specifically upon patients. Epidemiology is the study of populations in order to determine the frequency and distribution of disease and measure risks.
Epidermal
Pertaining to the epidermis, the outermost layer of the skin.
Epidermis
The outermost layer of skin.
Epidermoid carcinoma
A type of lung cancer in which the cells are flat and look like fish scales. Also called squamous cell carcinoma.
Epidermolysis bullosa
One in a group of blistering skin conditions. The skin is so fragile in people with epidermolysis bullosa that even minor rubbing may cause blistering. At times, the person may not be aware of rubbing or injuring the skin even though blisters develop. In severe epidermolysis bullosa, blisters are not confined to the outer skin. They may develop inside the body, in such places as the linings of the mouth, esophagus, stomach, intestines, upper airway, bladder, and the genitals. Most forms of epidermolysis bullosa are evident at birth. This disorder can be both disabling and disfiguring, and some forms may lead to early death. The disease results when skin layers separate after minor trauma. Defects of several proteins within the skin are at fault.
Epidermolysis bullosa acquisita
A rare autoimmune skin disease with blisters. In epidermolysis bullosa acquisita (EBA) the body attacks its own anchoring fibrils with antibodies. The anchoring filaments (thread-like fibers) are structures that anchor the epidermis to the underlying basement membrane. The destruction of the anchoring fibrils leads to tissue separation and blistering in the upper part of the basement membrane.In some cases, EBA has occurred following drug therapy for another condition; in most cases, the cause is unknown.
Epidermolysis bullosa simplex
A blistering skin condition usually inherited as an autosomal dominant disease. The faulty genes are those that provide instructions for producing keratin, a fibrous protein in the top layer of skin. As a result, the skin splits in the epidermis, producing a blister.
Epididymis
The elongated structure behind each testicle where sperm are stored.
Epididymitis
Inflammation and pain of the epididymis, the coiled tubular structure immediately adjacent to the testis through which sperm are transported to the vas deferens and the urethra.
Epidural
Anesthesia administered to a laboring mother into the epidural space at the base of the spine to numb the lower body. It decreases or eliminates pain, enabling her to save her strength for pushing. It can numb the lower body entirely, so she's unable to feel contractions when it is time to push out the baby.
Epidural anesthesia
Method of pain relief used during surgery or childbirth in which an anesthetic is injected into a small area surrounding the spinal cord (the ePIDural space) to block pain nerve impulses from the lower half of the body.
Epidural anesthetic
An anesthetic agent injected into the epidural space, the space outside the dura -- the outermost, toughest, and most fibrous of the three membranes (meninges) covering the spinal cord -- in order to bath the spinal nerve roots in the anesthetic agent and numb the lower abdomen, pelvis, and legs.
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Eosinophilia
An abnormally high number of eosinophils in the blood. Normally, eosinophils constitute 1 to 3% of the peripheral blood leukocytes, at a count of 350 to 650 per cubic millimeter. Eosinophilia can be categorized as mild (less than 1500 eosinophils per cubic millimeter), moderate (1500 to 5000 per cubic millimeter), or severe (more than 5000 per cubic millimeter).
Eosinophilic meningitis
Meningitis with a high percentage of eosinophils (a type of white blood cell) in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). The usual cause is the parasite Angiostrongylus cantonensis, also known as the rat lungworm. People become infected with this parasite by ingesting its larvae in raw or insufficiently cooked snails, slugs, freshwater prawns, frogs, or fish. Infection may also occur by consumption of fresh produce such as contaminated lettuce. When the larvae are ingested, they penetrate the intestinal tract, go into blood vessels, and eventually reach the meninges (the covering of the brain and spinal cord). The larvae usually die there shortly thereafter. An eosinophilic reaction develops in response to the dying larvae. It is manifested by an outpouring of eosinophils in the CSF.
Ephelides
The plural of ephelis, a type of freckle. Ephelis and ephelides are among the many medical terms that are rarely, if ever, encountered outside of medicine.
Ephelis
A form of freckle. A flat red or light-brown spot on the skin that typically appears during the sunny months and fades in the winter. They are most often found in people with light complexions and in some families, they are an hereditary (genetic) trait. The regular use of sunscreen during times of sun exposure helps to suppress the appearance of the ephelis-type freckle.
Epicanthal fold
A fold of skin that comes down across the inner angle (canthus) of the eye. The epicanthal fold is more common in children with Down syndrome and other birth defects than normal children and so is of value in diagnosis. Although some dictionaries state that this eye fold is found in peoples of Asian origin, this is not true. The normal Asian eyefold is continuous with the lower edge of the upper eyelid and actually appears distinctly different than a true epicanthal fold.
Epidemic
Epidemic hemorrhagic fever
A number of diseases characterized by an abrupt onset of high fever and chills, headache, cold and cough, and pain in the muscles, joints and abdomen with nausea and vomiting followed by bleeding into the kidney and elsewhere. Known also as hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome. Many arboviruses (including those in the families Togaviridae, Flaviviridae, Filoviridae, and Bunyaviridae) and the Hantaviruses, spread by rodents or biting insects, can cause epidemic hemorrhagic fever. The Ebola virus is a notorious cause of epidemic hemorrhagic fever.
Epidemic myalgia
Also known as Bornholm disease, this is a temporary illness that is a result of virus infection. The disease features fever and intense abdominal and chest pains with headache. The chest pain is typically worsened by breathing or coughing. The illness usually lasts from 3 to 14 days. The most common virus causing Bornholm disease is an enterovirus called Coxsackie B. Bornholm disease is also called pleurodynia (because of inflammation of the lining tissue of the lungs).
Epidemiologist
A person engaged in epidemiology (not confined to epidemics).
Epidemiology, classical
The study of populations in order to determine the frequency and distribution of disease and measure risks.
Epidemiology, clinical
Epidemiology focused specifically upon patients. Epidemiology is the study of populations in order to determine the frequency and distribution of disease and measure risks.
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