Oiled Sea Otter Rehabilitation Course

Glossary

N-Z

NARCOTIC. Benumbing, deadening: an agent that produces insensibility or stupor.

NASOPHARYNGEAL MEMBRANES. Membranes of the part of the pharynx which lies above the level of the soft palate.

NAUSEA. An unpleasant sensation, vaguely referred to the epigastrium and abdomen, and often culminating in vomiting.

NECROPSY. Examination of the body after death; autopsy.

NEMATODES. Any of a class or phylum of slender, unsegmented, cylindrical worms, often tapered near the ends. Parasitic forms such as the hookworm, pinworm, and trichina belong to this group. Nematodes are commonly called roundworms.

NEPHROTOXIC. Toxic or destructive to kidney cells.

NEUROLEPTANALGASIA. A state of quiescence, altered awareness, and analgesia produced by the administration of a combination of a narcotic andalgesic and a neuroleptic agent.

OSHA. Abbreviation for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration of the U.S. Government.

OLIGURIA. Excretion of a diminished amount of urine in relation to the amount of water intake.

OPHTHALMIC. Pertaining to the eye.

PAH. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon or petroleum aromatic hydrocarbon.

PALPATE. To examine by the hand; to feel.

PARAFFINIC HYDROCARBON. An organic compound that contains only carbon and hydrogen and is found in petroleum: any of a group of saturated aliphatic hydrocarbons characterized by a straight or branched carbon chains.

PERICHOLANGRITIS. Inflammation of the tissues that surround the bile ducts.

PERITONEAL DIALYSIS. Dialysis through the peritoneum.

PHARYNGEAL. Pertaining to the pharynx.

PHC. Petroleum hydrocarbon.

PHOCID. Pertaining to marine mammals of the order Carnivora and family Phocidae; the true seals (i.e. harbor seals).

PHOTOPHOBIA. Abnormal visual intolerance of light.

PINNIPEDS. The group of aquatic mammals including seals, sea lions, and walruses.

PNEUMONITIS. Inflammation of the lungs.

POSTMORTEM. After death.

PROLAPSE OF RECTUM. Protrusion in varying degree of the rectal mucous membrane through the anus.

PROPHYLACTIC. Tending to ward off disease or an agent that tends to ward off disease; administered or performed to prevent disease.

PULMONARY EDEMA. Abnormal, diffuse, extravascular accumulation of fluid in the pulmonary tissues and air spaces due to changes in the hydrostatic forces in the capillaries or to increased capillary permeability.

PURULENT. Consisting or containing pus; associated with the formation of, or caused by, pus.

RADIOGRAPHY. The making of film records of the body by exposure of film specially sensitized to x-rays or gamma rays.

RECTAL TENESMUS. Painful, long-continued, and ineffective straining at stool.

RHINITIS. Inflammation of the mucus membranes of the nose.

SALMONELLOSIS. Infection with certain species of the genus Salmonella, usually caused by the ingestion of food containing the organisms or their products and marked by violent diarrhea attended by cramps and tenesmus and/or paratyphoid fever.

SEIZURES. The sudden attack or recurrence of a disease.

SELENIUM. A poisonous nonmetallic element resembling sulfur. In small amounts, it is an essential element in the diet.

SEPSIS. The presence in the blood or other tissues of pathogenic microorganisms or their toxins; the condition associated with such presence.

SHOCK. A condition of acute peripheral circulatory failure due to derangement of circulatory control or loss of circulating fluid. It is marked by hypotension, coldness of skin, usually tachycardia, and often anxiety.

SINUSITIS. Inflammation of a sinus. The condition may be purulent or nonpurulent, acute or chronic.

SLOUGH. Necrotic tissue in the process of separating from viable portions of the body.
STUPOR. Partial or nearly complete unconsciousness.

SUBCUTANEOUSLY. Under the skin.

SUBCUTANEOUS EMPHYSEMA. The presence of gas or air in the subcutaneous (beneath the skin) tissues of the body.

TACHYPNEA. Excessive rapidity of respiration; a respiratory neurosis marked by quick, shallow breathing.

TENESMUS. Straining, especially ineffectual and painful straining at stool or in urination.

THERMOREGULATORY. Controlling or regulating body temperature.

THORACIC. Pertaining to or affecting the chest.

THYMICOLYMPHATIC INVOLUTION. Degeneration or retrograde change of the thymus and the lymphatic glands.

TOXOPLASMOSIS. A protozoan disease of man caused by Toxoplasma gondii. Congenital toxoplasmosis is characterized by lesions of the central nervous system, which may lead to blindness, brain defects, and death.

TRIGLYCERIDES. A compound consisting of three molecules of fatty acid esterified to glycerol; it is a neutral fat synthesized from carbohydrates for storage in animal adipose cells.

ULCERATION. The formation or development of an ulcer.

VASONCONSTRICTION. The diminution of the caliber of vessels, especially constriction of arterioles leading to decreased blood flow to a part.

VENTRICLE. A small cavity, such as one of the several cavities of the brain, or one of the lower chambers of the heart.

VENTRICULAR FIBRILLATION. Arrhythmia characterized by fibrillary contractions of the ventricular muscle due to rapid repetitive excitation of myocardial fibers without coordinated contraction of the ventricle; an expression of randomized circus movement, or of an ectopic focus with a very rapid cycle.

VENTRICULAR TACHYCARDIA. An abnormally rapid ventricular rhythm with aberrant ventricular excitation which is commonly associated with atrioventricular dissociation.

ZOONOSES. A disease of animals that may be transmitted to man.