NATURAL-HEALTH-HAPPINESS

PALLOR -
Adjective: An abnormal lack of colour in the skin from fear, illness or death. Paleness. Pallor suggests a marked reduction in the flow of blood. It also will occur if your red blood cell counts get too low.

Latin - pallor = become pale

PANCYTOPENIA -
Noun: A condition where there is a reduction in the number of all types of blood cells due to failure of bone marrow formation. A person with AA has pancytopenia.

Greek - pân = all +

-cyte = a cell from Greek - kytos = anything hollow +

Greek - penia = poverty

PAROXYSMAL NOCTURNAL HAEMOGLOBURINAEMIA -
Noun: Also, thank goodness, called PNH. It is a rare, acquired disorder of red blood cells that destroys them, resulting in the presence of haemoglobin in the urine. The disorder is characterised by dark urine in the morning with urine becoming lighter throughout the day. Each episode of dark urine usually lasts for a few days and attacks may occur very occasionally or very often. There can also be abdominal pain, back pain, headaches, shortness of breath and easy bruising. Patients with PNH should take folic acid (from health food store) each day because the body needs folic acid to help replace the destroyed red cells. Some patients also need to take iron tablets or have a blood transfusion .

In some patients, PNH develops after a previous diagnosis of aplastic anaemia . In a small proportion of patients who have the immunosuppressive therapy only, the weakened bone marrow can evolve into PNH.

In most cases, PNH goes on for many years and the patient gets used to living with the condition. Many patients with PNH lead an active life without much disruption. Some are more severely affected and may need more intensive treatment such as a bone marrow transplant.

A significant proportion of patients with PNH will eventually get better by themselves with all their abnormal cells disappearing from the blood leaving an essentially normal blood count. This can occur in even the most severely affected patients and usually occurs several years after the diagnosis of PNH is made.

From Paroxysm = a severe sudden attack + Nocturnal = occurring at night + Haemoglobin = the iron carrying liquid in a red blood cell + Urin = urine + aemia = condition of the blood

Greek - para = beyond +

Greek - oxynein = acute, sharp +

Latin - nocturnus = night +

Greek - haîma = blood +

Latin - globulus = globe (as in anything rounded like a globe) +

Greek - ouria = urine

PATHOGEN -
Noun: Any microorganism that can cause illness or a disease.

Greek - páthos = suffering +

Greek - génos = a kind

PATHOLOGY -
Noun: 1. The study of the causes and nature of diseases, especially the structural and functional changes brought about by diseases. Human pathology is a branch of medicine. 2. The unhealthy conditions and processes caused by a disease, especially changes in the tissues and organs of the body.

Greek - páthos = disease, suffering +

Greek - logia = the study or science of

PETECHIAE -
Noun: A small reddish or purplish spot occurring on the skin or on mucous membranes (such as in the mouth), caused by very small haemorrhages in connection with certain infectious diseases, radiation sickness or in the case of AA and MDS patients, a shortage of platelets. In the latter case, once one has a transfusion of platelets, the condition clears up.

Italian - petecchia = singular speck

PHAGOCYTE -
Noun: A white blood cell capable of surrounding, engulfing, and digesting micro-organisms (such as bacteria and viruses), foreign particles that have entered the body (such as dust inhaled into the lungs), and cellular debris. Phagocytes occur in body fluids and tissues. Neutrophils and macrophages are phagocytes.

Adjective: Phagocytic

Greek - phagein = eat +

-cyte = a cell from Greek - kytos = anything hollow.

PHAGOCYTIZE -
Verb: To engulf and destroy dangerous micro-organisms or cells. Done by neutrophils and macrophages.

PHAGOCYTOSIS -
Noun: The absorption or destruction of foreign matter or bacteria by a phagocyte or phagocytes.

Greek - phagein = eat +

-cyte = a cell from Greek - kytos = anything hollow +

Greek = osis = act or process of

PHERESIS -
Noun: Pheresis is the process of removing blood from a donor's body and separating the blood components (the red , white cells or the platelets) and then transfusing the remaining blood components back into the donor.

Greek - phérein = to carry

PIRITON -
Noun: Trade name for a drug used for the relief of allergy and in the emergency treatment of the severe reaction some people get from bee stings, food allergies such as nuts, and also the reaction they get to some drugs such as penicillin. ALG / ATG can cause a fairly severe rash so Piriton may be given to suppress these. It sometimes causes drowsiness and/or dizziness.

PLASMA -
Noun: The clear, almost colourless liquid part of blood or lymph , in which the blood cells float. It is found in the veins. It consists of water, salts, proteins, and other substances, and it makes up the largest part of the blood. Plasma can be kept indefinitely by freezing or drying and is often used in transfusions in place of whole blood.

Greek - plásma = to form or mould

PLATELET -
Noun: One of the many small disks which float in the blood fluid and are involved in clotting. Here is an electron microscope picture of an inactive blue stained platelet with some spiky active platelets.

Greek - platys = flat

PLATELET PHERESIS -
Noun: Uses the process of pheresis to separate out the red and white blood cells. The remaining platelets are then transfused back into the patient.

Greek - platys = flat +

Greek - phérein = to carry

PLURIPOTENT -
Adjective: Capable of developing, growing, or producing in a number of ways. Pluripotent stem cells can become all types of blood cells. See picture of Haematopoiesis .

Latin - pluris = more, many +

Latin - potis = powerful

PMN -
Noun: An abbreviation of the word polymorphonuclear neutrophil .

PNH -
Noun: An abbreviation for paroxysmal nocturnal haemogloburinaemia

POLY -
Noun: An shortening of the word polymorphonuclear neutrophil.

POLYMORPHONUCLEAR NEUTROPHIL -
Noun: A mature neutrophil . It basically means that the cells nucleus can have various shapes. Neutrophils change their shapes to wrap around foreign invaders in order to digest them.

Greek - polys = much, many +

Greek - morphe = form, shape +

Latin - nucleus = kernal or nut +

Latin - neuter = not either + (referring to the two basic dyes used to stain cells for viewing)

Greek - philos = loving

POTASSIUM -
Noun: Pottasium works together with sodium in the control of the body's water balance, the carrying of nerve impulses, contraction of muscle, and maintenance of a normal heart rhythm. Potassium is essential for maintenance of normal blood sugar.

Potassium Deficiency - Can occur from taking diuretics such as the drug Frusemide while having treatment or long-term use of corticosteroids . Early symptoms of potassium deficiency may include muscle weakness, fatigue, dizziness, and mental confusion. Impairment of nerve and muscle function may progress to cause disturbances of the heart rhythm and paralysis of the skeletal muscles and those of the bowel, which leads to constipation.

Dietary sources of potassium are leafy green vegetables, tomatoes, oranges, potatoes, and bananas. Lean meat, chocolate, coffee and milk are also rich in the mineral. It is good to know the sources of potassium as it is not compatable with the immunosuppressive drug Cyclosporin .

Dutch - potasschen = pot ashes

PREDNISOLONE -
Noun: A powerful corticosteroid drug which reduces inflammation that the ALG treatment may cause, by blocking the action of chemicals called " prostaglandins " that are responsible for triggering the inflammatory response.

Prednisolone may also act on the brain to produce a heightened sense of well-being and happiness, but its use suppresses the production of the body's own corticosteroid hormones which are produced by the adrenal glands. For this reason, treatment that lasts for more than a few weeks must be withdrawn gradually to give your body a chance to adjust and start producing it's own. If the drug is stopped abruptly, the lack of corticosteroid hormones may lead to a sudden emotional collapse until levels rise naturally. The drug may also cause depression or other mood swings when taken.

Use of this drug in standard doses eases the side effects of the ALG treatment but they do not have any effect on the aplastic anaemia or myelodysplasia .

Prednisolone can cause fluid retention, indigestion, acne, and more rarely, eye problems, fragile bones and diabetes if taken in large doses over a long period. Dosages are usually tailored to minimize these effects.

PREPARATIVE REGIMEN -
Noun: The chemotherapy and/or radiation given to BMT patients prior to transplant to kill diseased cells and/or make space for healthy new marrow and/or suppress the immune system so graft rejection does not occur.

PROERYTHROBLAST -
Noun: A nucleated precursor to the erythrocyte . See Haematopoiesis for picture. Vitamin B12 is essential for the change from proerythroblast to normoblast and then to erythrocyte. Iron, thyroxin and vitamin C are also necessary for its perfect structure.

Greek - pro = before +

Greek - erythrós = red +

Greek - blastós = sprout

PROGNOSIS -
Noun: A forecast of the probable course of a disease.

Latin - pro = before +

Greek - gnostikós = knowing

PROMYELOCYTE -
Noun: A precursor to the myelocyte which in turn through mitosis becomes either a neutrophil , a eosinophil or a basophil white blood cell . See Haematopoiesis for picture.

Greek - pro = before +

Greek - myelós = marrow +

-cyte = a cell from Greek - kytos = anything hollow.

PROPHYLACTIC -
Noun: A medicine, treatment, or device that protects against disease.

Greek - pro = before +

Greek - phylássein = to guard

PROSTAGLANDIN -
Noun: One of a group of fatty acids that is made naturally in the body and that acts in a similar way to hormones. They were first discovered in sperm but are now known to occur in may different body tissues including the uterus, brain, and kidneys. Prostaglandins produce a wide range of effects on the body, including causing pain and inflammation in damaged tissue, protecting the lining of the stomach against ulceration and stimulating contractions in labour. Some drugs such as ALG will produce inflammation and drugs will be given to reduce the prostaglandin production within the body which in turn reduces the inflammation.

Greek - pro = before +

Greek - sténai = to stand +

Latin - glandis = acorn +

-in = an ending added to chemicals or compounds that are neutral, such as fats and proteins.