Para- (prefix)
alongside of, beside, near, resembling, beyond, apart from, and abnormal.
For example, the parathyroid glands are called “para-thyroid” because they are adjacent to the thyroid. For another example, paraumbilical means alongside the umbilicus (the belly button).
The prefix “para-” comes straight from the Greek.
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- Para-esophageal hiatal hernia
Hiatal hernias are categorized as being either para-esophageal or sliding. Para-esophageal hernias are hernias in which the gastro- esophageal junction stays where it belongs (attached at the level of the diaphragm), but part of the stomach passes or bulges into the chest beside the esophagus. The para- esophageal hernias themselves remain in the chest at […]
- Paracentesis
The removal of fluid from a body cavity via a needle, a trocar, a cannula, or another hollow instrument. A paracentesis may be used for diagnosis or treatment, as, for example, in ascites, where there is free fluid in the abdominal (peritoneal) cavity. If the cause of the ascites is uncertain, diagnostic paracentesis is done […]
- Paracentric chromosome inversion
A basic type of chromosome rearrangement. A segment that does not include the centromere (and so is paracentric) has been snipped out of a chromosome, turned through 180 degrees (inverted), and inserted right back into its original location in chromosome. The feature that makes it paracentric is that both breaks are on the same side […]
- Paradoxical embolism
Passage of a clot (thrombus) from a vein to an artery. When clots in veins break off (embolize) , they travel first to the right side of the heart and, normally, then to the lungs where they lodge. The lungs act as a filter to prevent the clots from entering the arterial circulation. However, when […]
- Paragonimiasis
Infection with the trematode (parasitic worm) Paragonimus. More than 10 species of trematodes (flukes) of the genus Paragonimus infect humans, the most common being Paragonimus westermani, the oriental lung fluke. While P. westermani occurs in the Far East, other species of Paragonimus are encountered in Asia, the Americas, and Africa. Human infection with P. westermani […]