Perineum
The area between the anus and the scrotum in the male and between the anus and the vulva (the labial opening to the vagina) in the female. An episiotomy is a surgical procedure to widen the outlet of the birth canal to facilitate delivery of the baby and avoid a jagged rip of the perineum.
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- Period, gestation
The period of development of the young from the time of conception until birth. For humans the full gestation period is normally 9 months. The word “gestation” comes from the Latin “gestare” meaning “to carry or to bear.”
- Period, incubation
In medicine, the time from the moment of exposure to an infectious agent until signs and symptoms of the disease appear. For example, the incubation period of chickenpox is 14-16 days. In biology, the incubation period is the time needed for any particular process of development to take place. For example, the length of time […]
- Periodic abstinence
Also known as fertility awareness, natural family planning, and the rhythm method, this approach entails not having sexual intercourse on the days of a woman’s menstrual cycle when she could become pregnant or using a barrier method (such as a condom, the diaphragm or a cervical cap) for birth control on those days. Because a […]
- Periodic breathing
Clusters of breaths separated by intervals of apnea (no breathing) or near-apnea. As opposed to normal breathing which is usually regular. Periodic breathing was originally thought to arise from serious neurologic or cardiovascular disease and therefore to carry a poor outlook. It is now known that periodic breathing also tends to occur during sleep, it […]
- Periodic fever
Recurrences of fever that last from a few days to a few weeks and are separated by symptom-free intervals of varying duration. This pattern of fever can be caused by recurrent infection, malignancy or noninfectious inflammatory disorders. Periodic fever that lasts for more than two years is rarely due to a malignancy or an infection. […]