A sex chromosome in certain animals, such as chickens, turkeys, and moths. In humans, males are XY and females XX, but in animals with a Z chromosome, males are ZZ and females are WZ.

Zeta-chain-associated protein kinase 70. A member of the protein tyrosine kinase family, ZAP-70 is normally expressed in T cells and natural killer cells and has a critical role in the initiation of T-cell signaling. ZAP-70 is expressed in T cells and tumors of T-cell lineage. A high level of ZAP-70 expression appears restricted to T-cell […]

‘When you hear hoof beats, think of horses, not zebras.’ For example, when someone develops a mild transient cough, a virus infection is the most logical and likely cause, and tuberculosis is a zebra.

A gene that is lethal (fatal) for the zygote, the cell formed by the union of a sperm (male sex cell) and an ovum (female sex cell). The zygote would normally develop into an embryo, as instructed by the genetic material within the unified cell. However, a zygotic lethal gene scotches prenatal development at its […]

A technique in which a woman’s egg is fertilized outside the body, then implanted in one of her fallopian tubes. This technique is one of the methods used to overcome infertility, the inability of couples to produce offspring on their own. First, the egg and the male sperm needed to fertilize it are harvested. Then […]

The Department of Health and Human Services of the US government, which has jurisdiction over public health, welfare, and civil rights issues and is the highest-level US government body with such jurisdiction. Agencies under HHS include the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

An inherited connective tissue disorder with extremely severe bone fragility. This is the lethal form of “brittle bone disease.” Osteogenesis imperfecta type 2 is a recessive trait with males and females affected. Two copies of the mutant gene are needed to cause the disease. The disease is characterized by short limb dwarfism, thin skin, soft […]

Emotional child abuse is the third most frequently reported form of child abuse (after child neglect and physical child abuse), accounting 17% of all cases of child abuse. It is likely that emotional child abuse is greatly underreported, since it can be difficult to detect and difficult to document. Emotional child abuse includes acts of […]

A skin disease that occurs in patients with reactive arthritis (formerly Reiter’s syndrome). Abbreviated KB. Classically, the areas of the skin that are involved are the palms of the hands and the soles of the feet, although other body surfaces may also be affected. The inflammation of the skin can come and go. When the […]

Next to child neglect, physical abuse is the second most frequently reported form of child abuse, accounting for 25% of all cases of child abuse. Physical child abuse is physical injury inflicted upon the child with cruel and/or malicious intent. Physical abuse can be the result of punching, beating, kicking, biting, burning, shaking, or otherwise […]