Health dictionary - A

The abdomen is actually just another word for your stomach.

A collection of pus, which usually happens as a result of an infection. Pus is made up of old white blood cells and broken down tissue cells. Abscesses can be very painful and may need to be drained.

If it's acute, it's strong or intense or comes on suddenly.

Part of the immune system, lymph nodes at the back of your nose, above your tonsils. If they’re too large and causing breathing problems, you may need to have them removed.

When you’re too old to be a child and not old enough to be an adult. We usually use the word adolescence to describe the time when you’re a teenager.

These are part of the endocrine system and secrete hormones (chemical messengers that turn on and off processes in the body). Your adrenal glands are on top of each kidney.

Something that cause an allergic reaction.

Lots of people have allergies. They're something that your body reacts to, and often include foods and materials that you come into contact with. Usually they are harmless, but for some people they can be much more serious and make them very ill.

This is when you lose some or all of your hair. This can be caused by medicines or it can be due to an autoimmune disease, where the body becomes mis-programmed and attacks itself rather than a foreign invader, such as a germ.

The vehicle that brings you to and from hospital. There are two types – one is an emergency response vehicle, which contain all the equipment to look after you immediately after an accident. The other type does not contain so much equipment but takes you to and from hospital appointments.

A condition where your red blood cells cannot carry enough oxygen. It makes you feel tired and you may look pale. There are lots of different types of anaemia – some are more serious than others.

If you're under an anaesthetic, you won't feel any pain during a test or an operation. It's a special mixture of drugs, which can be breathed or injected. A general anaesthetic will let you 'sleep' while everything's going on, so you won't feel anything or know what is happening.

An anaesthetist is a specially-trained doctor who will look will make sure you 'sleep' safely during an operation or test, and make sure that you get better afterwards. They also help manage your pain after surgery.

Another word for pain relief.

Lots of people have allergies, which means they can't eat certain foods or touch some materials. Anaphylaxis is a severe type of allergic reaction.

The science of where everything is in your body and how it is formed.

This is a special X-ray picture of an artery - that's the vessel that takes blood from your heart to the rest of your body.

The period of time before a baby is born. For instance, antenatal screening is used to find out if the baby is alright before it is born.

Bacteria (germs) can sometimes make you ill and sometimes you need antibiotics to treat it. Antibiotics are medicines that attack bacteria that are making you feel unwell. Although they hurt the bacteria, they won't hurt you. Antibiotics don’t work again other infections from viruses or fungi.

A substance in your blood that reacts with a foreign invader such as a germ or something you’re allergic to (allergen). In some cases, you develop antibodies when you have an infection so you are less likely to have it again.

If you've got an allergy, antihistamines can help to stop a bad reaction. They're usually tablets but sometimes you might be given a syrup, because it is easier to swallow. You can also get antihistamine cream that you put on your skin.

Something that prevents infection. You can get antiseptic mouthwash, antiseptic cream, and antiseptic hand wipes, all of which prevent infection.

This is the main artery in your body which carries blood away from your heart.

A condition where you stop breathing – usually only for a few seconds. Some people have apnoea only when they’re asleep.

A little tube attached to your large intestine that has no function at all! It’s about 9cm long in adults and doesn’t usually cause any problems, unless it becomes infected – which is called appendicitis.

This is when the heart doesn’t beat in a regular way – some people have this all the time, and they need something called a pacemaker to make the heart beat regularly.

Our bodies contain lots of blood, which moves around in arteries, veins and capillaries. Arteries carry blood away from the heart to the rest of your body. They are made up of different layers in a tube.

A disease where your joints swell and become stiff and painful. Some people think only old people get arthritis but it can affect young people too!

The removal of a gas or fluid by suction. It also refers to when you breathe in food or drink into your lungs instead of it going to your stomach. It can sometimes cause a chest infection.

A type of pain relief that usually comes in tablets. Aspirin can be dangerous for children under 16 years old, so you should only ever take it if your doctor prescribes it.

A condition where you feel breathless and wheeze a lot. It’s caused by the passages in your lungs becoming inflamed, but it can be treated using drugs which open up these passages (bronchodilators).

This is a nasty infection you can get between your toes that is caused by a fungus. It’s very contagious so make sure you don’t walk around in bare feet when you’ve got it, and don’t share your shoes with anyone either. It can be treated using creams from your chemist.

This means that a passage or canal in the body is closed up at one end instead of being like a tube. There's lots of different types of atresia, which all happened while the baby was developing in the womb.

One of the chambers in the heart.

The study of hearing. An audiologist is a person who studies your hearing and can suggest ways of improving it if you have problems.

This is a kind of disease where the body gets confused and starts attacking itself because it thinks it’s dangerous. For instance, in arthritis, the body identifies the tissue in the joints as being ‘the enemy’ and so attacks them causing damage.

This is just a word doctors use for your armpit.