Health in Credo: Diseases and Treatments

Allergy is an inflammatory disorder of hyperreactivity of the immune system against common environmental exposures.

Common manifestation of dementia , thought to afflict 1 in 20 people over 65. After heart disease, cancer, and strokes it is the most common cause of death in the Western world. Attacking the brain's ‘grey matter’, it is a disease of mental processes.

A motor neuron disease, sometimes called Lou Gehrig's disease, degenerative disease that affects motor neurons in the brain and spinal cord, preventing them from sending impulses to the muscles.

Condition in which the concentration of hemoglobin in the circulating blood is below normal.

Appendicitis is an inflammation of the appendix, a small, fingerlike tube that hangs from the lower right side of the large intestine.

General term for a condition characterized by thickening, hardening, and loss of elasticity of the walls of the blood vessels.

Chronic condition characterized by difficulty in breathing due to spasm of the bronchi (air passages) in the lungs.

Group of diseases characterized by abnormal proliferation of cells.

Any of several abnormalities of the heart and its function in maintaining blood circulation. Also called Heart Disease.

Degeneration of tissue in an organ resulting in fibrosis, with nodule and scar formation.

Diabetes mellitus, often referred to simply as diabetes, is not a single disease but a group of metabolic disorders characterized by hyperglycemia (elevated blood glucose) resulting from defects in insulin secretion, insulin action, or both. It is a major public health problem in the United States, affecting ~24.1 million individuals.

In diverticulosis, small pouches develop and bulge out through weak spots in the walls of the colon, typically in the part of the colon called the sigmoid colon on the left side of the abdomen. These small, balloonlike pouches are called diverticula.

A chronic disorder of cerebral function characterized by periodic convulsive seizures. There are many conditions that have epileptic seizures.

Gout is a broad term used for the problems with uric acid metabolism in the body.

Hemophilia is a rare bleeding disorder in which the blood does not clot normally. Following an injury or even a simple cut, the person may bleed profusely.

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a common disorder that causes a variety of symptoms, including abdominal pain, diarrhea and/or constipation, bloating, gassiness, and cramping.

Intoxication of the system by organic compounds containing lead.

Condition resulting from a defective diet where certain important food nutrients (such as proteins, vitamins, or carbohydrates) are absent. It can lead to deficiency diseases. A related problem is undernourishment.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a disease of the central nervous system characterized by recurring episodes of neurological disturbance.

Any of several inherited diseases characterized by progressive wasting of the skeletal muscles.

A condition in which the energy stores of the body (mainly fat) are too great. It is commonplace in prosperous countries and is increasing in developing countries, particularly amongst children and young people. Obesity has been defined as a weight more than 20% above what is considered normal.

A disease, most commonly of post-menopausal women, in which the bones become porous, brittle and liable to fracture, owing to the loss of calcium from the bone substance.

A form of arthritis, particularly common in women, that causes pain, swelling, stiffness and deformity of the joints, especially of the fingers, wrists, ankles, feet or hips.

Microscopic single-celled organisms lacking a membrane-bound nucleus. Bacteria, like archaea, certain fungi, and viruses, are micro-organisms - organisms that are so small they can only be seen using a microscope.

Impairment of the normal state or functioning of the body as a whole or of any of its parts.

Elevation of body temperature above the normal level, which in humans is about 98 degrees Fahrenheit (37 degrees Celsius) when measured orally.

Term to define state of well-being or absence of illness.

Prepayment plan providing services or cash indemnities for medical care needed in times of illness or disability. It is effected by voluntary plans, either commercial or nonprofit, or by compulsory national insurance plans, usually connected with a social security program.

Parasite with a noncellular structure composed mainly of nucleic acid within a protein coat.

Group of organic substances that are required in the diet of humans and animals for normal growth, maintenance of life, and normal reproduction function. Only the B complex and vitamin C are water-soluble and hence are excreted, requiring regular replacement.

AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome) is a chronic, life-threatening disease that is caused by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Most serious of all the sexually transmitted diseases (STDs).

Disease caused by infection with various strains of the bacillus Vibrio cholerae, transmitted in contaminated water and characterized by violent diarrhoea and vomiting. It is prevalent in many tropical areas.

A member of a family (Filovidae) of RNA viruses that cause hemorrhagic fevers.

Inflammation of the liver. There are many types of hepatitis. Causes include viruses, toxic chemicals, alcohol consumption, parasites and bacteria, and certain drugs.

Acute, highly contagious disease caused by a RNA virus (family Orthomyxoviridae); formerly known as the grippe. There are three types of the virus, designated A, B, and C, but only types A and B cause more serious contagious infections.

Leprosy, also known as Hansen’s Disease, is a chronic infection caused by the slow growing bacillus Mycobacterium leprae.

Infectious parasitic disease of the tropics transmitted by mosquitoes, marked by recurrent episodes of high fever, sometimes associated with rigor, and an enlarged spleen. Disease caused by four species of Plasmodium: P. falciparum, P. vivax, P. ovale, and P. malariae.

Parasites can be defined as organisms that live in or on another organism called a host.

Polio, or infantile paralysis, acute viral infection, mainly of children but also affecting older persons.

Viral disease of the brain and central nervous system that can afflict all warm-blooded creatures. It is caused by a lyssavirus.

Acute, highly contagious disease causing a high fever and successive stages of severe skin eruptions. The disease dates from the time of ancient Egypt or before.

Contagious, wasting disease. Tuberculosis results from infection with Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The lungs are the site most often affected, but most organs in the body can be involved in tuberculosis.

There are more than 400 different viruses that are capable of infecting humans.

Microorganism and the infection resulting from it, which typically produces no symptoms or a flulike condition.

Chemotherapy (also called chemo) is a type of cancer treatment that uses drugs to destroy cancer cells.

Emergency procedure used to treat victims of cardiac and respiratory arrest.

In chemistry, transfer of solute (dissolved solids) across a semipermeable membrane. In medicine, artificial kidney machines have been developed that make use of dialysis to purify the blood of persons whose kidneys have ceased to function.

Emergency medical care is typically defined as medical services provided by pre-hospital care providers such as first responders, emergency medical technicians, and paramedics.

Immediate and temporary treatment of a victim of sudden illness or injury while awaiting the arrival of medical aid.

The application of genetic engineering techniques to alter or replace a defective gene or genes inside the body's cells; intended to treat or prevent disease. The procedures are still at the experimental stage, but it is hoped that they could lead to the prevention of hereditary diseases such as haemophilia.

The science and art of treating and preventing disease. Modern medicine emerged in the nineteenth century, when the development of the germ theory of disease, the discovery of anesthesia to control the pain of surgery, and improved sanitation began to curb the horrors of infectious diseases.

A branch of medical science which studies the actions, uses, and undesirable side-effects of drugs; science and practice of developing and administering chemicals as agents in the treatment of diseases. The first descriptions of remedies from plant sources were made by the ancient Greeks and Chinese.

Physical therapy (PT) is a health profession serving persons of any age or health status with compromised physical functioning or the desire to improve their current physical functioning. This medical field helps patients recover from, and adapt to, disease and injury.

Branch of medicine concerned with the diagnosis and treatment of injuries and the excision and repair of pathological conditions by means of operative procedures.

A means of producing immunity against pathogens, such as viruses and bacteria, by the introduction of live, killed, or altered antigens that stimulate the body to produce antibodies against more dangerous forms.