Pseud-/pseudo-: From 1 Different Sources
Prefixes meaning false.
Pseudocyesis means spurious or false pregnancy, a condition characterised by enlargement of the abdomen, and even enlargement of the breasts and early-morning sickness – the woman being quite convinced that she is pregnant.... pseudocyesis
A space within an organ without a de?ned lining and which contains ?uid. Patients with chronic pancreatitis (see PANCREAS, DISORDERS OF) sometimes develop these pseudocysts which ?ll with pancreatic juice containing enzymes produced by the gland. Abdominal pain usually results; treatment is by surgical draining.... pseudocyst
This is a hereditary disorder of elastic tissue. Degenerating elastic tissue in the skin produces lesions which look like soft yellow papules. Elastic tissue in the eye and blood vessels is also involved, giving rise to visual impairment, raised blood pressure and haemorrhages.... pseudoxanthoma elasticum
Severe depression in elderly people that mimics dementia. Symptoms include intellectual impairment and loss of memory.... pseudodementia
Species of rod-like bacteria that live in soil and decomposing matter. PSEUDOMONA AERUGINOSA is capable of causing disease in humans and is present in pus from wounds.... pseudomonas
Itchy rash contracted in swimming pools, sports clubs or public baths caused by pseudomonas aeruginosa. Runs a self-limiting course from 7-14 days. Garlic and Echinacea specific. ... dermatitis, pseudomonas
An outbreak of an illness in a community or in an institution that is thought to be due to a form of hysteria. Typical symptoms are headache and a general feeling of sickness.... pseudoepidemic
(pseudo-) combining form denoting superficial resemblance to; false.... pseud
n. the misleading appearance of clumping that occurs during an antiserum-antigen test as a result of incorrect temperature or acidity of the solutions used.... pseudoagglutination
n. see aneurysm.... pseudoaneurysm
n. an enzyme found in the blood and other tissues that – like *cholinesterase – breaks down acetylcholine, but much more slowly. Not being localized at nerve endings, it plays little part in the normal breakdown of acetylcholine in synapses and at neuromuscular junctions.... pseudocholinesterase
n. see Legg–Calve?–Perthes disease.... pseudocoxalgia
n. a false *crisis: a sudden but temporary change in a condition, such as a fall of temperature in a patient with fever.... pseudocrisis
n. apparent absence of the testes. This is quite common in young boys, who retract their testes into the groin due to involuntary or reflex contraction of the cremasteric muscle of the suspensory cord (also known as retractile testes). The condition is only important in that it needs to be distinguished from true failure of descent of the testes into the scrotum, which requires early surgical treatment (see cryptorchidism).... pseudocryptorchidism
the appearance of white dandruff-like deposits on structures in the anterior chamber of the eye, which are especially prominent around the pupil margin and on the anterior lens capsule. It is a sign of zonular weakness and indicates an increased risk of secondary glaucoma.... pseudoexfoliation syndrome
n. a controversial term, commonly used in *mental state examinations, for an experience described by the patient as a *hallucination but judged by the psychiatrist as not perceived as such by the patient. It may sometimes be seen as an attempt by patients to pretend that they suffer from genuine hallucinations. The term is generally unhelpful because it implies a value judgment.... pseudohallucination
n. increase in the size of an organ or structure caused by excessive growth of cells that have a packing or supporting role but do not contribute directly to its functioning. The result is usually a decline in the efficiency of the organ although it becomes larger. —pseudohypertrophic adj.... pseudohypertrophy
n. a syndrome of learning disability, restricted growth, and bony abnormalities due to a genetic defect that causes lack of response to the hormone secreted by the *parathyroid glands. Treatment with calcium and vitamin D can reverse most of the features. See also Albright’s hereditary osteodystrophy.... pseudohypoparathyroidism
n. a false membrane, consisting of a layer of exudate on the surface of the skin or a mucous membrane. In diphtheria a pseudomembrane forms in the throat. In pseudomembranous colitis, a disease caused by *Clostridium difficile that usually follows antibiotic therapy, pseudomembranes develop in the colon, resulting in profuse diarrhoea.... pseudomembrane
see Clostridium; pseudomembrane.... pseudomembranous colitis
n. a mucoid tumour of the peritoneum, often seen in association with *myxomas of the ovary. In pseudomyxoma peritonei there are recurrent deposits of mucin-producing cells in the abdomen, which can be difficult to clear by surgery and may prove fatal.... pseudomyxoma
n. a condition that resembles *retrobulbar neuritis but is not due to inflammation. The most usual cause is blockage of blood vessels in the optic nerve (ischaemic optic neuropathy).... pseudoneuritis
(Ogilvie’s syndrome) n. functional impairment of intestinal peristalsis without evidence of an obstructing lesion (acute colonic pseudo-obstruction). It presents with vomiting, marked abdominal distension, and constipation. It commonly occurs in hospitalized patients with serious illness, probably caused by abnormalities in colonic autonomic regulation and often associated with trauma, sepsis, the postoperative state following abdominal, pelvic, or orthopaedic surgery, or cardiac dysfunction (heart failure, myocardial infarction). Management is usually conservative and involves treatment of the underlying condition, the ‘drip and suck’ approach (see ileus), decompression of the colon, and prokinetic agents (such as neostigmine). Surgery is required when the conservative approach fails or in cases of perforation.... pseudo-obstruction
n. the state of the eye after the natural lens has been replaced by a synthetic lens implanted inside the eye, approximately in the position previously occupied by the natural lens. This is the current form of surgery for *cataract. —pseudophakic adj.... pseudophakia
n. (pl. pseudopodia) a temporary and constantly changing extension of the body of an amoeba or an amoeboid cell (see phagocyte). Pseudopodia engulf bacteria and other particles as food and are responsible for the movements of the cell.... pseudopodium
n. a condition in which the bowel lining (mucosa) is covered by elevated or protuberant plaques (pseudopolyps) that are not true *polyps but abnormal growths of inflamed mucosa. It is usually found in patients with longstanding *ulcerative colitis during endoscopy or barium enema examination.... pseudopolyposis
n. a mass in the pituitary gland region that is associated with a raised blood prolactin level due to interference of the pituitary stalk (through which the chemical dopamine, the inhibitor of prolactin release, passes from the hypothalamus) rather than to increased prolactin production from a pituitary *prolactinoma.... pseudoprolactinoma
n. a condition in which all the symptoms of *pseudohypoparathyroidism are present but the patient’s response to parathyroid hormone is normal. It is often found in families affected with pseudohypoparathyroidism.... pseudopseudohypoparathyroidism
see non-epileptic seizure.... pseudo seizure
see idiopathic intracranial hypertension.... pseudotumour cerebri
Health Encyclopedia