Adding to my vocabulary…

As comes with the job I’m encountering new terminology practically every day.  This week I learned about….

Mallory-Weiss tear – results from prolonged and forceful vomiting, coughing or convulsions.  Typically the mucous membrane at the junction of the esophagus and the stomach develops lacerations which bleed, evident by bright red blood in vomitus, or bloody stools.  It may occur as a result of excessive alcohol ingestion.  This is an acute condition which usually resolves within 10 days without special treatment.   

nadir – the lowest point as, for example, the lowest blood count after chemotherapy, the lowest concentration of a drug in the body, etc. 

angiokeratoma – a skin disease in which telangiectases or warty growths occur in groups, together with epidermal thickening.

lancinating – Characterized by a sensation of cutting, piercing, or stabbing.

tangentiality – a pattern of speech characterized by oblique, digressive, or irrelevant replies to questions; the responses never approach the point of the questions.

aliquot – comprising a known fraction of a whole and constituting a sample.

malingering – to pretend illness, esp. in order to shirk one’s duty, avoid work, etc  (in the case this week it was used in reference to a drug-seeker).

First Cardiac Surgery

I transcribed my first cardiac surgery today.  It was an aortic valve replacement.  Pretty interesting.  Here’s the new stuff I pulled out to look up…

cardioplegia – Paralysis of the heart, as may be done electively in stopping the heart during cardiac surgery.  Cardioplegia may be done using chemicals, cold (cryocardioplegia) or electrical stimulation. 

Interesting…the doc dictated this as giving a dose of cardioplegia but didn’t elaborate on the method.

inotropic support – Pertaining to the use of agents to increase the force or energy of muscular contractions, particularly those of the heart.

manubrium – Handle-like structure or part.  In the chest it is the upper part of the sternum, which articulates with the clavicles and the first two pairs of ribs.

There’s also a manubrium in the middle ear, attached to the tympanic membrane.

LEMS

So…I’ve been a working MT for all of 3 months now.  And so far the reports I’ve been doing have been pretty standard… GI/GU surgeries, run-of-the-mill ER cases, some labor and deliveries, progress notes.  Really, nothing particularly exotic or with terribly unfamiliar terminology.  Until this week it seems.  Don’t know if it’s just the reports that are coming in, or if my supervisor has released more difficult ones to be available to me, or what…but I’m sure finding it interesting.

Today I transcribed a report for a woman with a history of Lambert-Eaton myasthenic syndrome.  Say what?!  Never heard of that one before.  Looked it up and here’s what it is:

Lambert-Eaton myasthenic syndrome:  An autoimmune disease characterized by weakness and fatigue of the proximal muscles (those near the trunk), particularly the muscles of the pelvic girdle (the pelvis and hips) and the thighs, with relative sparing of eye and respiratory muscles. Lambert-Eaton myasthenic syndrome (LEMS) is associated in 40% of cases with cancer, most often with small cell cancer of the lung and less often with other tumors. The neuromuscular defect in LEMS is due to insufficient release of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine by nerve cells.

New Knowledge

I had a couple of reports today with the most complicated terminology I’ve come across so far in my short career.  I love to learn new stuff though. 😀

homonymous hemianopsia – a type of partial blindness resulting in a loss of vision in the same visual field of both eyes.

hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia – an autosomal dominant vascular anomaly characterized by the presence of multiple small telangiectases of the skin, mucous membranes, gastrointestinal tract, and other organs, associated with recurrent episodes of bleeding from affected sites and gross or occult melena.

telangiectasia – a vascular lesion caused by dilation of a group of small blood vessels to form a small, discolored lesion on the skin.