| A |
| Adenocarcinoma |
A
cancer that develops in the lining or inner surface of an
organ. More than 95 percent of prostate cancers are
adenocarcinoma.
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| Adjuvant
Therapy |
Treatment
that is given in addition to the primary (initial)
treatment.
Adjuvant treatment is an addition designed to help reach
the ultimate goal. Adjuvant therapy for cancer usually
refers to surgery followed by chemo- or radiotherapy to help
decrease the risk of the cancer recurring (coming back).
In Latin "adjuvans" means to help and,
particularly, to help reach a goal.
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|
| Amylase |
An
enzyme produced in the pancreas and salivary glands that
helps in the digestion of starches. Elevation of blood
amylase is common in pancreatitis.
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| Anechoic |
|
| Ascites |
Abnormal
buildup of fluid in the abdomen. Ascites can occur as a
result of severe liver disease.
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| Auto
digestion |
|
| B |
| Bile
Duct Cancer |
An
uncommon type of cancer that arises from the bile duct, the
tube that connects the liver and the gallbladder to the
small intestine.
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|
| Biliary |
Having
to do with the gallbladder, bile ducts, or bile. The biliary
system itself consists of the gallbladder and bile ducts
and, of course, the bile.
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| Biopsy |
The
removal of a sample of tissue for purposes of diagnosis.
(Many definitions of "biopsy" stipulate that the
sample of tissue is removed for examination under a
microscope. This may or may not be the case. The diagnosis
may be achieved by other means such as by analysis of
chromosomes or genes.)
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| C |
| Cannulation |
|
| Carcinoma |
Cancer
that begins in the skin or in tissues that line or cover
body organs. For example, carcinoma can arise in the breast,
colon, liver, lung, prostate, and stomach.
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| Celiac
Disease |
A
disorder resulting from an immune reaction to gluten, a
protein found in wheat and related grains, and present in
many foods. Celiac disease causes impaired absorption and
digestion of nutrients through the small intestine. Symptoms
include frequent diarrhea and weight loss. A skin condition
dermatitis herpetiformis can be associated with celiac
disease. The most accurate test for celiac disease is a
biopsy of the involved small bowel. Treatment is to avoid
gluten in the diet. Medications are used for refractory
(stubborn) celiac disease.
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| Celiac
Plexus Block |
|
| Chemotherapy |
Drug
therapy for cancer. Also called "chemo" for short.
Most anticancer drugs are given IV (into a vein) or IM
(into muscle). Some anticancer agents are taken orally (by
mouth). Chemotherapy is usually systemic treatment, meaning
that the drugs flow through the bloodstream to nearly every
part of the body.
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| Cholecyst |
The
gallbladder. The word cholecyst is not much used today but
it figures into a number of other terms to do with the
gallbladder Cholecystectomy is removal of the gallbladder.
Cholecystitis is inflammation of the gallbladder.
Cholecystogram is an x-ray of the gallbladder.
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| Completion
Pancreatectomy |
surgical
removal of any remaining portion of the pancreas.
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| CT
Scan |
Pictures
of structures within the body created by a computer that
takes the data from multiple X-ray images and turns them
into pictures on a screen. CT stands for computerized
tomography.
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| Cyst
Gastrostomy |
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| Cystic
Mass |
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| D |
| Diabetes |
Refers
to diabetes mellitus or, less often, to diabetes insipidus.
Diabetes mellitus and diabetes insipidus share the name
"diabetes" because they are both conditions
characterized by excessive urination (polyuria).
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|
| Digestive
Enzymes |
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| Dilatation
or Dilation |
The
process of enlargement or expansion.
For example, dilatation of the eye is the process by
which the pupil is temporarily enlarged with special (mydriatic)
eye drops. This allows the eye care specialist to better
view the inside of the eye.
The word "dilation" means the same thing as
"dilatation". Both come from the Latin "dilatare"
meaning "to enlarge or expand."
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| Distal
Pancreatectomy |
surgical
removal of part of body and entire tail of pancreas
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| Duodenum |
The
first part of the small intestine. The duodenum extends from
the pylorus at the bottom of the stomach to the jejunum, the
second part of the small intestine. The duodenum is a common
site for the formation of peptic ulcers. We often live with
words without thinking where they come from or what they
originally meant. That is the case for me with the duodenum.
For decades, this writer knew the duodenum as a short but
troubled sector of the small intestine. Only today did I
learn that the duodenum began as the dodeka-daktulon, twelve
fingers to the Greeks, who astutely observed that the
duodenum is about 12 finger-breadths long. In German, the
popular term for duodenum is Zwölffingerdarm, the 12-finger
intestine.
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|
| E |
| Endocrine |
Pertaining
to hormones and the glands that make and secrete them into
the bloodstream through which they travel to affect distant
organs. The endocrine sites include the hypothalamus,
pituitary gland, pineal gland, thyroid, parathyroids, heart
(which makes atrial-natriuretic peptide), the stomach and
intestines, islets of Langerhans in the pancreas, the
adrenal glands, the kidney (which makes renin,
erythropoietin, and calcitriol), fat cells (which make
leptin). the testes, the ovarian follicle (estrogens) and
the corpus luteum in the ovary). Endocrine is as opposed to
exocrine. (The exocrine glands include the salivary glands,
sweat glands and glands within the gastrointestinal tract.)
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|
| ERCP |
Endoscopic
retrograde cholangiopancreatography: Abbreviated ERCP. A
procedure done to diagnose and treat problems in the liver,
gallbladder, bile ducts, and pancreas, including gallstones,
inflammatory strictures (scars), leaks (from trauma and
surgery), and cancer. ERCP combines the use of x-rays and an
endoscope (a long, flexible, lighted tube). Through it, the
physician can see the inside of the stomach and duodenum and
inject dye into the bile ducts and pancreas so they can be
seen on x-ray. ERCP takes 30 minutes to 2 hours. Possible
complications of ERCP include pancreatitis (inflammation of
the pancreas), infection, bleeding, and perforation of the
duodenum.
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|
| EUS |
Endoscopic
ultrasound: Abbreviated EUS. A procedure that combines
endoscopy and ultrasound to obtain images and information
about the digestive tract and the surrounding tissue and
organs. In EUS a small ultrasound transducer is installed on
the tip of the endoscope allowing the transducer to get
close to the organs inside the body so the resultant
ultrasound images are often more accurate and detailed than
ones obtained by traditional ultrasound.
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| Exocrine |
|
| FNA
(Fine Needle Aspiration) |
The
use of a thin needle to withdraw material from the body. For
example, this method is commonly used to determine whether a
nodule in the thyroid gland is benign or malignant. A fine
gauge needle is placed into the nodule and a drop of blood
is withdrawn. The cells are studied under the microscope by
an pathologist.
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|
| F |
| Friable |
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| G |
| Gall
Bladder |
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| Gastrectomy |
Surgery
to remove part of all of the stomach.
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|
| Gastric
Cancer |
Cancer
of the stomach, the major organ that holds food for
digestion. Worldwide, stomach cancer is the second most
frequent cancer and the second leading cause of death from
cancer. It can develop in any part of the stomach and spread
to other organs.
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|
| Gastrostomy |
A
surgical opening into the stomach. This opening may be used
for feeding usually via a feeding tube called a gastrostomy
tube. This can also be done by percutaneous endoscopic
gastrostomy (PEG). PEG is a surgical procedure for placing a
feeding tube but does not necessitate doing an open
laparotomy (operation on the abdomen). The aim of PEG (as
with any gastrostomy) is to feed those who cannot swallow.
PEG may be done by a. surgeon, otolaryngologist (ENT
specialist) or gastroenterologist (GI specialist). It is
done in a. hospital or outpatient surgical facility. Local
anesthesia (usually lidocaine or another spray) is used to
anesthetize the throat. An endoscope (a flexible, lighted
instrument) is passed through the mouth, throat and
esophagus to the stomach. The surgeon then makes a small
incision (cut) in the skin of the abdomen and pushes an
intravenous cannula (an IV tube) through the skin into the
stomach and sutures (ties) it in place. The patient can
usually go home the same day or the next morning. Possible
complications include wound infection (as in any kind of
surgery) and dislodging or malfunction of the tube.
Percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy may be a mouthful (as a
term) but it describes the procedure accurately. A
gastrostomy (a surgical opening into the stomach) is made
percutaneously (through the skin) using an endoscope to put
the feeding tube in place. PEG, when feasible, takes less
time, carries less risk and costs less than a classic
surgical gastrostomy which requires opening the abdomen.
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|
| Gene
Mutations |
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| Glucagon |
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| Glucose |
Glucose
is a simple sugar (monosaccharide) that is used to increase
the level of blood glucose when the level falls too low
(hypoglycemia). Glucose is a glucose-elevating agent. Other
glucose-elevating agents are diazoxide (Proglycem) and
glucagon.
Glucose is the primary fuel used by most cells in the
body to generate the energy that is needed to carry out
cellular functions. When glucose levels fall to hypoglycemic
levels, cells cannot function normally, and symptoms develop
such as nervousness, cool skin, headache, confusion,
convulsions or coma. Ingested glucose is absorbed directly
into the blood from the intestine and results in a rapid
increase in the blood glucose level.
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| H |
| Hemorrhage |
Bleeding
or the abnormal flow of blood.
The patient may have an internal hemorrhage that is
invisible or an external hemorrhage that is visible on the
outside of the body. Bleeding into the spleen or liver is
internal hemorrhage. Bleeding from a cut on the face is an
external hemorrhage.
The term "hemorrhagic" comes from the Greek
"haima," blood + rhegnumai," to break forth =
a free and forceful escape of blood.
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| Hyper
echoic |
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| I |
| Insulin |
A
natural hormone made by the pancreas that controls the level
of the sugar glucose in the blood. Insulin permits cells to
use glucose for energy. Cells cannot utilize glucose without
insulin.
Diabetes: The failure to make insulin or to
respond to it constitutes diabetes mellitus. Insulin is made
specifically by the beta cells in the islets of Langerhans
in the pancreas. If the beta cells degenerate so the body
cannot make enough insulin on its own, type I diabetes
results. A person with this type of diabetes must inject
exogenous insulin (insulin from sources outside the body).
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| Insulinoma |
A
tumor of the beta cells in areas of the pancreas called the
islets of Langerhans. Although not usually cancerous, such
tumors may cause the body to make extra insulin and may lead
to hypoglycemia, a blood glucose (sugar) level that is too
low.
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|
| IPMT
(Intra Papillary Mucinous Tumor) |
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| Islet
of Langerhans (islet cells) |
Known
as the insulin-producing tissue, the islets of Langerhans do
more than that. They are groups of specialized cells in the
pancreas that make and secrete hormones. Named after the
German pathologist Paul Langerhans (1847-1888), who
discovered them in 1869, these cells sit in groups that
Langerhans likened to little islands in the pancreas. There
are five types of cells in an islet: alpha cells that make
glucagon, which raises the level of glucose (sugar) in the
blood; beta cells that make insulin; delta cells that make
somatostatin which inhibits the release of numerous other
hormones in the body; and PP cells and D1 cells, about which
little is known. Degeneration of the insulin-producing beta
cells is the main cause of type I (insulin-dependent)
diabetes mellitus.
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|
| J |
| Jaundice |
Yellow
staining of the skin and sclerae (the whites of the eyes) by
abnormally high blood levels of the bile pigment bilirubin.
The yellowing extends to other tissues and body fluids.
Jaundice was once called the "morbus regius" (the
regal disease) in the belief that only the touch of a king
could cure it.
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| Jejunum |
Part
of the small intestine. It is half-way down the small
intestine between its duodenum and ileum sections.
The term "jejunum" derives from the Latin
"jejunus," which means "empty of food,"
"meager," or "hungry." The ancient
Greeks noticed at death that this part of the intestine was
always empty of food. Hence, the name the jejunum.
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| L |
| Lipase |
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| Lipids |
Another
word for "fats." (Please see the various meanings
of Fat.) Lipids can be more formally defined as substances
such as a fat, oil or wax that dissolves in alcohol but not
in water. Lipids contain carbon, hydrogen and oxygen but
have far less oxygen proportionally than carbohydrates.
Lipids are an important part of living cells. Together
with carbohydrates and proteins, lipids are the main
constituents of plant and animal cells.
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| Liver
Function tests |
|
| M |
| Malnutrition |
|
| Metastasize |
The
spread from one part of the body to another. When cancer
cells metastasize and cause secondary tumors, the cells in
the metastatic tumor are like those in the original cancer.
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|
| MRI
/ MRCP |
Abbreviation
and commonly used nickname for magnetic resonance imaging, a
procedure that employs a magnet connected to a computer to
create images of internal structures of the body, especially
the soft tissues. An MRI uses the influence of a large
magnet to polarize hydrogen atoms in the tissues and then
monitor the summation of the spinning energies within living
cells. MRI images, particularly with soft tissue, brain and
spinal cord, abdomen and joints, are clear and can be
superior to the usual X-ray image.
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|
| Mucinous |
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| N |
| Necrotic
or Necrosis |
Synonymous
with dead. Necrotic tissue is dead tissue.
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| Neoplasm |
A
tumor. An abnormal growth of tissue. The word neoplasm is
not synonymous with cancer. A neoplasm may be benign or
malignant.
The word neoplasm literally means a new growth, from the
Greek neo-, new + plasma, that which is formed, or a growth
= a new growth.
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| Neuroendocrine
Tumors |
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| NG
tube |
An
NG (nasogastric) tube is one that is passed through the nose
(via the nasopharynx and esophagus) down into the stomach.
An NG tube is a flexible tube made of rubber or plastic
and has bidirectional potential. A nasogastric tube can thus
be used to remove the contents of the stomach including air
(to decompress the stomach) and small solid objects and
fluid (e.g., to evacuate poison from the stomach). A
nasogastric tube can also be used to instill liquids into
the stomach (e.g., to feed the person).
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| Non-resectable |
not able to be removed surgically
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| P |
| Pancreas |
A
fish-shaped spongy grayish-pink organ about 6 inches (15 cm)
long that stretches across the back of the abdomen, behind
the stomach. The head of the pancreas is on the right side
of the abdomen and is connected to the duodenum (the first
section of the small intestine). The narrow end of the
pancreas, called the tail, extends to the left side of the
body.
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| Pancreas
cancer |
Pancreatic
cancer has been called a "silent" disease because
early pancreatic cancer usually does not cause symptoms. If
the tumor blocks the common bile duct and bile cannot pass
into the digestive system, the skin and whites of the eyes
may become yellow (jaundiced), and the urine darker as a
result of accumulated bile pigment called bilirubin.
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|
| Pancreatic
Duct |
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| Pancreatitis |
Inflammation
of the pancreas. Of the many diverse causes of pancreatitis,
the most common are alcohol and gallstones.
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|
| Parenchyma |
The
key elements of an organ essential to its functioning, as
distinct from the capsule that encompasses it and other
supporting structures. The parenchyma is thus opposed to the
connective tissue framework, or stroma, of an organ. The
parenchyma of the testis consists of what are called the
seminiferous tubules.
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|
| PEG
or G tube |
Stands
for percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy, a surgical
procedure for placing a feeding tube without having to
perform an open laparotomy (operation on the abdomen). The
aim of PEG is to feed those who cannot swallow. PEG may be
done by a surgeon, otolaryngologist (ENT specialist) or
gastroenterologist (GI specialist). It is done in a.
hospital or outpatient surgical facility. Local anesthesia
(usually lidocaine or another spray) is used to anesthetize
the throat. An endoscope (a flexible, lighted instrument) is
passed through the mouth, throat and esophagus to the
stomach. The surgeon then makes a small incision (cut) in
the skin of the abdomen and pushes an intravenous cannula
(an IV tube) through the skin into the stomach and sutures
(ties) it in place. The patient can usually go home the same
day or the next morning. Possible complications include
wound infection (as in any kind of surgery) and dislodging
or malfunction of the tube. Percutaneous endoscopic
gastrostomy may be a mouthful (as a term) but it describes
the procedure accurately. A gastrostomy (a surgical opening
into the stomach) is made percutaneously (through the skin)
using an endoscope to put the feeding tube in place. PEG
takes less time, carries less risk and costs less than a
classic surgical gastrostomy which requires opening the
abdomen.
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|
| PEJ
or J tube |
|
| Peritoneum |
The
membrane that lines the abdominal cavity and covers most of
the abdominal organs. (From the Greek peri- meaning around +
tonos meaning a stretching = a stretching around).
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|
| Pseudo
cyst |
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| Puestow
(pancreaticojejunostomy) |
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| R |
| Radiation
Therapy |
The
use of high-energy rays to damage cancer cells, stopping
them from growing and dividing. Like surgery, radiation
therapy is a local treatment that affects cancer cells only
in the treated area.
Radiation can come from a machine (external radiation or
from an a small container of radioactive material implanted
directly into or near the tumor (internal radiation). Some
patients receive both kinds of radiation therapy. External
radiation therapy is usually given on an outpatient basis in
a hospital or clinic, five days a week for several weeks.
Patients are not radioactive during or after the treatment.
For internal radiation therapy, the patient stays in the
hospital for a few days. The implant may be temporary or
permanent. Because the level of radiation is highest during
the hospital stay, patients may not be able to have
visitors, or may have visitors only for a short time. Once
an implant is removed, there is no radioactivity in the
body. The amount of radiation in a permanent implant goes
down to a safe level before the patient leaves the hospital.
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| Resectable |
can be removed surgically
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| Roux-n-Y
procedure |
A
surgical procedure which may be done for severe obesity. The
procedure involves cutting the stomach in two to create a
pouch out of the smaller proximal (near) portion of the
stomach, attaching it to the small intestine, bypassing a
large part of the stomach and all of the duodenum. The
procedure may help with weight loss because the stomach
pouch is too small to hold much food and skipping the
duodenum reduces the absorption of fat which is rich in
calories. The procedure may be done by laparoscopy. Also
called a Roux-en-Y anastomosis or Roux-en-Y
gastrojejunostomy.
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|
| S |
| Serous |
Inflammation
of the serous tissues of the body. The serous tissues line
the lungs (pleura), heart (pericardium), and the inner
lining of the abdomen (peritoneum) and organs within.
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| Sphincterotomy |
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| Splenectomy |
An
operation to remove the spleen.
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| Splenic
Artery |
A
large artery within the abdomen that arises from an arterial
vessel called the celiac trunk, which emerges from the
aorta. The splenic artery supplies blood not only to the
spleen, but also to the esophagus, stomach, duodenum, liver,
and pancreas.
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|
| Splenic
Vein |
A
vein formed by the union of several small veins that return
blood from the stomach, pancreas and spleen. The splenic
vein is a major contributor to the portal vein which goes to
the liver.
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|
| Stenting |
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| Superior
Mesenteric Artery |
One
of the arteries which arises from the abdominal portion of
the aorta and distributes blood to most of the intestines.
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|
| Superior
Mesenteric Vein |
One
of the large veins which return blood from the intestines.
The inferior (lower) mesenteric vein empties into the
splenic vein. The superior (upper) mesenteric vein then
joins the splenic vein to create the portal vein which goes
to the liver.
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| T |
| Total
Pancreatectomy |
surgical
removal of entire pancreas
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|
| V |
| Viable |
Capable
of life. For example, a viable premature baby is one who is
able to survive outside the womb.
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| W |
| Whipple
operation (pancreaticoduodenectomy) |
A
type of surgery used to treat pancreatic cancer. The head of
the pancreas, the duodenum, a portion of the stomach, and
other nearby tissues are removed.
The Whipple procedure is named for Allen O. Whipple, an
American surgeon, 1881-1963 (not George Whipple, the Nobel
Prize-winning pathologist, who described Whipple disease).
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lori.hagerty@ucphysicians.com