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Allergy

Definition

Allergies are abnormal reactions of the immune system that occur in response to otherwiseharmless substances.

Etymology

From Ger. Allergie, coined 1906 by Austrian pediatrician Clemens E. von Pirquet (1874-1929) from Gk. allos "other, different, strange" + ergon "activity"

Related Terms

Allergen: A substance that the body perceives as dangerous and causes an allergic reaction.

Histamine: A compound found in mammalian tissues that causes stretching of capillaries,contraction of smooth muscle, and stimulation of gastric acid secretions; released duringallergic reactions.

Immunology

Definition

The branch of biomedicine that is concerned with the structure and function of the immunesystem, innate and acquired immunity, and laboratory techniques involving the interaction ofantigens with antibodies.

Etymology

From L. immunis "exempt from public service, free from taxes." Specific modern medicalsense of "exempt from a disease" + logos, (science)

Related Terms

Immunosuppressive: Describes a treatment that suppresses natural immune responsesforexample, chemotherapy for cancer.

Trivia

One of the important discoveries in the field of immunology is the discovery of vaccine,usually in the process of inoculation. In the late 1700s, when Edward Jenner, a countrydoctor, sought to explain why milkmaids and other farmhands exposed to cowpox, arelatively mild disease, did not come down with smallpox. To test the theory that cowpoxexposure somehow bolstered a persons defenses against smallpox, Jenner took pus from a

milkmaid infected with cowpox and injected it into a healthy eight-year-old boy. Jenner thenexposed the child to smallpox, but the child never succumbed.

Endocrinology

Definition

A medical specialty concerned with the diagnosis and treatment of disorders of theendocrine system.

Etymology

Etymology: Gk, endon (from within) + krinein,(to secrete), logos, (science)

Related Terms

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Hormone: A chemical produced by an endocrine gland and released into the blood. It travelsto other organs of the body where it produces its effect.

gland (gland) an aggregation of cells specialized to secrete or excrete materials not relatedto their ordinary metabolic needs.

Trivia

Exocrine glands, such as sweat and salivary glands, secrete externally and internally viaducts. Endocrine glands secrete hormones internally, using the bloodstream.

Dermatology

Definition

The study of the skin, including its anatomic, physiologic, and pathologic characteristics andthe diagnosis and treatment of skin disorders.

Etymology

Before vowels, dermat-, word-forming element meaning "of or pertaining to skin," from Gk.dermato- (shortened form dermo-), from derma "skin", logos, (science)

Related Terms

Dermatosis: a skin disease.

Dermatitis: an inflammation of the skin.

Sources:

For definitions:

http://www.thefreedictionary.com

For etymologies:

http://www.etymonline.com

For related terms and trivia:

http://www.dana.org

http://www.patient.co.uk

http://www.beallergywise.com

http://www.umanitoba.ca/faculties/medicine/units/immunology/pdffiles/glossary.pdf