Glossary

Acetylcholine - Trimethlyammonium ion; the acetic ester of choline, the neurotransmitter substance at cholinergic synapses, which causes cardiac inhibition, vasodilation, gastrointestinal peristalsis, and other parasympathetic effects. It is liberated from preganglionic and postganglionic endings of parasympathetic fibers and from pregagnlionic fibers of the sympathetic as a result of nerve injuries, whereupon it acts as a transmitter on the effector organ. It is hydrolyzed into choline and acetic acid by acetylcholinesterase before a second impulse may be transmitted.

Agoraphobia - A mental disorder characterized by an irrational fear of leaving the familiar setting of home, or venturing into the open, so pervasive that a large number of external life situations are entered into reluctantly or are avoided; often associated with panic attacks.

Aluminum Chloride - Used as an astringent or antiseptic solution.

Anticholinergics - Having the ability to retard the activity of organs that receive their nerve impulses through the parasympathetic nervous system.

Antidepressants - Counteracting depression. An agent used in treating depression.

Antihistamines - Drugs having an action antagonistic to that of histamine; used in the treatment of allergy symptoms.

Apocrine - Denoting a mechanism of glandular secretion in which the apical portion of the secretory cells is shed and incorporated into the secretion.

Astringent - Causing contraction of the tissues. An agent having these effects.

Autonomic - Relating to the autonomic nervous system.

Beta Blocker -Andrenergic blocking agent typically used in treating cardiovascular conditions.

Botulism - Food poisoning caused by the ingestion of the neurotoxin Clostridium botulinium from improperly canned or preserved food; mainly affects man, chickens, water fowl, cattle, sheep, and horses, and is characterized by paralysis in all species; can be fatal; swine, dogs, and cats are somewhat resistant.

Clonidine - An antihypertensive agent with central and peripheral actions, it stimulates adrenergic receptors in the brain leading to reduced sypathetic nervous system output.

Compensatory - Providing compensation; making up for a deficiency or loss.

Dehydration - Deprivation of water. Reduction of water content.

Dermatologist - A physician who specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of cutaneous (skin) diseases and related systemic diseases.

Dermis - A layer of skin composed of a superficial thin layer that interdigitates with the epidermis, the stratum papillare, and the stratum reticulare; it contains blood and lymphatic vessels, nerves and nerve endings, glands, and except for glabrous skin, hair follicles.

Electrolysis - Decomposition of a salt or other chemical compound by means of an electric current. Destruction of certain hair follicles by means of galvanic electricity.

Endocrinologist - One who specializes in the science and medical specialty concerned with the internal or hormonal secretions and their physiologic and pathologic relations.

Frey's Syndrome - SYN. Auriculotemporal nerve.

Ganglia - Plural or ganglion, defined as 1. Originally, any group of nerve cell bodies in the central or peripheral nervous system; currently an aggregation of nerve cell bodies located in the peripheral nerve system. 2. A cyst containing mucopolysaccharide-rich fluid within fibrous tissue or occasionally muscle, bone or a semilunar cartilage; usually attached to a tendon sheath in the hand, wrist or connected with the underlying joint.

Gustatory - Relating to gustation or taste.

Hidradenitis suppurativa - Chronic suppurative folliculitis of apocrine sweat gland-bearing skin of the perianal, axillary, and genital areas or under the breasts, producing abscesses or sinuses with scarring.

Horner's Syndrome - Ptosis, miosis, and anhidrosis on the side of the sympathetic palsy. The enophthalmos is more apparent than real. The affected pupil is visibly slow to dilate in dim light; due to a lesion of the cervical sympathetic chain or its central pathways.

Hyperhidrosis - Excessive or profuse sweating.

Idiopathic - Denoting a disease of unknown cause.

Iontophoresis - The induction into the tissues, by means of an electric current, of the ions of a chosen medicament.

Laparoscope - An endoscope for examining the peritoneal cavity.

Myasthenia gravis - Disorder of neuromuscular transmission, marked by fluctuating weakness, especially of the oculofacial muscles and the proximal limb muscles; the weakness characteristically increases with activity; due to an immunological disorder.

Neuropathy - A classical term for any disorder affecting any segment of the nervous system. In contemporary usage, a disease involving the cranial nerves, or the peripheral or autonomic nervous systems.

Neurotransmitters - Any specific chemical agent released by a presynaptic cell, upon excitation, that crosses the synapse to stimulate or inhibit the postsynaptic cell. More than one may be released at any given synapse.

Parasympathetic - Pertaining to a division of the autonomic nervous system.

Pneumothorax - The presence of air or gas in the pleural cavity.

Podiatrists - A practitioner of the specialty concerned with the diagnosis and/or medical, surgical, mechanical, physical, and adjunctive treatment of the diseases, injuries, and defects of the human foot.

Propranolol - A medication used as an andrenergic
b-receptor blocking agent.

Pyridostigmine - A cholinesterase inhibitor useful in the treatment of myasthenia gravis.

Stratum Corneum - The outer layer of the epidermis, consisting of several layers of flat keratinized non-nucleated cells.

Sympathetic - Denoting the sympathetic part of the autonomic nervous system.

Symptom - Any morbid phenomenon or departure from normal in structure, function, or sensation, experienced by the patient or indicative of disease.

Tranquilizer - A drug that promotes tranquility by calming, soothing, quieting, or pacifying without sedating or depressant effects.

Thyroid gland - Large ductless gland lying in front and on either side of the trachea, which regulates body growth and metabolism.

Tuberculosis - A specific disease that may affect almost any tissue of the body, the most common seat of the disease being the lungs; the anatomical lesion is the tubercle, which can undergo caseation necrosis, local symptoms vary according to the part affected; general symptoms are those of sepsis; hectic fever, sweats, emaciation; often progressive with high mortality if not treated.

Valerian - An herb native in southern Europe and northern Asia, cultivated also in Great Britian and the US.; has been used as a sedative in hysteria and at the menopause.