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Pruritus
Pruritus Itching. Pruritus can result from drug reaction, food allergy, kidney or liver disease, cancers, parasites, aging or dry skin, contact skin reaction, such as poison ivy, and for unknown reasons.
RELATED TERMS--------------------------------------
Pruritus
Itching. Pruritus can result from drug reaction, food allergy, kidney or liver disease, cancers, parasites, aging or dry skin, contact skin reaction, such as poison ivy, and for unknown reasons.
Food
Any substance eaten to provide nutritional support for the body.
Allergy
A major defense mounted by the body's immune system against normally harmless substances, or allergens, such as chemicals in pollen, food, bee stings, animal dander, or dust. An allergic reaction is the body's strong reaction to these substances in a person who is sensitive to them. Reactions range from mild to severe, and may include sneezing, a rash, or difficulty breathing (which can be fatal).
Kidney
One of the paired organs that excrete urine. The kidneys are bean-shaped organs (about 11 cm long, 5 cm wide, and 3 cm thick) lying on either side of the vertebral column, posterior to the peritoneum, about opposite the twelfth thoracic and first three lumbar vertebrae.
Liver
The largest organ in the body. The liver carries out many important functions, such as making bile, changing food into energy, and cleaning alcohol and poisons from the blood.
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.
Aging
The process of becoming older, a process that is genetically determined and environmentally modulated.
Skin
Skin is an organ of the integumentary system; which is composed of a layer of tissues that protect underlying muscles and organs. Skin is used for insulation, vitamin D production, sensation, and excretion (through sweat).
Poison
A substance that causes illness or death when eaten, drunk or absorbed into the body.
SIMILAR TERMS--------------------------------------
Prurient
Itching, longing, or having a desire, in particular a desire that meets with moral disapproval because of the quality of the lasciviousness or lewdness attributed to it.
Pruritus ani
Itching around the anus.
PREVIOUS AND NEXT TERMS--------------------------------------
Presbyopia
The eye's gradually decreasing ability to focus on nearby objects. Presbyopia is a normal part of aging and affects virtually everyone, usually becoming noticeable after age 40. People with presbyopia typically hold reading materials at arm's length in order to bring the words into focus. They may experience headaches or eyestrain while reading, viewing a computer screen, or doing close work. Presbyopia can be corrected with reading glasses, bifocal or variable focus lenses, or contact lenses. Using bright, direct light when reading is also helpful.
Psychomotor attack
A form of epilepsy characterized by periodic behaviour disturbances such as chewing and lip smacking, staring and confusion. In some patients, picking at their clothes, or rubbing their hands or legs may occur. Although a psychomotor seizure may present a strange picture, the person experiencing it is usually unaware of the situation.
Phobia
An anxiety disorder that is characterized by an intense and, at least on the surface, irrational fear.
Pemphigus Vulgaris
A serious disease manifesting as large skin and mucosal bullae that burst leaving large painful ulcers; may be fatal.
Primary Biliary Cirrhosis
A rare form of biliary cirrhosis of unknown etiology in which small intrahepatic bile ducts are destroyed while the major intra- and extrahepatic ducts remain patent; 90 per cent of patients are female; most are middle-aged; it is characterized by chronic cholestasis with pruritus, jaundice, hypercholesterolemia and xanthomas, osteomalacia, and, in the later stages, by portal hypertension and liver failure. Almost all patients have circulating antimitochondrial antibodies.
Pruritus
Pleura
Either of two membranous sacs, each lining one side of the chest cavity, that envelopes the lungs, reducing the friction of respiratory movement.
Peritoneum
Strong, smooth, colorless membrane that lines the walls of the abdomen and covers numerous body organs including the bladder.
Psoriasis
A common genetically determined, chronic, inflammatory skin disease characterized by rounded erythematous, dry, scaling patches. The lesions have a predilection for nails, scalp, genitalia, extensor surfaces, and the lumbosacral region. Accelerated epidermopoiesis is considered to be the fundamental pathologic feature in psoriasis.
Pharyngitis
Inflammation of the mucous membrane and underlying parts of the (throat) pharynx.
Pharynx
Space behind the mouth that serves as a passage for food from the mouth to the esophagus and for air from the nose and mouth to the larynx.
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