Pica
A craving for something that is not normally regarded as nutritive, such as dirt, clay, paper, or chalk. Pica is a classic clue to iron deficiency in children, and it may also occur with zinc deficiency. Pica is also seen as a symptom in several neurobiological disorders, including autism and Tourette’s syndrome, and it is sometimes seen during ‘pregnancy.
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- Pick disease
A form of dementia characterized by a slowly progressive deterioration of social skills and changes in personality leading to impairment of intellect, memory, and language. The common core of symptoms includes loss of memory, lack of spontaneity, difficulty in thinking or concentrating, and disturbances of speech. Other symptoms include gradual emotional dullness, loss of moral […]
- Pickwickian syndrome
The combination of obesity, somnolence (sleepiness), hypoventilation (underbreathing), and plethoric (red) face. The syndrome is so named because of the “fat and red-faced boy in a state of somnolency” that Charles Dickens described in his novel, The Pickwick Papers. (The same boy is thought by some experts possibly to have had the Prader-Willi syndrome).
- PID (pelvic inflammatory disease)
This term is applied to women only. Pelvic inflammatory disease refers exclusively to ascending infection of the female upper genital tract (the female structures above the cervix). Pelvic inflammatory disease is the most common and serious complication of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), aside from AIDS, among women. The signs and symptoms of pelvic inflammatory disease […]
- Piercing
Using a sharp instrument, usually a needle, to make a temporary or permanent hole through an earlobe or other body part. Humans have practiced piercing for body decoration since prehistoric times. Unless it is performed using a sterile needle (preferably disposable), piercing can carry a risk of infection. A piercing should be kept clean; antibiotic […]
- Pigeon breast
Having a prominent breastbone and chest. Also known as pectus carinatum.