Hemorrhoids
Dilated (enlarged) veins in the walls of the anus and sometimes around the rectum, usually caused by untreated constipation but occasionally associated with chronic diarrhea. Symptoms start with bleeding after defecation. If untreated, hemorrhoids can worsen, protruding from the anus. Treatment involves changing the diet to prevent constipation and avoid further irritation, the use of topical medication, and sometimes surgery. Also known as piles.
Read Also:
- Hemostasis
The stoppage of bleeding or hemorrhage. Also, the stoppage of blood flow through a blood vessel or organ of the body. Hemostasis is the arrest of bleeding, whether it be by normal vasoconstriction (the vessel walls closing temporarily), by an abnormal obstruction (such as a plaque) or by coagulation or surgical means (such as ligation). […]
- Hendra virus
A virus, formerly called equine morbillivirus, that can cause illness in horses and humans. First identified in 1994 in Australia where the virus caused the death of two patients, one of pneumonia and the other of encephalitis that developed a year after the patient’s initial exposure. Hendra virus is widely distributed in fruit bats (Megachiroptera) […]
- Henna
A coloring made from the leaves of the Egyptian privet, Lawsonia inermis. Approved only for use as a hair dye, not for direct application to the skin, as in the body-decorating process known as mehndi. This unapproved use of a color additive to henna makes these products adulterated and therefore illegal. Injuries to the skin […]
- HEPA
Acronym that stands for High-Efficiency Particulate Air and for High-Efficiency Particulate Arrestor. HEPA filters are used for isolation and immunocompromise units, operating rooms, removal of allergens from the air (for hay fever, asthma, etc.) and other applications where maximum reduction or removal of submicron particulate matter from air is required.
- Hepar
The liver or a preparation made from it. The term hepar is not often used today. It is a direct borrowing of the Greek hepar, liver.